The 3 Different Types of Stressors: How They Could Be Impacting Your Health

When most of us think about stress, we immediately think of responsibilities, work, relationships, and the weight of day-to-day life. This is emotional or psychological stress and yes, it plays a major role in our overall health. But it’s only one piece of the puzzle. Two other categories of stress often go unnoticed: physical stress and environmental stress.

Physical stressors include things like poor sleep, over-exercising, a nutrient-poor diet, injury, and infections (viral, bacterial, or parasitic).
Environmental stressors are often harder to control and include exposure to pesticides, mold, pollution, heavy metals, noise and light pollution, and even a lack of natural sunlight.

Our modern world exposes us to more stressors than our bodies were ever designed to handle. Detoxification pathways, nutrient stores, and the nervous system become overwhelmed. As stress increases, the body burns through essential vitamins and minerals at a faster rate, while many people are simultaneously taking in fewer nutrients due to lifestyle and dietary factors. (This is a whole topic for another post!).

This is where I like to suggest functional testing like the GI-MAP or HTMA. These tests uncover hidden internal stressors, imbalances, and nutrient deficiencies, giving us a clearer roadmap to support your healing in a personalized, effective way.

Stress is inevitable, but its impact doesn’t have to be. Gentle, consistent lifestyle practices can dramatically buffer the burden stress places on your body. Small changes truly add up.

I created a free guide, 10 Daily Rituals to Calm Stress & Support Vibrant Health, to help you get started.

In this guide I discuss how stress impacts the body, examples of the three different types of stressors, and rituals you can introduce into your day that are simple, but make a great impact on buffering the effects of stress over time. Also included, a ritual tracker to keep you accountable :)