how often do you find yourself in a situation where your to-do list seems endless, deadlines are fast approaching and the stress is building faster than you can get things done? Yes, us too!
But what is stress really, and how does it affect us?
We all think of stress as a bad thing, but this isn’t entirely true - if we didn’t feel stress, humankind would not have survived. For example, our ancestors, the cavemen, used the onset of stress to be alerted to a potential danger - like a sabre-toothed tiger.
Primarily, stress is a physical response. When stressed, our bodies think they are under attack and switch to ‘fight or flight’ mode, releasing a complex combination of hormones and chemicals like adrenaline, cortisol and norepinephrine to prepare our bodies for physical action. This causes a few reactions, blood is diverted to muscles we may be about to need, and unnecessary bodily functions such as digestion are shut down, no one needs digestion to fight a tiger, right?
The release of these hormones would mean the caveman gained a rush of energy, which prepared him to fight (or run away from) the tiger. That heart-pounding, fast breathing sensation and a boost of energy is the adrenaline - it enables us to focus our attention so we can respond quickly to the situation.
Nowadays, the fight or flight instinct can still help us to survive dangerous situations, but they are more likely to make us react quickly and slam on the brakes to a person running out in front of our car than to help us fight a tiger!
Now the thing about stress, it doesn’t simply wait in the wings until we need it, it is very common for us to feel stress in inappropriate situations. When blood flow is only going to the most important muscles needed to run or fight, brain function is minimised. This leads to the inability to ‘think straight’ - which can hinder us enormously in both our work and home lives. Being in a state of stress for a long time can be detrimental to our health. Having elevated cortisol levels in our bodies for extended periods of time can increase our sugar and blood pressure levels, and decrease libido.
So what happens in ‘fight’ and flight’ modes?
FIGHT - The most aggressive reaction to stress - you may feel agitated and aggressive towards others, can be a helpful reaction to ward of predators, but in unnecessary situations it can negatively affect relationships and ruin reputations
FLIGHT - When you try to avoid your stressors, removing yourself from the situation instead of tackling it head on (fight).This can save your life if you find yourself in dangerous surroundings, however in day to day life this can lead to stressful situations escalating - in turn making things even more stressful as the stress builds up and up until you are forced to face it
FREEZE - Have you heard the phrase “deer in the headlights”? This is the least known mode that stress can cause. For some, becoming stressed sets the stage for ‘dysregulation'. The energy mobilised by the perceived threat gets ‘locked’ into the nervous system and you freeze, like a deer in the headlights! This response sometimes reveals itself when you breathe - holding your breath and/or shallow breathing are forms of freeze, the occasional deep sigh is the nervous system catching up on oxygen intake.
The bridge analogy for stress
Stress is a condition or feeling experienced when a person believes that demands exceed the personal and social resources the individual is able to mobilise.
“Here at The Stress Management Society we use a bridge analogy to approach the topic of stress.
When a bridge is carrying too much weight, it will eventually collapse. It is possible to see the warning signs before this happens, the bridge would bow, buckle and creak.
The same principle can be applied to human beings, with excessive demands and challenges placed on our bridges. There may be early warning signs. However stress can creep up on some of us, resulting in an unexpected breakdown.”
The ‘bridge collapse’ in a person can take many forms:
Mental and emotional breakdown
Taking one’s own life
Serious health conditions such as:
- Cardiovascular disease (the heart is the first organ in the body to experience stress. The number 1 killer on the planet today is heart disease - it’s no coincidence that as we live under higher and higher levels of stress, heart disease is on the rise also.
- Stress has a profound impact on how our bodies function, Health experts are yet to officially prove that stress causes cancer, yet there is little doubt that stress makes our bodies more hospitable to cancer
- Stress can cause a rise in blood pressure - the main cause of haemorrhagic stroke is high blood pressure, which can weaken the arteries in the brain and make them prone to split or rupture
10 step stress solution:
It’s clear that simply choosing to not be stressed is not an option, so what can we do to try and reduce our own stress levels?
Prioritise your health - this can be so hard, life is busy and most people have lots to juggle with home and work life, but it’s vital to remember to leave time for yourself
Get a good nights sleep - see our previous article on World Sleep Day
Practice deep breathing - The following technique can be done anywhere and at almost any time. It is a simple technique with huge benefits.
Sit or stand in a comfortable, relaxed position with your spine erect.
Inhale slowly through your nose to the count of 5. Imagine a ball or balloon in your belly inflating
Hold the breathe in the ball or balloon in your belly for 5-10 seconds.
Count slowly to 8 as you exhale.
Repeat this several times.
TOP TIP – As you breathe, let your abdomen expand outward, rather than raising your shoulders. This is am ore relaxed, natural way to breathe and helps your lungs fill themselves more fully with fresh air.
Stay hydrated - aim to drink 2 litres of water each day
Eat for wellbeing - eat a balanced diet with lots of protein, fruits and vegetables
Get moving to combat stress - your body is expecting some kind of physical activity when it is feeling stressed. One way to take control of stress is to give your body what is was anticipating - exercise
Adopt a positive mindset - being in control of your thoughts increases your ability to find solutions to challenging situations and deal with stress more effectively
Master your time - to become more efficient at time management and planning your time, it is important to get better at estimating the amount of time things will take, like exercise, the more you do this, the easier it will get
Don’t be a slave to tech - did you know that on average a person checks their phone 150 times a day and receives 364 emails each week? Kind of scary when you think about it.
Learn to say no - this will save you taking on too much, trying to cram too many activities into too little time and constantly rushing from one thing to another.