How stress is affecting your hyperthyroidism
Do you know how your stress levels could be influencing your overactive thyroid? Although many believe that stress is all in the mind, it has very real physical consequences. Let’s take a look at how chronic stress can influence your hyperthyroidism if you’re not careful.
How stress affects your overactive thyroid
Acting as a thyroid trigger
The first consideration is that stress can be a trigger for your thyroid. This includes being a potential trigger for the development of thyroid disease, as well as a trigger for thyroid flare-ups.
How much stress can trigger you is unique to you. For some, it may be the biggest influence on their thyroid function and flares. For others, it’s less significant. But no matter what the case, stress will have some level of sway over your thyroid.
Depleting vital nutrients
Another issue with stress, particularly chronic stress, is that it depletes nutrients. The nutrients that are depleted by stress - think B vitamins, zinc, magnesium and vitamin C - also play their part in thyroid function.
This can have both direct and indirect effects. For example, vitamin C and zinc are needed to help reduce & repair damage caused by inflammation. B vitamins such as B6 & B12 are often deficient in those with an overactive thyroid which can exacerbate thyroid symptoms.
Dysregulating the immune system
We also need to think about how stress affects the main driver behind thyroid disease. The majority of overactive thyroid cases are caused by the autoimmune condition, Graves’ disease.
Stress can mess up how your immune system functions. It can do this directly by sending your immune system into overdrive, contributing to the autoimmune process.
But it can also do so indirectly through mechanisms such as affecting gut permeability and throwing off the balance of gut bacteria. 70-80% of the immune system resides in the gut, so this can add up to more thyroid flares and progression of the disease.
The relationship is a two-way street!
We’ve seen the ways that stress affects your thyroid - but it goes the other way around too. An overactive thyroid puts significant strain on the body’s systems, including the nervous system. This can reduce your tolerance to stress, meaning smaller stressors have a greater impact.
Need to get your stress under control? Make sure you give this article a read for tips around stress and hyperthyroidism.
NEWLY DIAGNOSED AND NEEDING TO NAVIGATE THE WORLD OF AN OVERACTIVE THYROID?
I cover what you need to know to manage an overactive thyroid naturally in my course, the Hyperthyroid and Graves’ Disease Recovery Program.
This comprehensive program includes:
6 modules covering the most important information you need to understand your overactive thyroid and how to support it naturally
Resources on thyroid testing and which tests will give you the best overview of your thyroid function
Steps to help you identify triggers and avoid thyroid flares
6 restorative Naturopathic Yoga sessions
Thyroid meditations
A BONUS 4 step gut healing protocol (because many of the triggers for your thyroid are found in the gut!)