Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
44. The One About Hidden Stressors: What’s Secretly Stressing Your Body?
20 Plays22 days ago
In this week’s episode of The Mindful Educator podcast, I’m diving into a topic that impacts every single one of us - stress. But not just the obvious stress we often talk about like busy schedules, overwhelm, or mental load. We’re exploring the hidden stressors that may be quietly impacting your body, mind, and nervous system every day without you even realising.
From cleaning products and perfumes to clutter, food, screens, plastics, and even what we consume online - this episode is all about bringing awareness to the little things that can slowly add to our body’s stress load over time.
I share some of the gradual changes we’ve been making in our own home, the trial-and-error process that comes with low-tox living, and why this journey is absolutely not about perfection. It’s about awareness, balance, and making manageable changes that actually work for your life.
This is not an episode designed to guilt or overwhelm you. Instead, it’s an invitation to become more mindful of what’s around you, what you’re consuming, and how it may be affecting your wellbeing.
In This Episode, We Cover:
- The difference between obvious stress and hidden environmental stressors
- How cleaning products, perfumes, deodorants, candles, and toiletries may impact the body
- Why low-tox living doesn’t have to happen overnight
- The slow process of swapping products and finding what works for you
- Plastics, food containers, chopping boards, and microplastics
- Thoughts around food quality, processed foods, fresh produce, and convenience
- Why clutter and mess can increase stress levels
- The impact of social media, podcasts, TV, and news consumption on the nervous system
- Learning to honour your own capacity and reduce information overload
- The importance of progress over perfection when making lifestyle changes
Key Takeaway
Awareness is powerful. You do not need to overhaul your entire life overnight to support your health and wellbeing. Small, intentional changes over time can have a significant impact - and what works for one person may not work for another. This episode is simply here to encourage curiosity, mindfulness, and informed choices without fear, shame, or perfectionism.
Connect With Me
Website: www.victoria-r.com.au
Instagram: @the.victoria.r
Email: hello@victoria-r.com.au
If you enjoyed this episode, I’d love for you to share it with someone who may need the reminder that supporting your wellbeing doesn’t have to look perfect - it can simply start with awareness and one small change at a time.
Recommended
Transcript
Understanding Stress and Everyday Life
00:00:37
Victoria R
Hello everyone, welcome to the Mindful Educator podcast. Thank you again for joining me this week and we're talking today about something that um I love talking about and I think it's because I can relate to it so much and it has had such a big impact on my life and that is actually stress and I bet you're like oh Victoria that's a bit weird um but hear me out. so often we hear the term stress thrown around all the time like it's Yeah, throwing out like we're throwing out candy to everyone. And although we understand that obviously stress equals bad, um stressful events equal bad results, all the rest of it, there's often a lot of things in our life that are contributing to our stress levels without us fully being aware of them. Or we may have heard stories We should swap this to something else, but we're not really sure why we need to be doing that. And so I wanted to touch on that a little bit today because I know for us personally, we're making a few little changes in our home, um just slowly kind of taking some things out and putting some other things in or you know, removing things altogether. And I just wanted to share with you some of that and some of which we are doing.
Impact of Toxins and Product Choices
00:01:47
Victoria R
And so when we talk about stress, like I said, a lot of the time it's those, the events that we're, um you know, having to participate in or the fact that we're running from one thing to the next. And yes, we're, you know, we've got so much, we're so busy, our stress levels increase.
00:02:06
Victoria R
But what people aren't recognizing is that There's a lot of hidden things that also contribute to our stress that you may not be aware of. And one of the probably bigger ones is things like our cleaning products. so a lot of the time we have um cleaning products that, you know, probably our parents have used or that, you know, you go get from the supermarket or whatever it might be, and we think that they're they're fine. But all those toxins and everything that is in them are slowly adding to the stress that is on our body. So we've got lots lots of environmental stresses that we're not quite aware of. so cleaning products is a big one, and it's a big one in that
00:02:44
Victoria R
It's stuff that we use all the time. You know, we, you know, I'm guessing most of us clean our house regularly. um You know, you wash your clothes, you wash your dishes, and you've got your dishwasher that has a dishwashing detergent. um you do your spray and wipe, you know, wiping down a shower. So things that we do every single day and the products that we use, some of them are not great for our bodies at all. They are full of toxic products and a lot of the time um these products are actually found in things that we probably don't really, really want to be associating ourselves with.
