About 5 years ago I experienced what I thought was a heart attack.

I was putting a lot of pressure on myself to teach a course for MarketingProfs on top of my full time job. And the anxiety and stress unleashed itself as a sharp pain in my chest! Except it wasn’t a heart attack. After years of research, I believe it was a esophagus spasm.

After that scary day I began experiencing a host of digestion issues. It manifested itself like heartburn initially, then a pain near my stomach on my left side, it slowly crawled up my throat as it felt like someone was constantly squeezing my neck.

I tried OTC heartburn medications but nothing worked! So I turned to doctors.

They sent me from one specialist to the next. Giving me various drugs to try, all of which making me feel worse in the process. Each specialist told me something different. The gastroenterologist said it was acid reflux and possibly an ulcer, the cardiologist said a part of my heart was enlarged (but not enough to cause these issues) and I had palpitations during the stress test, the endocrinologist said I had hypothyroid.

(All of this is true in a sense but they aren’t the core of the issue and therefore trying to solves these effects of stress weren’t actually solving my main problem. But more on that further down!)

About one year later, I experienced another pain in my chest and my heart beat became irregular consistently. I panicked and went to the ER where I encountered a doctor who, after running multiple tests, suggested CoQ10 to help with my heart palpitations.

It worked to my surprise! This was the start of my journey into natural healing. If CoQ10 could help my heart palpitations then possibly another vitamin could help the pain in my throat and stomach.

I began digging into natural remedies to begin solving the various issues the doctors found. I didn’t realize all of my health problems were connected until I visited a naturopathic doctor at Natural Paths to Wellness.

Effects of Stress on the Body

Stress is not just mental. Our bodies actually feel stress and it can make us physically ill.

When we’re stressed, our hypothalamus in our brain releases stress hormones like cortisol to help our body prepare for flight or fight. But when our body is stresses day after day, cortisol and adrenaline can build up and tax the body, especially the endocrine system, which includes your reproductive organs, adrenals and thyroid.

That’s why you’ve probably heard that stress may be the reason you can’t get pregnant 👉 Read my story about that here.

Stress can also cause obesity (helllooo thyroid and hormone issues).

Tired all the time and don’t have the motivation to get things done? Yeah, that might be stress too as it impact your adrenal glands.

Always sick? Stress lowers your immune system.

Back, neck or shoulder pain? Oh yeah…stress too!

Headaches 👉 Stress. Stress can also bring on early Alzheimer.

Digestion issues 👉 Stress.

Stress is the core issue of A LOT of the physical pain and ailments we experience everyday. If you want to live a long and pain free life you need to address the impact of stress on your body. This article is to help you undo the damage stress has had on your body so you can get your systems working properly again.

How to Reverse the Damage of Stress

Disclaimer: I’m not a doctor and for legal reasons I have to say that you should always consult your doctor first before doing anything I recommend in this article. Also, to keep DHH running I participate in affiliate programs which means if you click on some of the products I mention and make a purchase I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. 

Stress impacts each of us differently. Some might just get muscle tension in the neck, others digestion issues, maybe you just start shaking, or if you are like me you get palpitations (almost immediately after a stressful event). I had chronic stress long enough where it caused all sorts of trouble in my body. Here’s what worked for me to undo the damage of stress in my body:

