Digestive issues are a sensitive matter. The symptoms of GI disorders are often painful and even overwhelming. Finding relief and ways to manage symptoms is incredibly important—and stress is one of the more prominent triggers that can make digestive problems feel worse.
Right now, it’s a stressful time in our world to begin with. We’re all dealing with some level of stress and even anxiety as we navigate through a world impacted by COVID-19. However, stress is a regular, everyday occurrence for most of us whether we’re living through a pandemic or not.
On a biological level, stress itself isn’t necessarily a terrible thing. It’s a natural response to threats, and, on a very basic level, it’s even a survival mechanism. Our bodies are equipped to handle stress from time to time.
Problems arise, however, when stress occurs too often… and when our own coping skills don’t match the level of stress we’re facing. To stay healthy and avoid stress-related health problems or exacerbated GI symptoms, it’s important to learn how to manage stress on a personal level.
Because Vivante knows first-hand how stress can impact GI symptoms—and our GIThrive® Care Team is experienced in guiding our members through coping strategies—we recently hosted a webinar on this crucial topic: 5 Strategies to Take Control of Stress.
If you weren’t able to attend, just click here to check out the on-demand webinar:
- How stress impacts the body
- Proven methods to release the pressure of stress
- A quick technique to gain control and prioritize worries
In her work with GIThrive individual members, Gussler often suggests the methods in this webinar to help diffuse stress’ negative impacts on the body. “It’s really important to learn to be aware of our own bodies’ physical signs of stress, and practice stress management techniques often to build muscle memory. The more you do these things, the more natural it will become to head off stress before it gets too bad,” she says. “And if you’re already using GIThrive at your company, remind your employees they can work with our health coaches to learn more coping skills.”
While it’s not possible to always reduce stress itself, we can learn how to manage it more effectively through personal coping skills.
Good news: in less than 30 minutes you can learn our 5 strategies to cope with stress by watching our webinar. If you have questions or want more information about how GIThrive can help employees manage digestive health, just click the button below:
And if talking about digestive health with your employees is a challenge in itself, you won’t want to miss our June webinar. We’ll discuss how we can all work to take the stigma out of GI disease and use straightforward, respectful communication tactics. Please mark your calendar for June 24 and stay tuned for registration details.