00:03:21
Victoria R
So this is one of those changes that can actually be quite simple to make and It's a case of trying to find um a product that firstly is within your budget. I think that's a really important thing to note as well because a lot of the time when we're trying to make these changes, it does come across as really expensive. But when we break it down and when we actually take that time to research it, it's actually not too bad, the difference.
Transition to Natural Products
00:03:45
Victoria R
um And so, you know, finding something that firstly works within your budget and then secondly actually is low-tox. So there is a lot of misleading advertising out there that claim to be low-tox products, which actually aren't. So this is where it's, you know, up to you to kind of do your research a little bit. You'll probably get, you know, all your Facebook and Instagram ads and all sorts coming up and targeting you. um But it's it's quite interesting when you actually delve into it. So that is kind of one of the the big things that um we don't realize does impact the stress on our bodies. And another thing that we don't realize, again, that we use probably every single day are things like our perfumes, our deodorants, our toothpaste. So all these things, again, depending on what is actually in them, may be contributing to the stress that is within your body.
00:04:41
Victoria R
Now, for me personally, I made the change to a more natural deodorant a couple of years ago now. um most of it It did take me a little while to try and find one that works. And it there was almost like ah um a teething process as well in that process.
00:04:58
Victoria R
your but your body almost kind of has to get used to not having something so synthetic on it and so it didn't seem to be as effective as what I'd been buying from the supermarket for all these years but I over time it has actually worked better and so i found deodorant that works best for me um and I've started my children that are at that age where they need deodorants on these ones as well my husband still working on him but then I've also just recently made the change to in regards to perfume so I love perfumes like I've got a lot and I do love them it's one of my um one of my little guilty pleasures that I love to indulge in and so to be able to light change
00:05:43
Victoria R
like all the perfumes that I love to something more natural, it's taken a little bit longer because I'm like, oh, I love them so much. So i have recently brought some little sample packs of perfumes. So there's, like I said, there's quite a lot out there. Once again, once you dive down the rabbit hole, millions will come up. Um, and so I found a couple of scents that I really like. so they're on their way, the bigger version of them to me as we speak. Um, but like i said, that, that one did take a little bit longer than the rest. Um, and the other one is toothpaste. So toothpaste has been, this is a really interesting one as well.
00:06:21
Victoria R
Because, yeah, there's there's a camp that's like, oh, we need all the stuff that's in the toothpaste that you get, um like all your Colgate and all the rest of it. And then there's, you know, the other side that's like, oh, no, that's really bad. You need to have this. But then...
00:06:36
Victoria R
that may affect your teeth in different ways. So again, it's up to you to kind of do your research into these things. And I'm just kind of, like I said, I'm just bringing all this to your awareness and do with it as you will.
Lifestyle Balance: Low-tox Living and Enjoyment
00:06:46
Victoria R
um But there are some low tox and low, like better quality toothpaste out there as well.
00:06:53
Victoria R
And so on that as well is things like one thing I didn't even consider were things like, you know, how you have all your lovely candles or um like all your smelly um reed sticks and all that in your house. That's another thing that can also contribute to body stress. i'm like ah And it's so once you kind of hear all this, it's like, wow, there's actually a lot to it. Like there's, there's a lot in our environments, a lot that we um kind of don't even think about that are probably adding to the stress of our bodies. And this is where I just want to say, when, when you start looking at making these changes, just do it slowly, just do it really slowly. If you're wanting to change from the products that you're using to something more natural or more low-tox, then like take your time. Like this for me has been years, years in the making, years of trial and error. And, you know, even with some things like cleaning products, I am still like trial and error in some of them. Like some of them I don't like at all. Others work a little bit better than others. um And some in some cases I've just had to Admit to the fact that I do need to use a really strong product in order to tackle whatever cleaning it is that's required at the time. So like i said, just approach this
00:08:17
Victoria R
knowing that this is a long game type thing. This isn't a let's go in and get rid of absolutely everything and start fresh. No, no. Let's do it bit by bit because it is it is a big thing when you start looking into it and when you start realizing the effects that it could be having on your body and you're kind of like, oh my gosh. And then, you know, the guilt starts like, oh my God, am I doing the right thing? And so we go we're down the rabbit hole. But like I said, I just want to remind you that bit by bit, finish off whatever products you have. And then if you're wanting to start with some better alternatives, once they're finished, then start with them. all right. Because like I said, we don't want to be just throwing money out. We don't want to be you know throwing products out, all the rest of it, but it's a slow process. And it's one that I ask you to do your own research into as well. And some stuff, who cares? You might be like, that does not bother me. Like,
00:09:08
Victoria R
You know, I love that too much, like me with the perfumes, like I've been loving them too much to even consider changing up until this point. So that is totally okay as well. Take everything in this episode just as information, information to do with as you will.
