Parenting Blog

Everyone knows that stress is bad for us, but why? 

One of the many reasons is that stress causes spikes in cortisol, the stress hormone produced by the adrenal glands.  That’s okay if you’re grabbing your kid away from the side of the pool, but chronic high cortisol levels are bad for your body.  Among other nasty effects, elevated cortisol can interfere with your body’s progesterone production.  That throws all your hormones all out of whack.  Why should you care?  Take a look at these symptoms of chronically elevated cortisol and out-of-balance progesterone:

•    Slower metabolism and weight gain
•    Anxiety, including difficulty falling asleep
•    Emotional outbursts and moodiness
•    Difficulty concentrating
•    Depression, exhaustion, sluggishness, crankiness.
•    PMS
•    Heavy periods with cramps
•    Food cravings and binging

Anyone with these symptoms is not a happy camper.  As every mother learns, to her dismay, you can't be a good mom when you're stressed out, no matter how positive your intentions.