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Stress is everywhere in our daily lives.
It attacks from almost everywhere. At work, in relationships, with your finances, uncertainty about the future, and even your loved ones can all be sources of stress. Not to mention the stress put on yourselves to achieve your goals or by having unrealistic expectations on yourself (I know I’m guilty of that).
In a world where people are more stressed than ever, now is a great time to pause and get a deeper understanding of stress, the good and the bad, as well as ways you can manage it.
Good Vs Bad Stress
When you think about stress, you typically think it’s all bad. Most people will automatically think about paying bills, going to work, or finding/maintaining a relationship. What you don’t think of is positive stressors that you go through daily too. By taking on a new challenge, starting a new hobby, exercise, or starting a new job, you are put stress on yourself, but with a positive outcome.
This Eustress is “good”, which counters Distress, which is considered “bad”.
Think of this – If you had no stress at all, you would have no reason to really get out of bed in the morning.
There are 1 of 4 different forms of stressors to watch for – physical, emotional, mental, or existential. Regardless of where it’s coming from, it’s all going to affect your nervous system.
Fight/Flight Vs Feed/Breed
When you’re going through strenuous times, your body will activate its Sympathetic Nervous System (also known as Flight or Fight). During this time your body will release cortisol and adrenaline into the body to increase alertness, use energy, and essentially gets the muscles/nerves ready for conflict.
In earlier days, this would get you ready to defend yourselves against predators who wanted to make a meal out of you. Now, when you’re scrambling to get a report done by the end of the day, you have the same response physiologically.
Despite what it may seem like, this isn’t all bad. You need bouts of this fight or flight response in your life to grow. This is what happens when you exercise. When the weight gets heavy, your sympathetic nervous system activates to help you lift the weight, and your muscles adapt.
The problems come from when the sympathetic state and cortisol are raised for long periods, you adapt to the stimulated feeling, and it becomes your “normal”. Because of this constant stimulation, it can cause poor sleep, digestion problems, decreased physical/mental performance, and slower recovery from physical activity (think overtraining).
This is where it becomes important to be able to “switch off” your Fight/Flight system, and activate our Feed/Breed system, known as your Parasympathetic system.
When your parasympathetic nervous system (PNS for short) activates your heart rate will slow down, your digestive system can operate more effectively, and your body can focus on recovery. This also where your sex hormones, testosterone and estrogen, are going to be produced at a higher level, to help you rebuild and store energy.
Growth in life comes when we balance your stress and recovery. This is especially true when it comes to building muscle. You need to balance out intense training sessions (sympathetic system) with nutrition, sleep, hydration, and low intensity work (parasympathetic system).
Having too much stress on your system, will break you down.
Having too little stress on your system, and you will lack progress.
Physically, recovery is more straightforward, but how do you recover mentally, emotionally, or existentially?
Coping Mechanisms
Like stress itself, we have two different categories of coping mechanisms, a negative and a positive.
Negative coping mechanisms, also known as Maladaptive, would include things like:
- Alcohol/Substance abuse
- Withdrawal from activity
- Increased sedentary behaviour/avoidance
- Catastrophizing.
All of these will have negative effects on our health and wellness long term.
Not all stress is going to be the same though.
Being behind at work, or mad at the fact someone cut you off in traffic, isn’t probably a reason to spiral into a negative coping method. On the other hand, if you have a loved one who passes away or you lose your job suddenly, I personally think it’s okay to have a drink or two to deal with that. It just can’t be the only way you’re working through stressful situations, and shouldn’t be the long-term solution.
What you want to focus on are Adaptive coping mechanisms such as:
- Journaling: Expressing your thoughts on paper can be a productive way to clear your mind.
- Breathing Techniques: Control of your breathing for a more relaxed state.
- Meditation: Managing your breath and altering thought patterns fosters a sense of calmness. (If you’re new to meditation check out this video for a few tips on how to meditate, I found it extremely helpful)
- Muscle Relaxation: Actively contracting and then relaxing your muscles can effectively release tension, promoting overall relaxation.
- Cognitive Restructuring: Adjusting your perception of a situation or finding a silver lining can positively impact your mindset.
- Cultivate a Positive & Supportive Atmosphere: Surrounding yourself with a positive support system, whether it’s friends, family, or colleagues, can be incredibly beneficial during high-stress times.
- Appropriate Physical Activity: Give yourself adequate recovery time between workouts, and reduce intensity during periods of high stress
These are just a few ways to relieve stress but they aren’t the only ones. Going for a massage, seeking therapy, or getting into nature are just a few other examples of ways to calm our nervous system down, and get out of a hyper stressed state.
Wrapping Up
When dealing with stress, it comes down to striking a balance in our life between pushing yourself, and resting. It’s a difficult aspect of your life to manage, but by bringing awareness to the situation you can begin to balance your stress scale.
For more help, check out my previous article 8 Tips For Mental Health. Drop a question in the comment section below if you want more information about anything covered in this article.
Rich Hill,
Owner – RK Athletics
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