The Many Manifestations of Stress—and how adaptogens can help

The key to balance lies in listening to the imbalances

Traditional Chinese Medicine is built on the idea that everything in both our inner and outer environments are connected. Similar to how the moon affects the ocean tides, our physical health can often be affected by mental or emotional stressors, whether from an external source (like work or current events) or an internal source (like negative self-talk, perfectionism, or depression). 

Taking this holistic perspective, Chinese Medicine believes that the balance between one’s body, mind, and spirit is a critical indicator of a person’s health and wellbeing. However, in order to maintain our internal balance, we must first be able to identify our unique symptoms of imbalance. In other words, we need to tune into how stress manifests in our lives.

While everyone experiences stress (and if you don’t, we want to know your secret!), we all feel it in different ways. For some, stress manifests in our mood, such as anxiety, irritability, or fatigue. For others, stress can manifest physically—such as the muscle tension behind a clenched jaw or tight shoulders, or digestion issues like acid reflux or constipation/diarrhea. For women specifically, stress can often impact the menstrual cycle, making symptoms like PMS, cramping, and hormonal acne more intense.

While none of these symptoms are particularly pleasant, they all serve a purpose by signaling that something is amiss. That’s why at Elix, instead of trying to ignore or mask discomfort, we believe in tuning into our emotional, physical, and menstrual symptoms so that we can holistically understand—and ultimately heal—what’s causing them.

How does stress manifest for you?

To help you tune into how stress feels in your body, take a few minutes to get quiet and comfortable before reflecting upon the following questions:

• How do I feel, emotionally and/or physically, when it seems there aren’t enough hours in the week to accomplish everything on my professional and personal to-do lists?
• When was the last time I experienced burnout? What did it actually feel like? What warning signs can I look out for to avoid burning out in the future?
• When was the last time I experienced total relaxation and peace of mind? What did it actually feel like? How can I create more experiences like this?
• Thinking back to a particularly painful period, what was going on in my life/the world during that month? What increased menstrual symptoms did I experience?

As you reflect, keep in mind some of the ways stress can manifest:

• MOOD: anxiety, fatigue, depression, irritability, insomnia, etc.
• BODY: clenched jaw, furrowed brow, tight neck/shoulders, acid reflux, diarrhea or constipation, etc.
• CYCLE: heavy flow, irregular cycle, increased cramps or clotting, hormonal acne, PMS, etc.

Now that you’ve tuned in, it’s time to harmonize and heal holistically.

The natural way to manage stress and maintain balance

While your personalized Cycle Balance formula is designed to heal the hormonal imbalances causing your menstrual symptoms, stress can create obstacles along your healing journey. Most of us don’t have the luxury of quitting our jobs to live off-grid away from the chaos of society, but we can turn to adaptogens to support our body’s stress response, thereby helping maintain healthy balance in our body, mind, and spirit.

An adaptogen is any plant or herb that helps the body adapt to stress by exerting a normalizing effect on the body’s processes, depending on what’s needed. For example, if you’re feeling anxious and can’t sleep, an adaptogen like Reishi can help chill you out, while Ginseng can help lift you out of fatigue. 

Meet Daily Harmony

A potent blend of adaptogens, medicinal mushrooms, and hormone-balancing herbs, Daily Harmony is Elix’s new everyday wellness formula that’s designed to help you feel your best every day of the month. Based on one of Traditional Chinese Medicine’s most heavily researched and clinically proven formulas for women’s health (Xiao Yao San), Daily Harmony assists the flow of Qi (energy) to help balance stress & anxiety, support sleep, aid digestion, boost energy, and improve cognitive abilities. 

Providing your daily dose of adaptogens such as American Ginseng, Reishi, Astragalus, Angelica Sinensis, Atractylodes, and Licorice, Daily Harmony helps make life feel a little bit smoother, no matter what the day throws your way. 

Enhance the benefits of Cycle Balance with Daily Harmony

Daily Harmony and Cycle Balance are designed to support each other, complementing and strengthening the healing effects of one another. When used alongside your personalized Cycle Balance blend, Daily Harmony helps lower inflammation, supports daily hormonal fluctuations, and helps the body recover from and prepare for menstruation. With Cycle Balance and Daily Harmony teaming up in your corner, you can count on more balanced days ahead.

Cycle Balance: Take our Health Assessment to discover the herbal formula recommended for your unique cycle.

Daily Harmony: Rich with naturally balancing adaptogens, Daily Harmony comes in one blend for all.