Stress is a word that is often thrown around in our daily conversations. We know we are stressed when we feel it and we all experience varying degrees of stress from time-to-time. We are told to manage our stress by our family, friends, doctors, and the media.

Chances are, you’ve been told to “practice self-care”. Maybe you’ve tried, but it doesn’t seem to stick—or maybe you feel like your busy schedule doesn’t really have any extra room for self-care.

Regardless of the reason, you feel stuck in being stressed and overwhelmed and you’re ready for a change.

What is Stress?

When broken down to its simplest form, stress is the way the body responds neurologically and physiologically when it is exposed to a real or perceived disruption to our balance, stability, or safety. These threats are called stressors, which can be anything that activates, overwhelms, and strains our ability to cope with our senses. Stressors can be anything that we see, taste, feel, hear, smell, or imagine that puts us at risk for emotional or physical harm.

The brain’s most critical job is to ensure our survival. Our response to stress is a highly adaptive and incredibly synchronized process that impacts the entire body in a matter of seconds. This happens usually before we realize it!

How Do We Know When We Are Stressed?

While everyone’s stress response can differ, there are various symptoms that commonly show up when we are stressed out.

Common symptoms of stress can include:

·       Frustration, irritability, and anger

·       Fatigue & Exhaustion

·       Difficulty focusing, concentrating, decision-making, prioritizing, and problem-solving

·       Memory problems

·       Brain fog

·       Headaches

·       Muscle and joint pain/tension

·       Anxiety and depression

·       Sleep difficulties

·       Appetite changes

·       Diarrhea & Indigestion

·       Nausea

·       Weight changes

·       Sexual and libido challenges

·       Frequent illness or infections

·       Isolation & Withdrawal from people and activities we normally enjoy

·       Increased likelihood of accidents

·       Racing heart

·       Rapid breathing or difficulty taking deep breaths

·       Chest pain & tightness

·       Sweating

·       Restlessness

·       Clenching jaw and teeth grinding

·       Stomach ulcers

·       Hair loss

·       Changes to skin and healing

·       Difficulty relaxing

·       Racing thoughts

·       Tearfulness and crying spells

·       Nervousness and worry that can’t be controlled

·       Difficulty completing tasks

This list is certainly not exhaustive by any means, but it is indicative that there are many symptoms of stress that we can experience to varying degrees. It also shows that our bodies put in a lot of effort to sound the alarm bells that something is off!

How many of these symptoms have you experienced?

How many of these symptoms have you ignored?

 How many times have you said to yourself, “After this [insert stressful thing here—project, assignment, week, month, etc.] is over, I can finally relax? Only once that is done, there is a new challenge on your plate to handle?

What Causes Stress?

We all react to stressors and stress differently. The frequency, intensity, and extent of the stress varies from person-to-person. Our ability to overcome stress and cope with challenges is largely dependent on many things, which can include: the genes passed down from our family; our personalities; our early experiences; and societal, social, economic and systemic conditions.

Stress can result from situations such as:

·       Major Life Changes

·       Learning something new or unfamiliar

·       Interpersonal Conflict

·       Chronic Illness and Injuries

·       New Diagnoses

·       Caregiving

·       Safety Concerns & Violence

·       Financial Problems

·       Environment

·       Social Isolation

·       Living through a pandemic

·       Prejudice, Racism, Xenophobia, Homophobia, Transphobia, misogyny, ableism, harassment, discrimination, hate crimes, microaggressions & other intersections

·       Grief & Loss

·       Fear & Uncertainty

·       Loss/Limited sense of Control

·       Perfectionist Tendencies

·       Low self-esteem and Self-Confidence

·       Unclear Expectations from others

·       Heavy workloads

·       Many responsibilities & pressure

·       Work, education, life & relationship satisfaction

·       Experiencing multiple stressors at once

Stress can also be caused by good things—getting into a new relationship, getting a promotion, moving, having a child, which is known as eustress. Situations can cause both eustress and distress, which can be challenging. The key difference is the perceived level of control we have over the stressor. Shafir (2021) finds, “In the body and brain, both eustress and distress involve the activation of the fight or flight response. The difference is that in eustress, the energy provided is proportionate to what is needed in the situation while in distress, the energy is excessive or unusable. Whether a person experiences distress or eustress in a situation mainly depends on their perception of themselves and the stressor,” (Shafir, 2021).

The Impact of Stress on the Body

As noted, there are many observable symptoms we can notice when our stress response is activated. This is due to the countless processes going on within our bodies that are trying to get our attention and prepare us to get to safety.