00:09:24
Victoria R
And so another change that I've been making um in our house has been changing over our food containers, which doesn't sound like a big one, but often, um I ah don't know about you guys, I went through the whole Tupperware thing.
00:09:37
Victoria R
You know, everything was Tupperware. We love Tupperware. Tupperware's been around for years, no longer anymore, I don't think. um But now I'm actually changing from using like plastic containers to glass containers. And again, it is a process. It's a slow process. It's not everything's changed over. There's still plenty of plastic in that cupboard, but there is also some glass in there now. So it's once again, just making those slow little changes. um And the reason for doing that and for changing to things like not using plastic boards, like cutting boards, but changing it to using like wooden cutting and cutting boards is when you actually look into um kind of how much plastic gets into your food just from cutting on a plastic cutting board. It's actually quite like, oh, wow.
00:10:22
Victoria R
One thing that I also have seen recently and looked into is chewing gum. Chewing gum has a lot of plastic it and I love chewing gum. Chewing gum is one of those things that I've just, yeah, always got chewing gum everywhere. So for me, I'm like, okay, that's probably one that I'm going to have to start looking at future. Like this is like me with a perfume. We'll look at it it in a little bit. I'm aware of it now and now I can kind of start putting the feelers out and seeing if there's other alternatives. um But for the moment, I'm like, oh, I'm still going to have my chews.
00:10:53
Victoria R
okay this is where it's like you can take with this knowledge what you will like no one is saying you have to do this it is just more and informing you of these things in case you weren't aware So obviously a along like what we're putting into our mouth in terms of that consumption of things, obviously the food. Food is a huge one as well. And again, this is something that I have been doing a bit of trial and error with um over the years and I still haven't found –
00:11:25
Victoria R
The full answer for us, especially, you know, living a few hours away from the main city, things can be a little bit harder to get our hands on. But, you know, one thing um that we get in town, we get some fresh ah produce deliveries, which is great. So they come weekly.
00:11:40
Victoria R
And that's been really good as well, just to know that a lot of what we're getting is a lot fresher, a lot better.
Food Choices and Environmental Impact on Stress
00:11:47
Victoria R
um Hopefully not as many chemicals and sprays being used on them. We did try the whole veggie garden thing and for us it was a bit of a disaster. ah Yeah, we managed to grow stuff but the bugs got to them before we could. So that, again, is something that eventually I would like to have something a bit more established but – it all comes down to your time and your energy and your costs and all the rest of it. So like I said, this is where if you can purchase something that's already been done for you, then why wouldn't you in that regard? So i know I've also been trying to make sure like even things like our flowers.
00:12:26
Victoria R
um So crops and everything is sprayed quite extensively um in order to all kind of die at the same time so they can be harvested at the same time. But obviously what is happening when they're being sprayed, then those chemicals are going into our food that we're eventually going to consume from whatever that product was made from.
