We know that stress plays havoc with our lives but do we know why or how? And what if anything can we do to avert the harm and focus on improving our well-being?
Stress has become ever-present in our modern lives. Since last year and a half of pandemic, we face each day uncertainly about the future. But even before that, violent swings in the economy, politics, and daily life unleashed havoc. And we are only beginning to understand the cost it will extract in human lives, mounting healthcare costs, and the damage to the economy.
Deep anger in us manifests in our everyday language and behaviors bordering on uncivil and eroding trust in the community and about a secure future. This stress is becoming chronic and unhealthy. If unable to shed, we could be in for seriously negative impact, not just on personal health, but also in behaviors, moods, relationships at work, and elsewhere. In addition, the fear of competition, potential joblessness, and immense public and private debts make us anxious if we can fulfill our basic needs, let alone fulfilling the “American Dream”!
Research and statistic (per The Center for Workplace Mental Health) show that in America, we lose 120,000 workers annually to deaths due to work-related stress, costing $190 billion in healthcare, representing between 5% and 8% of the total national healthcare expenditure, and considerable losses in productivity and profits. On the societal front also, stress is causing substantial shifts in declining marriage and birthrates, the longevity of average Americans, and higher suicide rates. Stress is overwhelming.
But the There is Good News
In an ordinary day, most stresses are triggered from external sources over which we have little control. However, we can mitigate stress on our body and mind through proper remedial actions. To exert control, we must realize that humans are naturally endowed with the capabilities to regulate emotions and modulate reactions enoughnot to allow stress to get stuck in our bodies.
It is now scientifically proven that mind and body are in constant communication. Still, we are barely aware of how emotions are triggered, how and why we react to situations as we do, and why extreme stress debilitates us? Even when aware, we feel that we have no choice but to experience it. The good news is that we can exert some control in preventing stress from becoming chronic stress by adjusting our attitude, our perception and take necessary actions to modify our behavior for a healthier life. But first, we must understand that not all stress is bad. As we become emotionally mature, we realize that we are responsible for our mental state. That realization is the first step in self-empowerment in managing stress.
Stress as The Body’s Language
A small measure of tension is necessary and desirable as it empowers us to live a productive life. Just as fear can prove a motivating factor in appropriate circumstances, yet paralyzing in others, stress also can be used beneficially. First, there is the ‘good’ stress that plays an important role. It creates anticipation and moves us to act and achieve our goals. However, ‘bad’ stress, triggered by paralyzing threats and fear, makes us feel that we have no options. Fear and anger are the two self-protective instincts that nudge us to take action by getting away from the source of discomfort. But if we feel trapped in a situation and feel impotent to do anything about it, the tension becomes the ‘bad’ stress. If allowed to fester, it leads to mental health problems and chronic or catastrophic diseases.
Whether the stress is good or bad depends on our perceptions and attitudes. For example, planning to go on vacation has built-in pressure like making arrangements, buying tickets, packing the bags, getting to the airport, flying itself. Still, there is an anticipation of thrill and excitement, so this type of stress is a motivator and is “Good” stress. The brain’s limbic system activates the release of calming chemicals by neurotransmitters that modulate brain function and have a pleasant effect on emotions. These chemicals add to the sense of well-being. The brain’s limbic system is comprised of various parts in the hypothalamus, which orchestrate appropriate chemical communication between mind and body to prepare it to take action.
We generally know that bad stress can manifest in diseases, but most of us do not understand how it becomes life-threatening and what can be done to avert dangerous toxicity from harming us.
The good news is that we are naturally endowed with capabilities in mind and body through our Brain’s Limbic system to react defensively by choosing the right attitude and mindset. The system is comprised of various parts within the cortex that activate the emotional triggers to react based on how our brain interprets the stimuli it senses every second of the day. For example, the brain interprets the external input from five key human senses to determine if you are in danger or not. Then, based on what it senses, it will do an autonomic recall of similar experiences from conscious and superconscious memories stored away in our memory cells and compare it, interpret and determine the nature of sensory input to activate the appropriate response.
The Central Brain, the Amygdala, is ever vigilant. If it senses immediate danger, it releases an alert signal to the specific organ in the limbic system to prepare the body to respond, such as tensing the muscle, flooding the adrenal, or pumping the blood to the proper organ to confront or flee from the danger. On the other hand, if the stimuli are non-threatening, the brain’s communication process regulates and modulates reactions by activating calming neurotransmitters to seek out the receptor cells and deposit those for appropriate response.
Our brain has billions of neurons connected to thousands of cells. They are related to the corticospinal tract to communicate with the motor Neuron, which controls our voluntary movements. Neurotransmitters are specialized cells that make up the nervous system and deliver the chemicals to target receptor cells, thus regulating our emotions and reactions to external stimuli. For example, some neurotransmitters excite and stimulate, whereas some others have a calming effect.