According to Chu et al. (2021), “Stress generally affects all systems of the body including cardiovascular, respiratory, endocrine, gastrointestinal, nervous, muscular, and reproductive systems,” (Chu et al., 2021). For instance, the body is flooded with stress hormones, which increase: blood pressure, breath, heart rate and pulse, feeling of alertness, oxygen to the brain, blood sugar, and fat. The blood vessels and airways are constricted, our muscles tense up, and our bodies tend to eliminate any waste and important nutrients waiting to be absorbed into the body (Harvard Medical School, 2020).

In times of stress, our bodies secrete a series of hormones to help us prepare to handle the distress. One of the stress hormones dumped into our body is called Cortisol. Cortisol is a really important hormone that helps our bodies function properly. According to Cassoobhoy (2020), “Cortisol plays an important role in a number of things your body does. For example, it:

• Manages how your body uses carbohydrates, fats, and proteins

• Keeps inflammation down

• Regulates your blood pressure

• Increases your blood sugar (glucose)

• Controls your sleep/wake cycle

• Boosts energy so you can handle stress and restores balance afterward,”
  (Cassoobhoy, 2020).

  Cortisol does a lot of really great things for our bodies on a daily basis that help keep us healthy. Cortisol is usually the highest in the morning and dissipates over the course of the day. It also elevates temporarily during exercise, but also decreases later.

  While cortisol is great for helping keep our bodies in daily alignment, its function during stress does cause quite a few physiological changes that occur in response.

The National Kidney Foundation (2020) describes the direct impact stress and cortisol has on kidney function, “Stress and uncontrolled reactions to stress can also lead to kidney damage. As the blood filtering units of your body, your kidneys are prone to problems with blood circulation and blood vessels. High blood pressure and high blood sugar can place an additional strain or burden on your kidneys. People with high blood pressure and diabetes are at a higher risk for kidney disease.

People with kidney disease are at higher risk for heart and blood vessel disease. If you already have heart and blood vessel disease and kidney disease, then the body’s reactions to stress can become more and more dangerous. Therefore, whether your goal is to prevent heart and/or kidney disease, or improve your health while living with heart and/or kidney disease, managing stress is an important part of maintaining your overall health,” (National Kidney Foundation, 2020).

Hannibal and Bishop (2014) found, “Signs and symptoms of stress-induced cortisol dysfunction include bone and muscle breakdown, fatigue, depression, pain, memory impairments, sodium-potassium dysregulation, orthostatic hypotension, and impaired pupillary light reflex. Furthermore, stress-induced widespread inflammation may be the final straw in a multifactorial chain of events contributing to hundreds of idiopathic inflammatory autoimmune diseases,” (Hannibal & Bishop, 2014).

Simply put, stress impacts the health and well-being of our entire body.

Cumulative & Chronic Stress

Stress has been beneficial and crucial to humankind’s survival as a species. Our brains are hard-wired with these reactions that are designed to keep us safe when we are faced with an immediate exposure to a stressful situation but is not meant to be a long-term response.  

Cumulative stress is not just a series of difficult situations you have experienced. When we are not able to come down from our stress responses, our bodies are not able to recover and heal. This primes us for an increase in stress going forward. This leads to cumulative stress that promotes wear-and-tear on the body. The body holds onto stress as it imprints itself into our very DNA.

According to the Cleveland Clinic (2020), “Cortisol supports overall health […] It helps us wake up, gives us energy during the day and lowers at night to help us sleep and rest.

The problem arises when chronic stress keeps cortisol levels high for the long haul. High cortisol levels over weeks or months can lead to inflammation and a host of mental and physical health problems, from anxiety to weight gain to heart disease,” (Cleveland Clinic, 2020).

People who experience stress at higher levels are also more likely to reach for more comfort and unhealthy foods, “Studies have also shown that people who secrete higher levels of cortisol in response to stress also tend to eat more food and food that is higher in carbohydrates than people who secrete less cortisol,” (Scott, 2021). It makes total sense why we love to eat chips, ice cream, and those other foods that we tend to opt for when we are stressed!

This becomes complicated when our bodies react to perceived stress and can’t physically release it from the body. Even after the immediate stress response is done, our bodies continue to process the effects for hours afterwards.

When our bodies have an excess of stress hormones floating around in the body and more continues to flood it, this can lead to chronic levels of stress that puts a major strain on our health.

