Have you ever had someone ask you: “so, when did things start to go wrong?”

This could relate to many scenarios in life, but when it comes to your health you may have had a distinct time frame or year in your past when everything started to go downhill. I know mine. When I was in college I began to have chronic fatigue and lethargy, mental fog, lack of focus, and severe allergy and sinus congestion. My solution was to ignore the problems and hope that they went away while also frequenting the local drug store buying boxes of Sudafed to break up the nasal congestion. I struggled in school and had to stop the activities I enjoyed doing the most; mountain biking and basketball. This was my perfect storm. I let myself go on living like this for years, until I finally decided to do something about it. This led me to discover what creates the perfect storm in one’s life.

Your perfect storm can be traced back to three main stressors. These three stressors can occur at varying degrees of severity, but for each of the clients I have worked with, we have been able to pinpoint the time in their lives where all three of these stressors collided. These three stressors are:

• Emotional Stress
• Physical Stress
• Chemical Stress

I like to refer to these as the “Three T’s: Thoughts, Traumas, and Toxins.”

Thoughts

Psychological (mind) stressors such as the loss of a loved one, relationship issues, work stress, divorce, and financial strain, can trigger physiological (body) changes. These triggers affect hormones in your body such as cortisol and insulin, leaving you overweight, exhausted and mentally drained. An emotional trigger can have a ten times more profound impact on your health than a physical or chemical stress.

Traumas

The physical side of stress can be related to traumas that we have had in the past, work environment and daily activities. A car crash, slip and fall, living in chronic pain, or repetitive work strain (think sitting at a computer desk all day) can create functional problems which use up much needed energy stores from the body. For some, getting to the cause of the physical stressor may be your first step in getting well. For example, you may want to exercise on a more regular basis. You know that by exercising you will feel better and look better; however, you are in so much pain that exercise is difficult. If you can lessen or get rid of the pain first, you will then exercise more and your mood and overall well-being will improve!

Toxins

Chemicals or any foreign substance that our body does not recognize can be considered toxic. Toxic ingredients in our diet, body care products, water, home and work environments, and even medications or supplements that you may be taking could lead to higher body burden. The higher your body burden, the greater the chance of disease. Lessen the load by becoming more conscious of the environment outside your body and then you can work on removing the toxins (detoxification) from the inner environment.

Do you know when your perfect storm occurred? If so, what changes can you make today?

“It is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped.” – Tony Robbins