Stress: Manage it to Protect Your Gut Health

One of the challenges of running my own business from home and being a working mum, is that it is very easy for my different roles and responsibilities to end up competing with each other for my attention.  It takes discipline and focus, and even relatively small unexpected tasks can have a big impact when time is tightly scheduled.  Over the last few weeks I have found my plans, routine and focus thrown into disarray both professionally and personally by a few unexpected events.  During that time I have been very aware of the things I had intended to do, but focused on the ‘must dos’.  Mentally this is draining especially when the non-priority to-do list is growing (don’t you find that once you start to get behind it feels like you’re behind with everything?).  It begins to feel overwhelming – how can I get it all done, how can I get back on track?!  If not addressed quickly, this mental load can easily lead to ‘burn out’ and affect mental and physical health, including the gut.

The gut-brain axis consists of the network of nerves that enable the two areas of the body to communicate.  In times of stress our inflammatory system awakens meaning that what goes on in your head can affect your gut and vice-versa.  Think about how if you are nervous you may get a ‘nervous stomach’, or if you have a stomach upset how it can affect your mood.  These responses are due to the release of hormones that help us deal with stressful events.  These hormones are helpful but the longer we allow stress to continue the more likely the hormones are to become a problem.  They can contribute to inflammation in the body which may be compounded by our general health status, diet and other environmental factors.  This inflammation may damage the lining of our guts and the gut microbiome, in turn affecting digestion and general wellbeing.  This is especially likely in those already prone to irritable bowel issues.  Typical symptoms may include bloating and constipation or diarrhoea.  It seems strange that helpful hormones would contribute to illness, but we evolved to fight or run away if under attack by a wild animal (acute stress) and now we have longer lasting (chronic) stresses that our bodies haven’t yet fully evolved to cope with.  It isn’t necessarily a single high-pressure moment where we want to scream “ARGH I’m stressed!!”, but more a steady and constant low level stress that contributes to our problems.  We can’t run away from these stresses as we may a wild animal, instead we need to think more strategically to deal with it and manage it to support our bodies.

For those of you who find yourselves in similar situations, I decided to share how I have been regaining my focus and motivation to manage my stress levels to protect my health.

Evaluating the importance of the tasks that have gone undone is an important first step:

• What are the tasks that I didn’t do or didn’t complete?
• Was there are specific date or time attached to them?
• Did they impact on others?
• Will doing those tasks now still serve a purpose?

I found that some tasks, such as the housework, were still there and built-up BUT they would still have been there anyway.  One of the joys of housework is that the jobs are never really done!  Think about it: you see the bottom of the laundry bag and then get changed and put the clothes you were wearing in to it; or you do the washing up and an hour later start to prepare meals or make drinks.  It sounds defeatist but we just have to accept that’s how these things work – there’s no point in worrying about it beyond what is needed for the day ahead.  Does it really matter if Monday’s ironing pile gets done on the Tuesday or Wednesday as long as the essential clothes for those days are done?

Some of my work-related tasks were time-bound.  A social media post I started would not make as much sense this week as it did last week.  I could complete it and publish it ‘late’, or I could mark it in my calendar for another appropriate time – I opted for the latter.  Other tasks such as planning need to be done on a continuous basis and so even though my plans have ‘gone to pot’, I would be reviewing them and putting together plans for the new week/month anyway.  Like with housework, I just need to accept that I missed those things and get on with the next round of planning tasks.

Work that impacts directly on others of course has to take priority.  Ensuring I deliver what I promise and meeting expectations (as a minimum) is important to me and my clients.  A company I used to work for prioritised clients and use the term ‘client is king’ in their policies.  It may not reflect equality, but in general I shared that value and continue to do so.  Therefore I put this work ahead of my other activities both during the disrupted time, and in my refocused time.  I apply this prioritisation for anything that I committed to do outside of my work too.

Taking time to think about what you need to do may not sound productive but it is effective.  Focusing the mind enables us to concentrate without worrying about all the other tasks at the same time, and as I’m sure you know from your own experience thinking about too many things at once is overwhelming and can make us unproductive.  Writing our thoughts down can be very helpful here.

Space is also important – thinking space as well as doing space.  If you don’t have a place that enables you to declutter your mind, you won’t be able to think clearly.  Likewise if the space in which you want to work is cluttered, it will not help you to mentally declutter as all you see is other things that need doing.  It may be that you need to prioritise creating space as your first task, or may be you can create time and space by getting outside – for me, spending time on my allotment and walking are helpful moments.  Exercise is also believed to be good for our guts.

It may seem a strange thing to say when you feel stressed, but you don’t need to clear that backlog all at once.  For me, ‘plodding’ is a way of being kind to myself while steadily catching up.  Of course, I need to put most of my effort into my priorities, but the rest can be done bit-by-bit as I have the time and motivation.  It is helpful to remember that some of your tasks don’t actually require huge amounts of time.  Take the laundry for example.  When I was on maternity leave the laundry and the dishwasher status were my housework benchmarks for success each week – if I was doing OK with those, I was OK.  It’s OK if your basket overflowing and each load going to take 90 minutes!  Think about it – once you’ve loaded the washer and switched it on, you aren’t really doing the laundry for those 90 minutes.  You can spend that time doing something else, or even doing ‘nothing’.  Taking some time out isn’t a bad thing – rest is important physically and mentally – and just getting something done helps me to feel that sense of achievement re-building.  Have you heard the phrase “Getting somewhere slowly, is better than going nowhere fast”?  Trying to do everything at once is likely to backfire and leave you feeling burned out and disappointed.  Taking small steps towards what you want to achieve may actually get you to where you need to be quicker.

An important thing to remember about plodding is that you don’t need to have a set plan in place, it is a relaxed progression based on what makes sense for you to get done at that time.  It’s based on your circumstances, your feelings, your energy, your health, your environment, and the availability of your support network.  Don’t add to the pressure by setting out a plan, unless there is a time commitment involved such as for an appointment.

So by just plodding over the weekend, I made a noticeable improvement on a section of my allotment, got back on top of my housework, had a bit of time playing on my piano, and spent some time with my family.  This has allowed me to relax and feel a little less cluttered mentally so that I can begin to plan and refocus on the week ahead – personally and professionally.  I may not have addressed everything in my backlog but I can see more clearly how to progress and what is important.  And, the best bit?  The kitchen sides are relatively tidy and my laundry basket is under control!