While we cannot completely eradicate stressful situations from our lives, we can be aware of the effects stress can cause us emotionally and physically. We can learn the tools and techniques to reduce stress, and we can use these to remain calm and collected during stressful situations.
What is stress?
Stress is a feeling of being put under abnormal pressure, whether getting stuck in traffic on the way to work, having difficult colleagues, or having a long-standing family feud; it is inevitable and maybe even predictable that we will experience stress in some form or another. During these frustrating or uncomfortable situations, you may feel threatened and upset, which will cause a stress response. This can change the way you behave and heighten your emotions. What can be surprising is the long-lasting toll this stress can put on us.
Symptoms of being stressed:
- Low energy
- Headaches
- Aches, pains, and tense muscles
- Chest pain and rapid heartbeat
- Insomnia
- Frequent colds and infections
The stress hormones
When your body misinterprets a frustrating situation as a threat, for example, being called to an unexpected meeting, your hypothalamus (a section of your brain) sets off an alarm system in your body. These triggered nerve and hormonal signals prompt your adrenal glands to release stress hormones, including adrenaline and cortisol.
Adrenaline
Adrenaline is a hormone that will:
- Increase your heart rate
- Elevate your blood pressure
- Boost your energy supplies
Some people enjoy the excitement they feel from a rush of adrenaline. These self-proclaimed "Adrenaline Junkies" will actively seek to prompt the fight or flight response by engaging in such activities.
Cortisol
Cortisol is the primary stress hormone that will:
- Increase glucose in the bloodstream
- enhance the brain's use of glucose
- Increase the availability of substances that can repair tissue
Cortisol will also limit bodily functions not essential during a fight or flight situation. It can alter immune responses and suppress digestive and reproductive systems.
Once the body is aware that the perceived threat has passed, the hormone levels return to normal. As adrenaline and cortisol levels drop, your heart rate and blood pressure return to their natural state, and your systems can resume regular activities.
When a person is regularly feeling stressed, the fight or flight mode becomes the natural state, which can be exhausting and detrimental to health.
What can I do to reduce stress?
There are three steps you can take if you are feeling stressed:
When, What, and Why.
When: Try to connect between feeling tired or ill and when feeling this way. Look for physical warnings, such as a headache or tense muscles, and connect them with a moment in your day causing these symptoms.
What: Identify the causes! Try to find relief from your stress by putting the reasons into three categories;
1) Those with a practical solution
2) Those that will improve or elevate with time
3) Those you have no control over
Once you have categorised your stress, you can either let it go or work towards a solution positively.
Why: Now it's time to review.
Are you taking on too much work?
Can you delegate?
Can you methodically and leisurely work through your list of things to do?
You may need to prioritise the things you want to achieve to release the pressure built by trying to tackle too many things at once.
One of our favourite ways to relieve stress is to practice mindfulness.
What is mindfulness?
Mindfulness is the art of paying attention. Focusing the mind on something specific and allowing external thoughts to pass. It is an effective tool you can use to thrive and live to your fullest potential in all areas of your life.
What can mindfulness do for you?
Mindfulness can help us in many aspects of our day-to-day lives by:
- Improving memory
- Improving brain function
- Improving decision-making abilities
- Improving the ability to focus on one task at a time
- Reducing levels of anxiety
- Reducing levels of pain
- Reducing the risk of self-destructive behaviour
The benefits of practicing mindfulness can also include the enhancement of the following:
- Creativity
- Emotional resilience
- Clarity of thought
It can help to reduce the following:
- Stress
- Powerlessness
- Fatigue
- Somatic Illness
If we can encourage our minds to "be in the moment," which is a term we give to the state of mind when there is a neutral and accepting awareness of the present moment, we can feel more alive and in control. You can sense the tug of the past and the future, but you have chosen to focus on the opportunity and potential of the present moment.
Our top tips to be more mindful;
- Meditate/practice yoga or breathwork
- Focus on one thing at a time
- Take regular breaks and periods of rest
- Eat healthy, nutritious food slowly
- Exercise
- Spend time in nature
- Practice gratitude