1. The first step I recommend to anyone who says they have stress or anxiety attacks is to take Natural Vitality’s Calm Magnesium Supplement with Calcium. Nearly 2/3 of Americans are magnesium deficient (probably cause we’re stressed so much!). When you replenish your magnesium stores you’ll have less headaches, feel less anxious, and sleep better. Magnesium also helps with muscle spasms and heart palpitations.Take Calm Magnesium in warm water at night right before bed. To see how much magnesium your body needs, start with just 1 tablespoon of Calm and up every night by a half tablespoon until your stool gets soft then go back down a half tablespoon. For example, on day 6 I took 3.5 tbls of Calm in my water and my stool was very soft so I went back down to 3 tbls but then in a week my stool was getting soft again so I went down to 2.5 tbls. At the current moment, I take 2 tbls every night.
2. If you have palpitations or ‘heart pain’, I recommend CoQ10, which is what the ER doctor told me to take when I came into the ER with my heart rate super high having palpitations. You’ll be amazed at how quickly your palpitations stop! I don’t like taking pills so I started with just this gummy CoQ10 but if you can take pills this one is a superior CoQ10.Not only is CoQ10 good for your heart but it also boosts energy and helps prevent cancer and diabetes.
3. For digestion issues caused by stress or anxiety, take one drop of DigestZen Essential Oil in warm water after meals (make sure you get the 100% essential oil – not the one with carrier oil that is a roller ball).Early on when I was experiencing my digestion issues and heartburn medication wasn’t working for me, I tried DoTerra’s DigestZen essential oil as a recommendation from a friend and to my surprise it worked! Almost immediately I felt relief in my throat, esophagus and stomach. I very rarely recommend taking essential oils orally! Try using some on your skin first just to make sure you don’t have an allergic reaction. Some people use DigestZen topically on their stomach but this did nothing for me. I only took the oil when I was in absolute pain. Otherwise, I made a tea with the same ingredients just in dried herb form and this does the trick if I start to feel those digestion issues coming on.
4. If stress causes a pain in your throat as if someone is choking you, try using Frankincense Essential Oil (note: I do NOT sell DoTerra but I’ve tried 3 other frankincense oils and this is the only one that actually gives me relief). Frankincense is known for it’s anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving properties. It also protects the thyroid from free radicals. Looking back, it makes sense that after my anxiety attack and within a few weeks after my digestion issues started so did my thyroid pain (though I didn’t know it was my thyroid at the time till the doctor said I tested positive for hypo-thyroid). I was tested again during pregnancy for thyroid issues (since that could cause issues during pregnancy) and guess what – my thyroid was fine! Undoing the damage stress caused my body and balancing my hormones healed my thyroid. Because after all, it wasn’t a thyroid issue, it was stress that was causing it.Frankincense Essential Oil is expensive (at least the good ones are) so I want to tell a cautionary story of buying it cheap. My sister, who believed my remedies were placebos, experienced throat pain as well so when she came to visit me I convinced her to let me try treating her with my Frankincense. She reluctantly agreed. And to her surprise within minutes of applying (yes it works that fast!) she felt relief! She honestly couldn’t believe it as she was feeling the pain for a solid week! When she went back home, she started experiencing the pain again so she bought some cheap Frankincense oil and low and behold it didn’t work! So make sure you get the Frankincense I recommend above!
5. Stress often causes depression. Some days it was hard for me to get the motivation to get out of bed! But this natural remedy for stress made the biggest difference in how I felt! Adrenotone is a combination of herbs and nutrients that helps naturally rejuvenate the adrenal glands. Adrenal glands are in the endocrine system with your thyroid, pancreas and ovary (dun dunn dunnn full circle on why stress kept me from getting pregnant!)Before I met with my naturopathic doctor, I suspected I had adrenal fatigue, which basically means stress caused my adrenals to get overworked and all out of wack so they couldn’t produce the hormones that are essential to a balanced body. One of the main ingredients in Adrenotone is Ashwagandha, which is an adaptogen that helps your body manage stress. I was taking Ashwagandha by mixing it in yogurt and smoothies but it was hard to take enough of it consistently to make a difference. When my doctor at Natural Paths to Wellness started me on Adrenotone I was shocked out how good I felt! Make sure you take it in the morning when you first wake up and with food (I felt a little sick if I took it on an empty stomach). This also helped me start my day right since I ended up making a healthy breakfast before heading off to work.
6. The last thing my naturopathic doctor recommended was a good probiotic (most probiotics at the store don’t work). Probiotics help balance the bacteria in the gut. This not only helped me digest food better but having good gut bacteria helps ward off sickness too.

How Long Does it Take to Recover From Chronic Stress

Recovery time will differ person to person. Since my body couldn’t get pregnant from my chronic stress I have somewhat of a time table of how long it took to recover from the damages of stress.

I had chronic stress for about 2 years before I started to explore the natural remedies for stress reduction. I tried dozens of products from herbal teas to adaptogens to the foods I ate and have only listed the home remedies that I could physically tell the difference above.

Within 1-2 times of taking some of the items above (especially Adrenotone, Natural Vitality’s Calm and Frankincense) I could feel a difference. It took another 6 months of steadily using my fertility regime, which included a few of the stress home remedies above, to get pregnant.

How to Protect Your Body from Stress

Even though I focused this article on undoing the damage chronic stress causes the body, such as hormone unbalances, palpitations and digestion issues, I wanted to touch on ways to prevent stress or at least protect your body from it going forward.

1. Yoga – I can tell the days I don’t do my simple, short yoga routine. My neck hurts, I get headaches and if I go long enough without it I start to feel like my throat is being squeezed again. I do variations of a combo I created that includes Tai Chi, Yoga and Pilates. If you are interested in practicing with me, sign up for my newsletter and I’ll send you an email when I release the video on YouTube.
2. Reduce Caffeine and Sugar – If you haven’t taken a 30 day cleanse from caffeine and sugar, DO IT! You won’t believe how amazing you feel afterwards! Sugar lowers your immune system opening you up to infections, sickness and inflammation, which stress can bring on as well. Because caffeine increases heart rate and blood pressure it impacts your overall health. The acid in coffee can also cause digestion issues, which in combination with stress is probably how I got my ulcers!
3. CBD Oil – My husband also has anxiety attacks and his go-to in stressful times is CBD oil. CBD is not psychoactive but it does give you a strong sense of calm and is a great pain reliever. Start with a small dose first to see how your body reacts. Don’t take if you are trying to get pregnant, pregnant or breastfeeding. We currently use 2Wolves Inc. CBD Oil, which I highly recommend you check out! The company is family owned and they only do small batches, which keeps quality high.
4. Take Time For You – It sounds cliche but our brain needs relaxation to keep our bodies healthy. My go-to are spa days, massages, walking my dog and working in my garden. Find a relaxing activity that you enjoy!