Stress Awareness Month

Stress Awareness Month

 

Life is stressful. No matter where you are or what you do, stress is a part of the human experience that just won’t go away. For many people though, stress can be a debilitating and overwhelming feeling that casts a shadow over everyday life. It influences our decision making, damages our health, and generally makes life less enjoyable.

However, we don’t have to let stress rule our life—and we at Farmer & Chemist are staunchly anti-stress. Since 1992, April has been recognized as Stress Awareness Month in an effort to raise public awareness of both causes and cures for stress. Because while stress can be invasive, there are always things you can do to lessen your load.

So, in an effort to decrease stress and increase awareness, here are three things you can do this Stress Awareness Month to manage, relieve, and eliminate unnecessary stress in your life. 

1. Clean out your old things

There’s something about spring that makes us want to clean. Perhaps the longer hours of sunlight lead to an increase in productivity, or the end of winter signals a symbolic need to eliminate unnecessary items. 

No matter the reason, there’s something cathartic about taking your dusty pieces of furniture or old shirts and getting rid of them. A clean space can make you feel open and relaxed, while simultaneously giving you one less thing to stress about. 

In fact, scientists and researchers have studied the relation between cleanliness and stress, and have found that they are overwhelmingly connected. 

A study published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology states that “the most obvious toll that clutter takes is added stress in one’s life.” The study then goes on to examine how clutter creates a chaotic living space that distances one from the idea of “home,” negatively impacting mental health and wellbeing.

So not only does spring cleaning make us feel productive, it has been proven to reduce stress levels and make us feel more at home in our space. 

2. Get some plants

While a clean space makes us feel less anxious, an empty space can have the opposite effect. 

I remember the first few days I lived in my current apartment—the walls were bare and surfaces were empty. It felt like I was living in a cube. I would return home from work and find that I retained much of the day’s stress, likely due to the emptiness. 

So I bought plants. I found a few   cheap houseplants at the Home Depot and soil to repot them. I found that as soon as there was greenery in my house, I felt less stressed when I got home. My surfaces were still nice and organized, but the added greenery brought new life into my apartment. No longer was I living in a sterile box—it finally felt like a home. Furthermore, the plants gave me a new activity, and working with my hands gave me somewhere to redirect all my pent-up frustration.

In fact, a study published in the Journal of Physiological Anthropology found that actively interacting with houseplants can reduce physical and mental stress. This is partially due to Mycobacterium vaccae, a microbe found in potting soil that works as a natural anti-depressant. The more you know!

3. Start taking CBD

While spring cleaning and introducing greenery are great stress-reducing habits, stress and anxiety can run a little deeper. When this is the case, introducing CBD to your daily regimen can help you calm down and limber up in no time. 

CBD is short for cannabidiol, one of the many compounds found in the hemp plant. When introduced to the body, it interacts with the body’s inherent endocannabinoid system to relieve anxiety, insomnia, chronic pain, and many other ailments. CBD is 100% natural and, unlike the THC found in medical marijuana, does not have any hypnotic or psychoactive effects. 

Various studies have proven that CBD is effective at lowering levels of stress and anxiety in a wide variety of individuals. According to Nora D. Volkow, Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, CBD “has shown therapeutic efficacy in a range of animal models of anxiety and stress, reducing both behavioral and physiological measures of stress and anxiety.”

This is largely due to how CBD interacts with the body. When introduced, cannabidiol binds with endocannabinoid receptors in such a way that it boosts the body’s natural response to stressors like anxiety and chronic pain. If you’re curious to learn more about how CBD works, check out our previous blog post, “Let’s Talk CBD.”

There are a variety of ways you can take CBD, and Farmer & Chemist has you covered:

Take some time to destress

This April, don’t forget to take some time for yourself to relax and destress. Whether you decide to clean out your home, convert your living room into a mini-greenhouse, or introduce CBD to your daily regimen, make this Stress Awareness Month count by slowing down and saying goodbye to any unnecessary stress.

If you have any questions about CBD, and how it can help you remain stress-free as the year progresses, come visit us at our brick-and-mortar store located on 7719 S. Main Street in Midvale, Utah! One of our on-staff pharmacy techs will be all too happy to answer your questions.

While you’re at it, don’t forget to give us a follow on Facebook and Instagram (@farmer_and_chemist) to keep up with all things CBD and Farmer & Chemist.

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