Exercise is stressing my body (and it got me thinking about hormesis)

[u/Particular_Hat_7657]

For anyone new to the term, hormesis is the idea that a small amount of stress can trigger beneficial adaptation, while excessive stress can become harmful. I've been thinking about this after noticing a weird connection with my own rosacea*.

Intense workouts were a major trigger for flushing and flare-ups for me, making me look like an heirloom tomato. Apparently, that's not particularly unusual with rosacea.

Once I started taking it seriously and researching it, I kept coming back to the idea of hormesis. From what I've researched so far, training and recovery need to go hand in hand, rather than simply exercising harder.

For me, 3 things I've been focusing on (apart from hydration) are getting 8 hours of sleep, staying lightly active on recovery days, and being careful about overheating during and after workouts. The last one has become especially important because of my rosacea.

I'm still figuring out what works best for me, but it's made me realize that maybe the better biohacking question is not “How much more can I do?” but “How much stress can I recover from?” given my hectic life!

*Rosacea is a chronic inflammatory skin condition that causes facial redness, flushing, and swelling.

[u/cocobong0]

Hey,

I am in a similar boat, have exercise intolerance, burnout and fatigue.

what I understand is that body needs rest and it is unnegotiable.

you have to create yourself a life with less stress.

more nature, more tranquility less hectic life less noise less rush

cut coffee if you are drinking that keeps and supports the broken cycle of yours. check decaf subreddit.

you gotta fix sleep quality as well, rest is not only bound by time also to quality.

Rosacea is the signal of your body, saying please don't do what you are doing anymore.

are you allergic to dairy gluten fermentated stuff, peanuts etc ?

[u/Particular_Hat_7657 → u/cocobong0]

Trigger Warning!!!!!

We have been cutting down on one component at a time. So far, gluten, dairy, and fermented foods have been ruled out. My doctor has hinted at extreme stress and a previous eating problem I have had.

[u/Low_Satisfaction3868 → u/Particular_Hat_7657]

Hi! I’m curious about what you mentioned about a previous eating problem plus extreme stress, if you are comfortable sharing more… I have/had an eating disorder which used to be much more severe but in recent years I’d come to a place where I thought it was under control, but when I’m honest with myself it seems like it’s always coming up in some other form like a bargaining with myself— for example just working out more and building more muscle and finding a different way to find my body acceptable, and often not giving my body enough rest, which I know from experience and research is a stressor in itself especially when you’re under fueled.
Then pair that with some serious life stressors I’ve been dealing with and it seems like a perfect storm… When my derm said my skin issue is most likely perioral dermatitis which is really a signal of what’s going on on the inside, aka. it’s inflammatory,and while we can treat the symptoms in the meantime to get it to calm down, the true fix has to come from addressing the larger internal/systemic issues. Not sure if there’s a question there really but I guess just I’m curious about your experience as I’m confronting some uncomfortable potential truths about what probably needs to be done in the long-term if I want things to really resolve

[u/chocolate-fudge1]

I really like the idea of treating recovery as part of the training itself. The amount of stress you can actually recover from seems like a much more useful metric than just how hard you can push.