Stress
Stress is the psychological or physiological response to adverse or demanding circumstances that may result in emotional or mental strain.
Traditionally, stress triggers would have been a lion or a bear threatening our survival. Now, it is more likely to be a work project, bill payments or a fight with your significant other that triggers a stress response. The body’s response is the same - release of cortisol and adrenaline, diversion of blood from the brain and gut to the muscles to assist with fight or flight and an associated increase in heart rate, blood pressure and perspiration. The difference is that the lion or bear would either get you or not. After a relatively short period of time, your heart rate would return to normal, your blood pressure would stabilise and your hormones would balance once you returned to camp and connected with your tribe.
While a natural response that prompts us to address a threat, chronic stress can affect day-to-day functioning. Chronic stress can have such a profound effect on the body, it has been linked as a co-factor in 95% of all disease processes.
Types of stress
There are a number of forms of stress that you may experience
Physical - trauma, illness, injury, fatigue
Psychological - emotional, cognitive or perceptual
Psychosocial - relationship issues, lack of social support or lack of resources
Psychospiritual - values, meaning, purpose
Impacts of stress
As there are many forms of stress, there is also a suite of side-effects of stress, including:
Headaches
Insomnia
Mental health disorders including anxiety and depression
Gut issues
Social isolation
Risk-taking
Substance abuse
“The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another”
Coping with stressful situations
There are a number of things you can do to help cope with stressful situations, including:
Breathe deeply, focusing on extending the time taken to exhale
Take a break from social media and the news
Take care of yourself
Talk to someone
Connect with your community
Avoid drugs and alcohol
“Stress is an accelerator: it will push you either forward or back, but you choose which direction”
Managing stress
The very nature of our lives means that we are primed for a heightened stress response on a regular basis. It is important, therefore, that we learn to manage and minimise stress as much as possible. Thankfully, there are a number of things you can do, such as:
Meditate
Practice deep breathing
Exercise
Eat well
Connect with others
Rest
Removing stressors
There are times when it is possible to remove the source of stress from your life. An abusive relationship, an unhealthy job and poor living conditions may be something you can make changes to.
Remember to seek professional support if needed. Beyond Blue offer free counselling services in Australia and there are similar services available in other countries.
