Stress is a normal part of life but occasionally there are situations where a true crisis causes higher than normal stress levels. One of my high performing CEO clients recently faced such a situation at work.
When a crisis hits, everything that usually keep you sane, like exercise, mindfulness, sleep, and healthy food habits, take a backseat. Your mind is working overtime and adrenaline and cortisol run the show.
If the crisis takes time to resolve, the prolonged stress response starts impacting many other biological processes, like digestion, metabolism, and hormone balance. My client experienced this firsthand. The result: gut issues, sleepless nights with racing thoughts, anxiety, food cravings. Just when you need to be on top of your game.
What can you do in these cases? Because let’s face it: if you are a leader, high performing senior executive or entrepreneur, crisis management is a part of your life. Here’s what I recommended my client to help support his body during this high stress period:
* Stress leads to rapid depletion of certain vitamins and minerals, particularly C, certain B vitamins and magnesium– so bring in a good quality B Complex, vitamin C and magnesium (glycinate or citrate form).
* Elevated cortisol disrupts the circadian rhythm and can suppress melatonin production. Take a melatonin supplement at night to help with sleep, reduce anxiety and provide some extra antioxidant support.
* Stress disrupts the delicate balance of the gut microbiome so take a probiotic to help support your gut. I recommend a good quality multi-strain Lactobacillus/Bifidobacterium blend containing species such as L. rhamnosus, Bifidobacterium longum, L. plantarum and L. paracasei, which have been shown to lower anxiety, lower stress hormones, and improve cognitive function.
On top of these physical support practices, there is an important mental/emotional element to crisis management. This, my client had covered. As a grounded and evolved human being with a long-time mindfulness practice, he did not take long to come to terms with the situation and take decisive action to bring things under control.
At the end, what helped him navigate this work crisis very successfully was a strong foundation: a consistent focus on supporting his health through personalized nutrition and lifestyle habits, something we had been working on together for a while.
Health optimization is what you do when the going is good. So that you are well positioned to deal with the more challenging times.
Be well.
