Stress Relief

The Oxford dictionary defines stress as “a state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or very demanding circumstances.” Stress can mean different things to different people. Typically, stress involves feeling overwhelmed or worrying excessively about something. In some cases, stress can be associated with emotional or mental strain. Stress may be short-lived, such as being stressed out about a test or a public speaking engagement, or it can last for months, such as the stress associated with financial hardship. In some cases, stress is associated with a specific stressor, and in other cases, you may not be able to tell exactly what is causing you to feel stressed. You may consider something stressful that somebody else does not and somebody else might consider something stressful that you do not. Many times stress is personal and private, but some people may choose to talk openly about their stress. The important thing to remember is that if stress builds up so much that it is impacting your everyday life, you may benefit from talking to a healthcare or behavioral health (psychologist, social worker, etc.) professional about your stress.

Just like stress is different for everybody, the symptoms of stress may be different for everybody. Often, stress just involves excessive preoccupation of the mind. However, stress can also induce physical symptoms such as sweating, racing heartbeat (palpitations), shortness of breath, shaky voice, or feeling “jittery.” You may also have a headache, abdominal discomfort, or need to cry. Some people may not have any physical manifestations of their stress at all. Other people may experience these symptoms so intensely that it is considered a panic attack. The important thing to remember is that if any of the symptoms you experience are impacting your life in a negative way, you may benefit from talking to a healthcare or behavioral health (psychologist, social worker, etc.) professional about your stress.

While stress can be thought of as an emotion, there are also medical diagnoses known as anxiety disorders. The main anxiety disorders are generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), social phobia, and other specific phobias. Each of these conditions is associated with its own symptoms and has its own diagnostic criteria. Diagnosed anxiety disorders are often persistent and interfere with everyday life. The proper treatment of a diagnosed anxiety disorder may involve lifestyle modification, medication, therapy, or a combination of these. If you do suffer from a diagnosed anxiety disorder or you think you may have an anxiety disorder, this supplement is not a treatment for your condition.

Cortisol is often referred to as the “stress hormone.” It is a type of molecule known as a glucocorticoid and it is created and released by the body’s adrenal glands. This happens in response to another hormone that is secreted from the brain and is known as ACTH. Cortisol increases in times of stress and has numerous actions around the body, including raising blood sugar levels and making your brain better at utilizing that glucose. Cortisol is one of the hormones that gets released during the body’s “fight or flight” response, which is the natural reaction to an acute stressor. Having a normal cortisol response is a good thing. And even without stress, cortisol is necessary for life. Having abnormally high or abnormally low cortisol levels, however, is associated with disease states.

In studies, cortisol levels are often used as a surrogate for subjective feelings of stress, however this is not always accurate. In some cases, elevated cortisol levels may be associated with chronic stress but in other cases, cortisol levels are raised independently of psychological stress.

Roman’s Stress Relief supplement is a mix of three individual ingredients, including ashwagandha, Rhodiola rosea, and phosphatidylserine. Roman chose these ingredients because each has individually been shown to have beneficial effects in some studies. These include improving stress scores, mood, cortisol levels, and specific measures of athletic performance. In some cases, the evidence is limited because studies have only been done in small human clinical trials. And in other cases, these effects were only noted in specific populations. All three ingredients are generally well tolerated and are also associated with other beneficial effects, such as supporting testosterone levels and improving fatigue and cognition. Roman’s Stress Relief supplement isn’t intended to treat a diagnosed anxiety disorder and isn’t a substitute for treatments prescribed by your healthcare provider.