Tired, stressed, or depressed?  If you’re like 90% of the people I know, you’re tired most of the time, you don’t get enough solid sleep, you depend on caffeine for energy, and you’re stressed constantly, which leads to a moody or depressed funk far too often.  This description certainly encapsulates my everyday woes, or at least it used to.  But before I get into the solution that pulled me out of my funk once and for all, let’s talk about the cause.  Stress.  We all know that chronic stress is harmful.  It increases the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, susceptibility to infection, chronic muscle pain, skin problems (like psoriasis and eczema), and possibly diabetes. Chronic stress can also over-activate the immune system causing autoimmune illnesses such as arthritis and MS.  Stress becomes apparent in someone if they demonstrate impatient or hostile behavior and rapid speech patterns.  Stress doesn’t stop at the physical, however.  Psychologically, chronic stress can leave you with indecision and feelings of overwhelm, anxiety and a sense of being out of control, which could eventually cause depression.  And who wants to be the burnt-out grumpy guy with all the health problems?  Certainly not me, but it’s not like you can eliminate stress, so what can you do?  And WHY does stress have such a negative impact on us in the first place?

Daily stressors are not the problem.  They’re merely contributors.  The real problem is the way our body responds to the barrage of chronic stress in our lives.  Our bodies were designed to deal with acute stress, like when a zebra spots a hungry lion.  Fight or flight instincts are immediately kicked into gear, saving the zebra who flees from certain death.  In today’s society, however, most of the stressors that we encounter are not a threat to our physical survival. They may consist of rush hour traffic, missing a deadline, bouncing a check or having an argument with our boss or spouse.  Unfortunately, our bodies don’t know the difference, so on a daily basis, toxic stress hormones flow into our bodies for events that pose no real threat to our physical survival.  We end up ruminating in our own stress hormones, while they become more and more imbalanced, causing more and more problems both physically and psychologically.

The real culprit here is a disruption in the metabolic balance in the body.  Most people think of metabolism as it refers to losing weight, but metabolic balance actually refers to restoring a balance in hormones, enzymes, and neurotransmitters (like cortisol, testosterone, and insulin, to name a few).  When these metabolic compounds (or stress hormones) are out of balance, we feel terrible (fatigue, irritability, stress).  Furthermore, the evidence is overwhelming that there is a cumulative buildup of stress hormones in the population today. If not properly metabolized over time, chronic stress can lead to disorders of our autonomic nervous system, of our hormonal system, and our immune system (not to mention that it causes damage to organs, bones, skin, muscles and brain cells).

So how can we combat these effects?  Rather then dealing with the symptoms (using energy drinks or antidepressants, for example) which is obviously not working, we need to fix the problem.  The solution found me through a good friend of mine, Jen.  Jen introduced me to a supplement called Eleviv (or X51).  She told me that Eleviv is herbal, and completely healthy (with no side effects), and has proven to help boost energy levels and reduce fatigue, to promote vigor through mental and physical stamina, to improve coping abilities while stressed, to enhance mood and a feeling of well-being, to restore concentration and mental alertness, and to maintain metabolic balance.  She said that people taking it were also craving less carbs, and losing fat around their midsection (without adding exercise), and that they were sleeping better.  Her speil automatically sent up red flags for me.  I mean, it couldn’t possibly do all that they were saying it could.  In my experience, things that seem too good to be true, usually are.  On the flip side, I trust Jen completely.  If it worked for her and her husband (and so many others that she mentioned), there’s always a chance that it could work for me, right?  So I gave it a chance.  It was $20 for a one week trial ($55 for a month).  I took my first dose before bed, and woke up a new person (I kid you not).

I am the furthest thing from a morning person.  I like to sleep late, I wake up grumpy, and I require lots of caffeine to get going, but that first morning on X51, I woke up a morning person for the first time in my life.  From the time my eyes popped open at 9 (which was early for me), I was completely focused, peppy like a kid on Christmas morning, and motivated to attack my to-do list.  I actually went running that morning for the first time in a month.  I felt amazing!  I gave it a couple days figuring it couldn’t possibly last.  Surprisingly, it did!  I no longer felt depressed for no reason, my quick temper became far more patient and my interactions more kind.  Stress was still there, but it no longer controlled me!  I was more functional and productive by leaps and bounds.  I stumbled into the fountain of youth, and came out a kid again.  I’m amazed at the results that my husband and I have experienced, and can’t wait to share this amazing supplement with others.  I’ll write more about Eleviv in the future (after the impact it’s made in my life, how could I not?!), but in the meantime, for more info check out the eleviv site or shoot aaron@jailbreakcreative.com an email to ask for a sample.

Give it a shot.  What do you have to lose?

Tags: depressed, health, herbal, natural, stress reduction, stress relief, stressed, tired

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