00:12:46
Victoria R
And so looking into where your flour comes from can be a big one. And I always find this really interesting. I i know there's no, i don't know if there's any actual studies on this, but pretty much everyone I speak to that has gluten intolerances here in Australia, when they travel and go to Italy, they don't have that those same issues to the same extent that they do when they're at home and I find that really really intriguing because it's like what are the Italians doing differently over there and from what I have gathered and like I said don't take this as science this is just my observations from what I have gathered is that they don't use a lot of chemicals if any in their
00:13:28
Victoria R
um flowers and all the rest of it which means therefore the the gut is able to actually break it down a lot easier than what it is over here and it's not um you know filling their bodies with all these not so great things so like I said it's really interesting and I know that in Perth there's ah the rest Restore I think which is um you know lots of Italian produce there haven't been able to get there for ages so I'm hoping to go there and have a bit of a bit of an investigation and see what's around and see what I can kind of get my hands on that might be a little bit better quality than perhaps what we're finding on our supermarket shelves. so like I said, food is a big one and making sure that we are trying to consume more fresh produce rather than
00:14:14
Victoria R
processed food, which can be so tricky, especially when it comes to convenience, because obviously it's a lot easier just to grab something and go um than you know, to be making things and doing it from scratch and all the rest of it. And again, this comes down to your capacity, your energy, your time, your money, all
Home and Digital Environment's Role in Stress
00:14:34
Victoria R
the rest of it. So like I said, it's just giving you this knowledge, this information, and it's for you to do with as you will. And don't get me wrong, we have processed foods in our house as well. i am definitely trying to ensure though that we get more of the fresh produce and even just looking at where our meat is coming from as well. um because obviously there's a lot of chemicals and stuff put into meat to preserve it so it you know lasts longer. And then the meat when they're actually alive, like the animals when they're alive, or they're actually fed as well, I can trickle down. And like I said, it is a minefield, but all these things, they do they do build up in our body. And this is where
00:15:17
Victoria R
Like I said, we've got our obvious signs of stress, but these are the not so obvious ones that I wanted to just bring to your awareness because we may not know about them. You may not have known this and you've been like, oh, okay. And it just gives you that chance to just be a little bit more aware and um like said, a little bit more knowledgeable when you are making decisions in regard to this. Now, obviously there's obvious ones like um your drugs and your alcohol.
00:15:44
Victoria R
We know that they do have an effect on our body. And you know, sometimes you just want a glass of wine and that's okay. That is fine. and so ah this is where you've just got to find what works for you. And um I'm laughing because one of my family members recently got told, that it would be beneficial for her to cut out.
00:16:10
Victoria R
I think it was um sugary stuff, alcohol, and there was one other. I can't remember what the other one was. She was like, ah so pretty much everything I love, like, no And it's like, no, you don't have to cut it out. It just might be a case of just reducing the amount that you're consuming. And again, you know, yeah we do only live once. So we've got to enjoy this life as well. We can't be so stringent that we're not actually enjoying what we're doing as well.
00:16:40
Victoria R
So they're just a couple of the things. And then some other stuff I was thinking about when I was thinking about recording this episode just just Even things like when you walk into your home, if you've got mess and clutter everywhere, you will probably feel within your body almost like your stress levels are rising when you see this. So something like having a home where it's a lot, you know, clearer surfaces, there's not clutter everywhere, where, you know, things are kind of kept on top of, where everyone helps pick things up. that can have a really huge impact on your stress levels as well because it is known that if you are walking somewhere and there's stress and um if there's clutter and mess and it's really overwhelming, then yes, of course your stress levels are going to rise when they see that and it will have an effect on you.
00:17:34
Victoria R
And so again, if you can just, you know, have like set your alarm or your timer for like 10 minutes and just be like, right, everyone, let's get in there. Let's pick everything up. Let's put it away.
00:17:45
Victoria R
and just doing those little things at the end of each day, like just a quick vacuum over the floor. Like I literally run the vacuum over the floor every single day. And it takes probably less than five minutes because it's just one one of those things that I do. Whatever kind of sand or mess has got on the floor in that time, i just vacuum it up and it's done.
00:18:03
Victoria R
easy. And to me, it's actually quite meditative as well. I kind of go off on my little zone when I'm um vacuuming just my quick little five minute vacuum. so those things can really make a difference as well. Just leaving a cloth in the bathroom so you can just wipe the sinks down really quickly if there's a bit of mess or a bit of toothpaste has got somewhere. And it's kind of just those those little habits that just help keep on top of it, which means that it's then not going to become um bigger than Ben Hur and then becomes really overwhelming and then our stress levels rise. So just again, those little, little things that we can start integrating some way just to help lower that stress level.
