Heart pounding, rapid breathing, tense muscles, beads of sweat… These are all classic signs of stress, and they’re symptoms that we’ve all experienced at one time or another.
The truth is that small amounts of stress are actually good for us. The body’s stress response is what helps us to adapt to situations that may be out of the comfort zone.
However, sometimes the body has trouble distinguishing these situations from everyday occurrences, triggering the stress response and making us sweat the small stuff. It’s reported that three quarters of us sometimes feel so stressed that we struggle to cope.
The Silent Killer
The problem with sweating the small stuff is that it can have a massive effect on wellness and wellbeing. The psychological effects of stress are well known, but what many don’t realise is that stress can also have a significant impact on physical health.
Stress can affect physical health in two ways: directly, and indirectly. Directly, the stress response stimulates production of a hormone called cortisol, which has been shown to lower the body’s immune function and raise blood pressure, increasing the risk of heart disease. Indirectly, feelings of stress can cause people to turn to unhealthy habits. The Mental Health Foundation reports that 46% of people who feel stressed eat unhealthily, 29% drink more than they should, and 16% start smoking, or smoke more than usual.
Stress can be a silent killer. But it doesn’t have to be. Here are 4 easy ways to regain balance, and manage feelings of stress effectively before you feel overwhelmed:
1. Address the Root of the Problem
Speaking to the NHS, University of Lancaster occupational health expert Professor Cary Cooper says that taking control is key to keeping stress levels manageable. “If you remain passive, thinking ‘I can’t do anything about my problem’, your stress will get worse”. However, to take control, you first need to identify the source of your stress. Finances, health, and relationships are common sources, although work is perhaps the biggest. The HSE estimates that more than 600,000 workers suffer work-related stress.
2. Rest
Although it can be difficult to take a step back when you’re feeling stressed, resting the mind can be one of the best things you can do to regain balance. American cognitive psychologist David Strayer believes that ‘conceptual thinking and sustained attention’ quickly tire the brain, making it unable to cope with stressful situations. His research concluded that midline frontal theta brain waves (‘thinking’ waves) were much lower when people had spent three days resting in nature than in everyday life situations.
3. Learn
You may not feel much like learning when you’re stressed, but training and coaching courses can provide the skills you need to boost emotional resilience and make it easier to identify your own personal stress triggers, notice the early signs of stress, and understand the most effective coping mechanisms for you. Expanding the mind can also act as a distracter, helping to break the constant cycle of stressful thoughts and give the brain something else to focus on. Distraction is simple, yet highly effective.
4. Exercise
You may have heard time and time again that exercise can reduce stress, and it’s true. According to the NHS, physical activity causes chemical changes in the brain that can help to boost mood. Exercise releases endorphins, which help you to feel good and can bring back some semblance of balance. And just like learning, exercise is also a powerful method of distraction, particularly if you set yourself goals or challenges which focus the mind on the end result and prevent the brain from thinking negative thoughts.
It’s important to understand that it’s impossible to completely eradicate stress from our lives. It’s also important to understand that stress doesn’t have to define who we are.