Not only are people with cumulative and chronic stress more likely to feel anxious and depressed, they may also suffer from health conditions such as:

·       Heart disease

·       Heart attack

·       Hypertension

·       Stroke

·       Kidney failure

·       Adrenal fatigue

·       Chronic fatigue

·       Asthma and COPD exacerbation

·       High Cholesterol

·       Blood clotting disorders

·       Diabetes

·       Obesity

·       Immune Disorders

·       Acid Reflux

·       Irritable Bowel Syndrome or Inflammatory Bowel Disease

·       Cushing Syndrome

·       Exacerbation of existing chronic illnesses

(Shaw et al., 2018)

This list is not exhaustive. Consult with your medical professional for additional information on other health conditions that are tied with stress.

 The Impact of Stress on Our Mental Health

Dr. Bessel Van Der Kolk (2014), who is known for his work on stress, trauma, and its impact on the mind and body eloquently reflected on this, “People who are very upset sometimes say that they are ‘losing their minds’. In technical terms they are experiencing the loss of executive functioning,” (Van Der Kolk, pg. 45).

What this means is our mental and emotional states are not able to return to their previous level of functioning, so our attention, decision-making and problem-solving abilities, memory, mood regulation, asserting boundaries, and ability to self-soothe becomes increasingly difficult.

It can lead to an increase in alcohol consumption, substance abuse, depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, anger, irritability, social isolation, low motivation, fatigue, avoidance, feelings of shame and guilt, among other concerns. In more severe cases, it can lead to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and other psychiatric conditions.

The Lizard Brain

When we become stressed, we can often feel like we have difficulty with focusing, making decisions, and prioritizing. This is largely thanks to our Amygdala, which oversees the regulation and processing of emotions, connects emotional meaning to memories in memory formation, and reacts to perceived threats much like an alarm system. When the Amygdala does this, it sends immediate signals to other parts of the brain, which activates the body’s stress response system.

 This alarm system takes our rational, logical thinking brain offline and leaves us with only the bandwidth needed for surviving whatever danger we perceive is headed our way. This is often referred to as activating the “Lizard Brain”, “Reptilian Brain”, “Primitive Brain”, etc. Before our brain has the ability to process what has happened, our brains have shut down the more logical and rational parts of our brains so we can focus on the pressure we are currently facing.

Once our brains have been taken offline and the Lizard Brain has taken over, it’s very difficult for us to problem-solve, complete complex tasks, and function with any competing demands (cue brain fog!).

 It’s important to note that the Amygdala can be really sensitive, especially when we are already not feeling our best. This means that it can misfire at times and misinterpret a seemingly safe situation as disruption. You can imagine that this can cause problems in our lives!

 How Do I Manage My Stress?

 It is impossible to remove every stressor from our lives, but it’s important to our health and well-being to do our best to manage stress before, during, and after we have been exposed to it.

Improving Our Mind-Body Connection—

Laura van Dernoot Lipsky (2009) wrote an excellent book called Trauma Stewardship: An Everyday Guide to Caring for Self While Caring for Others.

 In this book, she talks about practical ways we can manage our stress, as well as the significant importance we must place on taking care of ourselves. She writes, “There is great power in understanding that we can change the way we interact with the circumstances in our lives, simply by being intentional about where we put our focus,” (van Dernoot Lipsky, pg. 175).

She goes on to share research that combines brain physiology and mindfulness practices, “[…] the way you pay attention activates part of your brain in very specific ways, and that this brain firing actually leads to structural changes in the brain itself. In other words, there is a real likelihood that with time and practice, a temporary, intentionally created mindful state will become a lasting mental trait.  However small the ways in which we bring awareness to where we are putting our focus may seem, they can lead to large changes in our experience of life,” (van Dernoot Lipsky, pg. 175).

Other things you can do include:

-Download apps to track pain, sleep quality, triggers to physical symptoms, and treatments that may be helping provide needed relief

-Take frequent breaks and know your limits—you can’t burn the candle at both ends forever and not expect to burn out at some point.

-View rest as a badge of honor, not running ourselves ragged. I read an excerpt in a book recently that talked about an experiment that was conducted in the 40s. The experiment measured these workers’ energy levels as they loaded very heavy iron onto freight cars. They worked until they had loaded 12.5 tons of iron onto the truck and were exhausted by noon. The next day, the researchers asked them to load the iron for 26 minutes at a time and then take a 34-minute break. At the end of the day, they were able to load 47 tons of iron!

-Meditation and mindfulness practices

-Square Breathing

-Body Scans

-Visualization
-Aromatherapy—Light a candle or diffuse essential oils
-Blow Bubbles

Regular Exercise 

We hear this all the time. We know exercise is good for us! Moving our bodies helps flush stress hormones from the body, while flooding us with the ones that make us feel good!