00:18:42
Victoria R
um And there was one other, what was i going to say? oh that was the other one. What we're actually consuming in terms of our screens. This is a really, really interesting one. um There has been studies done into this as well. and Obviously, what we consume on things like social media, on TV, um even the books that we read, all that sort of stuff can directly influence our stress levels as well. um Social media obviously is probably the more stressful one um regards to all that. So if you are finding yourself doing that the doomless scroll and you're feeling really crappy about yourself, there's a very good chance that your stress levels have risen somewhere in that. You know, you might be comparing yourself to someone, you might be saying, you know, everyone's perfect houses and be like, oh, why doesn't my house look like that? um You might be finding that there's a whole fear mongering going on, all the propaganda, all this overload of information. And you might just be like, no, enough.
00:19:45
Victoria R
enough. You know, even things like podcasts, you know, as great as podcasts are, they can get overwhelming at times. So you need to check in with yourself and check in with your capacity to actually take on this outside influence. Can you actually hold this at the moment? Can you be dealing with being told this, that, and everything else from podcasts, from social media, from TV, from news, all the rest of it, This is, again, where you need to just have that awareness within your own body, within your own mind and be like, actually, it's um at my capacity. I can't consume any of this external stuff. I can't consume any of this, you know all these things in the news that are just stressing me to the max. Like, don't then. all right? It is okay not to watch the news. It is okay not to go on social media, all right? It is okay not to be listening to podcasts. It is okay just to go for a walk and not have anything in your
Adapting to Low-tox Lifestyle and Upcoming Insights
00:20:40
Victoria R
ears. That is okay.
00:20:42
Victoria R
ah So just a few things to remember. And just, like I said, this episode, it's not designed to get you overhauling everything and, you know, all right,
00:20:55
Victoria R
that's it, I've had enough, you know, let's change absolutely everything in your life. I can tell you right now, your mind will rebel, it will not work. It needs to be something that is a slow process and one that you research research thoroughly and that fits for your lifestyle, fits for where you're at in your life, whether you've got young children or older children, whether you're single, whether you're married, whatever it might be, it needs to be like manageable for you.
00:21:22
Victoria R
and like I said, this is just to inform you of some things to keep an eye out. Do I live a completely tox-free life? Of course not.
00:21:32
Victoria R
All right. For me, i I'm running two businesses with three children with my partner. Like that's just not going to happen. And so this is where, like I said, it's been a very, very slow process for for us to change things over. And a lot of the time, my husband and my kids don't even notice. It's something that I am choosing to do for the betterment of my family. And so, you know, like we need a new container. So yeah, it was an easy swap out for me. It's like, right, well, you know, these rest of the plastic ones that are no longer fitting things or aren't looking that great, they can either go in the bin or go to the op shop. And, you know, we've got this nice glass containers that we can start using now. So just little things like that, changing over. um What else did I change? Like I said, the deodorant, the perfume, you know, as I said to you, the perfume, that's taken many, many years. I've been aware of it and I did try a few years back and I was like, ugh, these all smell like crap.
00:22:30
Victoria R
And I was like, that's not happening. um Whereas it' now it's like, right, I'm ready to try again. You know, we have tried um the dishwasher. I still haven't found something that works as well. So we're still using what we can buy at the supermarket. But that is one that is kind of like, all right,
00:22:47
Victoria R
you know, it's at the back of my mind. I know that I'm kind of keeping ah an eye out without actively going out to look for things. So if I come across something, I'm willing to give it a try. um And that's the thing, you will probably get some products and be like, this is really crap or I really don't like this. It doesn't mean you give up. It just means that that wasn't the right one for you, like anything. so like I said, just keep an open mind as you do this. Don't try and do it all at once and just know that this is kind of like a long game um type of process.
00:23:16
Victoria R
And if you have got some products that you use or you found things that work really well, please share them with me because it's something that I'm always eye on the lookout for. And I always love to hear more about it because and I'm like, oh, that if that's a really good brand, then I'm going to look into that one. um So that is my episode for today. um i have got a great guest interview coming next week um with a nutritionist, dietitian, nutritionist. um I'm really looking forward to sharing that with you and it's been really interesting actually chatting to her too and getting a few perspectives on some different things. So i can't wait for you to listen to that one. In the meantime, have an amazing week. Like I said, share with me any brands, um anything that you've kind of come across yourself.
00:24:02
Victoria R
Otherwise, I will speak to you very soon.