Stress Reset Blueprint

26th of January, 2025

I’ve discussed mental fog and slurry brain in my previous blogs multiple times, citing how easy it is to fall into the trap of insulin sensitivity, inflammation in the body, and cortisol imbalance.

Cortisol is a huge problem in these times, with Cushing’s Disease (high cortisol) on the rise. Everyone talks about being stressed constantly—some even wearing it like a medal around their neck.

And then they drink endless black coffees or excessively sugared energy drinks to battle stress while inviting both insulin sensitivity and inflammation into the body!
👉 This is beyond me.

👉 And this is me.

Of late.

Oxidative stress, lifestyle disorders, hormonal issues, and sarcopenic obesity arrive as gifts.

Sarcopenic obesity occurs when a person suffers from body obesity and muscle wasting due to insulin resistance and inflammation, eventually affecting mobility.

Cortisol regulates metabolism, blood sugar levels, the immune system, and other bodily functions. However, the problem arises when the adrenal glands (situated at the top of your kidneys) release excess cortisol due to stress.

Starting today, here’s what I will do to off-load my body:

1. Get Quality Sleep 🛌

• I’ve doom-scrolled the hell out of YouTube Shorts in the last few months.

• Now, once I wrap up my day, I’ll disassociate by watching cartoons from my era like Oswald and Phineas and Ferb. They help me empty my brain so I don’t wake up with nightmares.

• Sleep in complete darkness: invest in blackout curtains and/or wear an eye mask.

• Research shows women generally need an extra hour of sleep compared to men. Culturally, women are often expected to sleep only after taking care of the entire household at night and wake up first to get an early start.

These traditions lead to burnout, increased weight, and inflammation in South Asian women.

2. Cut Out Unnecessary Sugar 🍭

• The culture of promoting desserts, cereals, coffee, and cookies as “healthy” is a sweet-coated lie.

• If you live a sedentary life (most of us do), simple sugars in these items metabolize quickly, leaving you craving more.

• Eating sugar creates a vicious cycle of blood sugar spikes and crashes, stabilizing only when you feed your body more sugar.

• If sugar is taken alone (without a protein or lipid source), your body’s sensitivity to sugar increases.

• Instead, try nutrient-dense carbs like fruits, vegetables, starchy carbs, and soaked beans to balance sugar levels.

3. Eat Less Fat 🥑

• While I’m an advocate for good fats like ghee, butter, and avocado, having too much saturated fat will stress your liver and increase body stress levels.

4. Reduce Caffeine Intake ☕

• When the body is not in equilibrium, caffeine (through coffee, chocolate, or even Coke Zero) can increase stress.

• Coffee is one of the most exploited crops in the world today and contains estrogenics that can put your hormones out of whack.

• Even dark chocolate, considered “healthier,” increases Estradiol (E2), which can lead to issues like uterine polyps when in excess.

What to drink instead?

• Non-stimulatory herbal teas like Hibiscus Tea, Spearmint Tea, Fennel Tea, and Oatstraw Tea can relax the body and even boost libido.

5. Spend More Time in the Sun ☀️

Coming from someone who has lived for months without seeing the sun, I can tell you it’s a gift to live in sub-tropics.

• Sunlight releases stress and boosts all your “feel-good” hormones. It’s the cheapest and most effective Happy Pill!

• Exercises like walking, yoga, or gardening are enough to release stress.

6. Cultivate Hobbies (Without the Need for Perfection) 🎨

I love to paint and use colors. Throwing perfectionism out the window, I now draw whatever comes to mind.

This helps me stay connected to the present moment.

7. The Mirage of Supplements 💊

Fish oil, iodine, random multivitamins, melatonin, glutathione—you name it, and the market has it.

The focus on temporary fixes using adaptogenic herbs has increased in the last few years. But are you willing to depend on them forever?

• The problem with supplementation lies in questionable sources, which can tax your liver because they are concentrated, and further increase inflammation.

• The wave of avoiding allopathy after the 2020 pandemic led to the exploitation of herbs and traditional medicine.

The holistic approach is to find all these in a nutritious diet. The problem with supplementation is the questionable sources, which rarely companies reveal because they are not obliged to.

8. Movement Matters 🏃

• Sometimes, your body needs simple, aware movements rather than extreme exercise.

• Intense workouts can be counterproductive for someone experiencing high stress.

Suggestions:

• Research Matak Chia’s Universal Healing Tao for practices on harnessing energy and releasing negative energy (including stress).

• Learn Tai Chi techniques.

• Explore Somatic Exercises, which bring sensory awareness to the body and teach you to see stress as external. They help to see stress and negative feelings as external - overall making a person feel safe.

Both Dao and Somatic exercises focus on NOT getting rid of “bad feelings”, but rather on transmuting them to positive energies and overcoming them with a plan of no return.

Final Thoughts 💭

Until YOU take an active role in your life to reduce stress, it’s hard to brush it off.

• Visits to shrinks often lead to overanalysis of past issues, keeping you stuck in a victim mindset and burning a hole in your pocket.

• Not everything in life has a justification or reasoning, so why add stress by reopening old wounds?

Hope this helps!

With love,
Zitni Zun ❤️