After traumatic events, we often realize that we are drained, aren’t sleeping well, can’t focus or concentrate, run out of energy by mid-morning, and are reaching for more caffeine throughout the day. This tells us that it’s time to be rebuilding our bodies. Could be that life’s storms have pummeled the body causing adrenal fatigue from chronic stress, or from overworking the adrenal glands. Now your body may not feel as well as it used to and may need some targeted help.
Why Rebuild Our Bodies
With all the stresses of life, it really does matter that we take time to rebuild our bodies. If you are in your 20s, you may think that rebuilding your body is not a big deal or maybe not even important. But, as we age and have more responsibilities, and go through life’s traumas and stresses, we learn that rebuilding our bodies is critical.
First, when we are well-rested and we feel better we can function at a higher level throughout each day. Second, keeping our bodies healthy contributes to a more robust immune system, which leads to greater health. Third, taking time after stressful seasons to detox from higher-than-usual stress levels and re-group mentally and physically is a wise thing to do. Fourth, rebuilding our bodies contributes to healthier brains and far better cognitive functioning.
How to Rebuild Our Bodies
How you rebuild your body after a traumatic event depends on what that event was and what the critical starting points are for rebuilding. For instance, if you spent weeks at the bedside of someone in the hospital with a terminal disease that ultimately passes away, you will need to catch up on a great deal of quality sleep—if you can sleep. Often after that kind of traumatic event, it can be difficult to sleep well. There can be so many loose ends to handle that the mind tends to keep making lists after you lie down to sleep. Often we don’t even realize how exhausted we are b/c we’re running on adrenaline. 
So the way a person rebuilds his body after caring for a terminally ill relative might be far different from the way someone would who just moved out of his parent’s house and into his apartment. Yes, he would want to rest up a little after the big move, but that type of event is more positive than negative. So even though positive events can be traumatic because of the changes required, they may not negatively impact your life as much. For instance, if you take a new job and move to another state that will not be as traumatic as a dear loved one passing away or being unable to pay your rent or mortgage on time.
What to Do Long-Term
Rest. That’s right! Rest! I’m not saying to lounge around in bed. But, getting adequate, quality rest daily is a big deal. Our bodies need time to de-stress, relax, unwind, and replenish from the challenges of each day. Know when to rest and when to get to work. Without adequate rest, our cognitive abilities can decrease and poor decisions occur. Who wants that, right?
Prayer and Bible reading. Of all the things I can list to help you rebuild your body, these two are the most important to me. God created us and will help us but we need to read the Owner’s Manual that He gave us—The Bible. Both prayer and Bible reading restore peace and calm to our weary bodies and souls. What we can learn as we read the Bible will greatly help us walk in peace in the midst of chaotic situations. You can read more on how to do that here.
Listen to Your Body! That’s huge! Too many people think that they can keep going by simply pushing through or by consuming caffeine or some other kind of stimulant. Wrong! That will wear you out faster and will ultimately require more and more of it to sustain your body. However, at the same time, your body will be crashing because it’s not getting what it really needs.
Decrease Stress. I live in the city and driving in city traffic can be stressful. So I prefer to avoid rush hour traffic whenever I can because people are often using their cars to push and shove, following too closely, bullying, etc., in their haste to get to or from work. Traveling at other times whenever that’s possible decreases my stress. It’s easy to get used to stress and not consider that it’s still there and affecting our bodies. But it does!
Exercise is another important factor for health. If nothing else, we can get outside and walk for 20 to 30 minutes every day to get fresh air, move our bodies, and de-stress as we enjoy nature. Or use a mini trampoline to get your heart rate up. No gym membership is required. Buy some free weights of various sizes and use those. Keep it simple. Exercise at your own pace and be reasonable. No need to beat yourself up and go overboard trying to do intense exercises when they are beyond the strength and stamina that you may currently have when rebuilding your body. That can increase your cortisol level which may already be higher than usual due to the traumatic event you went through.
Focus on relaxing things. Despite possibly having to handle many challenging things after a loved one passes away, take time to also shift your focus to more enjoyable, pleasant things. After all, you need some positive things to balance out the major changes you’re facing.
Check Your Thoughts. How can your body relax and replenish if you’re constantly worried about everything and how situations will turn out? It can’t. Thinking about negative things will do more harm to your already stressed-out body that you’re trying to rebuild. So think about what you’re thinking about and make the changes necessary to help de-stress your body and mind.
Take your vitamins and supplements. Support your body with what might be lacking due to stressful times with vitamins and supplements. You will even find stress formulas available that combine various vitamins and supplements to help your body better cope with higher stress levels.
Conclusion
Hopefully, this post gave you some practical ideas that you can implement today. The stresses of life can take their toll on the body if not proactively addressed on a regular basis. So jump in there and diligently apply these tips. I look forward to hearing your comments about ways that you have rebuilt your body after stressful situations. Thanks for reading and thank you in advance for sharing your comments.