Our body is designed to dissipate stress naturally if we release it, such as body shivering in extreme physical trauma or anger. But our socially accepted etiquette and customs often result in us suppressing instead of expressing our feelings and emotions. When we hold on to the stressful memories relentlessly, our body experiences the stress triggers repeatedly with nowhere to go. That is why engaging in activities that allow the mind-body to get rid of stressful feelings is supremely important to our well-being.
Most emotional stress does not stay in the body and is released via our natural day-to-day activities. Still, when we are exposed to stressful experiences and environs for prolonged periods, chronic stress manifests into chronic diseases or catastrophic illnesses.
Protecting from Harmful Stress
Empirically, human society has believed that a positive attitude is generally helpful in navigating most situations with equanimity, whereas looking at problems negatively first triggers the fight or flight response because everything and everybody seems potentially threatening.
Before neuroscientists could observe the brain’s inner workings, the Western world believed that the human brain is hardwired to think one way or another. We could not change from negative to positive attitude or vice-versa. The tried and true methods to manage mental health issues were psychoanalysis and therapy. For more complicated cases, Pharmacology developed Psychiatric drug therapies to correct the chemical imbalances that lead to depression and anxiety, bipolar disorders, and the like.
However, over the last decades, scientific tools to peek into the brain in the lab tests led to the evidence-based discovery of Neuroplasticity, i.e., our thoughts affect our brain’s neural pathways and anatomy. And the conclusion is that our brain can be changed. The scientific testing of intuitive practices like Meditation, Yogic breathing exercises, which have been practiced for thousands of years, and old Chinese techniques like acupuncture and exercises like Tai Chi revealed the electrical activity within the brain. Researchers concluded that these practices influence the Limbic system and bring about changes that help release physical and emotional stress by activating the firing of the calming neurochemicals, which in turn remove the feelings of anxiety out of the body.
These practices are now being integrated into Integrative Medicine. In addition, they are now gaining popularity as ‘Mindfulness’ practices, which train people to focus on the present and alleviate the stress caused by habitually being stuck in the past or worrying about the future.
In psychotherapy, the concept that ideas, thoughts, and how our body feels are connected has become acceptable and led to the conclusion that changing one of these factors can help break the pattern of harmful behavior through Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.
Many workplaces are now beginning to offer classes in meditation and mindfulness to help alleviate stress from a tense work environment. In addition, many employers offer Employee Assistance Programs as the Mental Health remediation. Still, the fear of negative perception prevents many from using these programs lest the stigma affects their careers. At the same time, the business world acknowledges the need for changing organizational culture and practices to reduce stress in the workplace. However, it will still take a while before work- procedures are modified and introduced.
Change the situation or change your attitude or suffer the consequences.
Following are a few ways to find relief to helping yourself.
Evaluate your environment from your perspective– Do you feel in control of your time and life? It does not matter how it appears from other people’s point of view. Just because they seem to thrive on something, it may not be the same for you. It may make you feel inadequate by comparison. Do not engage in comparison or competition that erodes your self-confidence or harms your self-image.
Do a realistic assessment of your goals and actions- Do not create a conflicting condition that robs you of satisfaction. And if you have a conflict with anyone, confront it because avoiding it will cause stress. Resolve it by active listening so you can get a clearer understanding of the other individual’s motives and point of view and come to a better meeting of minds.
Distance yourself from stress- Engage in activities that distract the mind and are pleasurable, physical like exercise, running, walking in nature or sports, or mental activities like playing games, reading, or taking up hobbies like photography. Also, disengage from stress-producing situations like 24/7 media blitz about politics, wars, crimes, and so on.
Communicate your tolerance threshold for certain types of behaviors and draw the line where things push you in the stress zone- For example, racist or off-color jokes seem demeaning to you, stop them cold or remove yourself. Teach others how to respect you. If they cannot abide, they are too toxic, so walk away.
Create an oasis– Find a real place or imaginary one that you can escape to think things through, to calm yourself, to find creative solutions. Pick up hobbies that allow alone time and space to work out your feelings.
Develop trust in somebody as a confidant, even if it is an imaginary presence like a role model you admire to express your frustration. The advantage they have over friends is that it is a one-way communication that allows you to unload without anyone feeling the need to advise you. Instead, they act as a listening post where you can express all the frustrations until you have dumped it all out. They are a substitute for journaling, which is also a refined technique but is more time-consuming.
Develop social connections with people who have a similar mindset and offer camaraderie and contact without any expectation or obligation. They respect the boundaries that you set for your comfort zone.
Reassess your perception
When you cannot change the situation, challenge yourself to see anything good about escaping you. Is there any benefit that you are deriving? Shifting focus can make you realize that there is more than one way to look at an event. Does it allow you to cope with your situation daily without consuming you emotionally? Sometimes it helps in clearing up the past misunderstanding and move on by forgiving yourself and others, thus ridding yourself of deep hurts or guilt.
All the emotions you feel in your body are based on your perception and attitudes encoded in the stored memory of experiences. Since the brain uses these to decide which peptides and chemicals to release to assist your body in dealing with the feelings and emotions, attitude and perception are critical in managing stress and removing out of the body.