Breaking down stress

As I began my training as a practitioner I could never have appreciated how interested I would become in the topic of stress and it's devastating impact on our bodies. I attempt in this article to explain some of the highlights of what I have learned and understood with some useful tips to avoid chronic stress where possible.....

“The goal isn’t to live in a state of perpetual balance and peace and calm; the goal is to move through stress to calm, so that you’re ready for the next stressor, and to move from effort to rest and back again.”

Having been recommended the book "When the body says no" by Gabor Mate I had my eyes opened to the many exhaustive ways in which chronic stress can present itself and the impact and connections between the psychological, neural and immune systems. In his book Mate presents a variety of medical evidence linking the repression of emotions (particularly in childhood) to chronic stress thus triggering many more serious health concerns.

This year I have watched friends and colleagues suffer serious physical reactions (skin reactions, heart palpitations) to stressful work and home environments (and those merging as lock down hit) and it starts to make complete sense when you understand the signals the brain is sending. As our brain receives the perceived threat/trigger it activates what is described as the sympathetic nerve system. This starts at the hypothalamus (part of the brain responsible for stress response) which triggers reactions in the pituitary and adrenal glands which in turn release powerful hormones (Adrenalin and Cortisol) into our bodies to help us deal with the perceived immediate threat.

The same fight or flight response that was/is so crucial in the face of a real danger becomes dangerous to us instead as in today's society we can create an almost permanent state of response. Our senses and brain signals become triggered by today's threats which could be as something like a difficult email from a boss, public speaking, a sales target that isn't in reachable, a break up with someone we love. What happens is that we have created the same association with danger and reaction as if it were being chased by lions in the olden days which isn't sustainable in the long term.

This sense of heightened reaction means that we essentially hit the panic button triggering adrenaline (to help us run) and cortisol (for increased alertness) to flood through our bodies on a regular basis which can have devastating impacts on the nervous and immune systems. The other challenge is that traditionally the counter process to triggering the sympathetic immune system is the lack activation he parasympathetic nervous system which works in conjunction with the sympathetic nervous system after it has done it's job. Its main function is to activate the "rest and digest" response and return the body to homeostasis (stability) after the fight or flight response. As we don't ever see the "threats" through to this final phase as they are more emotional than physical we often don't allow this counter process to kick in and restore our chemical status to its stable state. This cycle, this need to complete the stress process to be healthy is called the "stress cycle".

The great news is there are many tricks we can leverage to help us complete the stress cycle and help us to return to homeostasis (where our body is regulated) I recently had the pleasure of watching a talk by authors Emily and Amelia Nagoski (authors of Burn out - the secrets to unlocking the stress cycle) and here are some of their ideas for modern life that they recommend which can mimic the natural response required by our bodies to take us through the stress cycle and back to calm;

1) Move (traditionally this would to run (away from the danger)) but this could be any form of physical exercise, dancing, walking, yoga the list is endless

2) Sleep (in the wild animals that have escaped danger will rest and recuperate before going back to the plains)

3) Cry or feel you emotions - allow them to play out as best you can. Gabor Mate's book (When the body say's no) talks at length about the danger of the repression of emotions particularly through times of stress and the connection to serious health issues later in life.

4) Connect - physically connect with someone with a hug or socially with a conversation

5) Connect with nature - that could be stroking your pet, walking outside, feeling the elements in someway or other or simple mindfulness

6) Express yourself in anyway that feels right for you - colour, sing, journal, write

7) Laugh ! Laughter releases chemicals that help our body feel like we are safe

So whilst we can't live life in a state of continuous harmony we can help ourselves by recognising that stress is real and allowing ourselves to move through it and back to "homeostasis" as quickly and as kindly as is possible. Good luck !