Harvard Medical School (2020) finds, “The mental benefits of aerobic exercise have a neurochemical basis. Exercise reduces levels of the body's stress hormones, such as adrenaline and cortisol. It also stimulates the production of endorphins, chemicals in the brain that are the body's natural painkillers and mood elevators. Endorphins are responsible for the ‘runner's high’ and for the feelings of relaxation and optimism that accompany many hard workouts,” (Harvard Medical School, 2020).

Really, there are so many benefits to any kind of exercise you can do. Virtually almost all types of exercise helps improve our mood and relieve stress. The important thing is to find something that we: find it enjoyable, can commit to regularly, listen to our bodies, and check in with our healthcare team about our routines.

Yoga and gentle stretching

Spend Time in Nature

“In a review of the research, Gregory Bratman, PhD, an assistant professor at the University of Washington, and colleagues shared evidence that contact with nature is associated with increases in happiness, subjective well-being, positive affect, positive social interactions and a sense of meaning and purpose in life, as well as decreases in mental distress,” (Weir, 2020).

According to Harvard Medical School (2019), “Spending at least 20 to 30 minutes immersed in a nature setting was associated with the biggest drop in cortisol levels,” (Harvard Medical School, 2019).

Gardening

If you can’t access the outdoors, listen to sounds of nature or view images of the outdoors.

I offer ecotherapy sessions to clients here in Indiana.

Changing our perceptions of stress—

Hannibal and Bishop (2014) found, “Exaggerated or recurrent negative cognitions, rumination or worry, magnification, and helplessness are all maladaptive catastrophizing responses to pain or non–pain-related stress that may prolong cortisol secretion,” (Hannibal & Bishop, 2014).

Sleep

Avoid caffeine and alcohol, which impacts sleep quality

Prioritize Sleep Hygiene

Diet & Nutrition

Follow a healthy diet full of whole foods. Meet with an RD and your doctor for foods that can help improve health and well-being.

Avoid alcohol! “Research has found that alcohol consumption also increases the body's production of cortisol, not only while the person is intoxicated, but also when the drinker is withdrawing from the effects of intoxication,” (Umhau, 2020).

Chat with a friend

Call up a friend or someone you trust to listen, make you laugh, and help keep you connected.

Jam out!

Listening to your favorite songs boosts your mood!

Laugh

Watch your favorite light-hearted show or movie that always gives you a good chuckle.

Therapy

Find a therapist who specializes in helping clients with managing their stress. Therapists are trained to help with getting to the source of the stress and help you develop better coping strategies to manage stress in the future.

Learn more about my therapy practice here.

 Works Cited

Cassoobhoy, A. (2020). What is cortisol? Retrieved from: https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/what-is-cortisol

Chu, B., Komal, M., Sanvictores, T. & Ayers, D. (2021) Physiology, stress reaction. Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK541120/

Cleveland Clinic (2020). How to reduce cortisol and turn down the dial on stress. Retrieved from: https://health.clevelandclinic.org/how-to-reduce-cortisol-and-turn-down-the-dial-on-stress/

Hannibal, K.E., Bishop, M.D. (2014). Chronic stress, cortisol dysfunction, and pain: A psychonuroendocrine rationale for stress management in pain rehabilitation. Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4263906/

Harvard Medical School (2019). A 20-minute nature break relieves stress. Retrieved from: https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/a-20-minute-nature-break-relieves-stress

Harvard Medical School (2020). How does exercise reduce stress? Surprising answers to this question and more. Retrieved from: https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/exercising-to-relax

Harvard Medical School (2020). Understanding the stress response. Retrieved from: https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/understanding-the-stress-response

National Kidney Foundation (2020). Stress and your kidneys. Retrieved from: https://www.kidney.org/atoz/content/Stress_and_your_Kidneys#:~:text=Stress%20and%20uncontrolled%20reactions%20to,or%20burden%20on%20your%20kidneys.

Scott, E. (2021). What is cortisol? Retrieved from: https://www.verywellmind.com/cortisol-and-stress-how-to-stay-healthy-3145080

Shafir, H. (2021). Eustress vs. distress: Positive & negative types of stress. Retrieved from: https://www.choosingtherapy.com/eustress-vs-distress/

Shaw, W. et al. (2018). Stress effects on the body. Retrieved from: https://www.apa.org/topics/stress/body

Umhau, J. C. (2020). Chronic drinking increases cortisol levels. Retrieved from: https://www.verywellmind.com/heavy-drinking-increases-stress-hormone-63201

Van Der Kolk, B. (2014). The Body keeps the score. Penguin Books.

van Dernoot Lipsky, L. (2009). Trauma stewardship: An everyday guide to caring for self while caring for others. Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.

Weir, K. (2020). Nurtured by nature. Retrieved from: https://www.apa.org/monitor/2020/04/nurtured-nature