ARE YOU STRESSED?
What is stress?
Stress is your body’s way of responding to any kind of demand or threat. (Physical, Intellectual, Social, Emotional, Spiritual and Chemical). This threat can be real or imagined. The body’s defences kick into high gear in a rapid, automatic process known as the “fight-or-flight” reaction or the “stress response.” This is the sympathetic part of the autonomic nervous system. In an acute stress response, your heart rate and breath increases, your pupils dilate to improve your vison/focus, your muscles are pumped with glucose, ready for you to jump into action. All this is done to protect your body in an emergency to survive. This was extremely useful when we were cavemen and women. However, in a world where this response can be triggered by a number of things, day in and day out, it can put your health at serious risk.
Good stress
Stress isn’t always bad. Acute (short) bouts of stress are actually required to survive. They help wake us up in the morning. They help us perform well, especially under pressure. It can also help with motivating us. The key is being able to allow your body to switch off from thus acute stress response to prevent it becoming chronic stress. The balance between the sympathetic nervous system and parasympathetic nervous system is what stops the build up stress occurring.
Bad stress (chronic stress)
Your nervous system isn’t very good at distinguishing between emotional and physical threats. If you’re super stressed over an argument with a friend, a work deadline, lots of bills to pay, your body can react just as strongly as if you’re facing a true life-or-death situation. The more your emergency stress system (acute stress response) is activated, the easier it becomes to trigger, making it harder to shut off (accumulative affect).
Some causes of stress
• Job pressure
• Money
• Health
• Relationships
• Poor nutrition
• Media overload
• Sleep deprivation
