Stress is as old as time. Way, way back, our ancestors had the same stress responses as we do now. They experienced that same sense of looming tragedy, panic, doom if they didn’t succeed in what they needed to.
The big difference between them and us is that they had a natural outlet for it – a purging system if you like. We don’t.
Perhaps you’ve heard of fight, flight, freeze response. It’s our body’s natural response to danger. We get a release of adrenaline for mental alertness and cortisol for an instant boost of energy. When you are faced with a tiger or starving aftrer a failed hunt, those are very useful hormones at your disposal pushing you onward. And by fighting or “flighting” or freezing, you use them up for the very reason they were intended.
If you are sitting at a desk, you don’t. They are left to accumulate. At some point the body tries to compensate by releasing a different hormone, oxytocin to calm us down. Now we have a cocktail of hormonal chemicals running around our body.
Although we are more familiar with how stress impacts our thinking and our feelings, the bigger problem is the physical damage the stress response does to our bodies if left unchecked. High blood pressure, reduced immune system, over or under eating, digestive problems, cardiovascular problems to name a few.
The good news is that not all stress is bad. Our systems do need a bit of stress sometimes to do our best work: some pre stage nerves, a bit of anxiety for an exam, a sudden surge to get us out of the way of the bus we’ve just walked out in front of.
The bad news is that we live sedentary lives, so when sources of stress that don’t require physical activity occur, such as a very difficult project deadline, our bodies take the hit.
The ugly news is that if we don’t deal with the stress, we are putting ourselves in physical danger.
So if you can, remove or avoid the source of the stress. If you can’t do that, then manage the stress reaction. You don’t have the luxury of a “work calms down in six months” type approach. The fight, flight, freeze stress response is physical; the best way to manage it is also physical.
If you want to know more, join our Free Webinar
“Stress – How It Affects You and What You Can Do About It” on
Thursday 21st May, 12-12:45. To book your place, email claire@springtolife.org
