Mental & Physical Health & Stress

Stress and the response to stress happens to us all every day. From getting up and finding that there is no milk, driving to work and finding that the traffic is much heavier than normal, getting to work and discovering that your email inbox has lots of urgent requests, being too busy for lunch, meetings are arranged and cancelled, driving home in the rain, you forgot to put the cat out before you left, you burn your dinner, and you started watching a film when the broadband link went down. No wonder your stressed.

Work related stress is very common. But what is stress? Why is some stress good for you? Have you ever had a presentation that you had to give? If so you no doubt felt nervous before you started, did you feel your heart racing, did you palms sweat? Were you tense? That is stress. The good part of stress is that you become more focused, you will react quicker and think quicker than normal.  

Stress is generally based on two things being under threat or fear. Fear of being late, fear of not being in control, fear of being wrong, and the big one fear of failure.

In the past when your ancestors were faced with a threat and they became fearful it was because their life was in imminent danger and so part of their brain called a hypothalamus sent out an order to their body to be prepared for “fight or flight”. That instruction released the stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol which caused their heart to beat faster and send more blood to the areas that were needed in emergencies such as the heart, muscles and other important organs. This prepared the body to make a quick getaway or to fight. Once the issue that caused the stress had gone away the Central Nervous System informed the hypothalamus that everything is okay, and the instruction was sent out to stop sending the stress hormones. 

Now fast forward to the present day. You are put in a position where you are worried that you will be late for a meeting and the closer to the time of the meeting the more you realise that you won’t be on time. Unfortunately, the brain does not have a mechanism for late meetings! Instead the situation is deemed a threat and the hypothalamus goes into action. The next time you are going to be late for something check your response. Is your heart racing, are you starting to perspire? Do you feel tense? If one or more of those happen you are under stress. The important thing to understand is that the mind reacts to a “perceived” threat. Whilst the threat maybe important it is not life or death.

To add to our stress levels when we are constantly being bombarded with information. However, the mind has a way of coping with decisions that occur regularly it passes the decision to the sub conscious part of the brain. That means when you come across a situation that you have reacted to before the sub conscious makes the same decision that was made before. The result is that if you felt stressed over a task in the past, you are going to feel stressed about that situation from then on. But you can break this circle. The way to do that is to question yourself when you start to feel stressed, why am I feeling this way? Analyse what you fear because that is what is causing you to feel stressed. In most situations when you start to realise that there is nothing to fear in the task or project you will start to feel under control. 

As the diagram above shows stress or pressure can be good for us. The issue is when your stress response doesn’t have time to go back to normal. When that happens, and you suffer from stress regularly many times a day you can start to suffer from chronic stress, and that is very bad for you. Some mental issues we face when we have too much stress are mental cloudiness, headaches, irritability, anxiety, depression and insomnia. Stress also takes its toll on the body which results in weight gain, high blood pressure, a weakened immune system, digestive problems, a reduced sex drive, heart disease, stomach ache and tense muscles. If you are taking medication for high blood pressure, have digestive problems such as heartburn or lots of indigestion and suffer from headaches and a bad back you need to look for a way to reduce your stress levels. The good news is that you can reduce your stress.

There are numerous ways to manage stress. 

1.      Realise what is happening to you

The first and most important thing is to realise what is happening. Remember that the brain is reacting to a “perceived” threat. If you are not in imminent bodily danger then assess why you believe you are under threat. What is making you react the way you are? As you convince yourself that the treat is not real you will start to become calmer.

2.      Meditate

Meditation can help reduce your stress levels. The best time to meditate is early in the morning before the daily activity starts. Take a few minutes to focus on your breathing and start to imagine a perfect day. What would that be? How would that feel? Who would be in your perfect day? Be careful that you don’t drift off to sleep as this can be very relaxing.

I know people who mediate during lunch. This can really recharge your batteries.

You can meditate later in the day but there is a strong likelihood that you will drift off to sleep which will help you if you suffer from insomnia.

3.      Use a Goal Setting system

You may feel that this is something that has been done and writing down a “To Do List” can’t help reducing the stress. Writing down what you need to do that day will help. By writing what you need to do you stop worrying about things you might have forgotten. However, to take control you should go a little further than creating a To Do List. Try using a Goal Setting program. The first thing to do is some self-analysis, write down what is important to your Company and yourself. Look at different aspects of your work such as Internal Relationships, External Relationships, Finance, Management, Education, Projects, Rest and Relaxation, Health and Fitness. Then write down 5 goals that you want to achieve. The next step is the most important, breakdown those goals into small manageable tasks. As an example, if you need to write a Business Plan break down the Goal by chapters. Breaking down the major goals to small bite size chunks makes any major project look achievable.

Don’t forget to review your tasks and the beginning and end of each day.

4.      Exercise

This is one of the best ways to rest your system. Exercise helps the body and mind. Exercising doesn’t mean joining a gym and having a strenuous 2 hour workout. You can gain a great deal from using the stairs in the office rather than taking the lift. Try parking the car away from the office and walking the rest of the way, or getting off the train, tube or bus a couple of stops early and walking. In other words any exercise is good for you. Once you get into the habit of exercising you will start to see the benefits from both your mind and body.

5.      Maintain a healthy diet

One of the possible outcomes of too much stress is eating too much and therefore putting on weight. You will find yourself eating sweet snacks to give you a “sugar boost”. Fast food or eating at your desk becomes the norm. If you need to eat at your desk, then have a piece of fruit rather than a chocolate bar. Remember fresh food is better than processed food. By eating a healthy diet, you are replenishing all those vitamins that you lose when you are stressed.

6.      Reduce consumption of caffeine and alcohol

This doesn’t mean abstain from either caffeine or alcohol it just means be aware of how much you are drinking. We can get into a habit of going to the coffee machine when we come across a problem. Alcohol is great in social situations but as has been documented too much alcohol can have serious health issues.

7.      Aim for 7 to 8 hours of sleep a night

One of the things that happens when we are under stress is that we worry at night. I know that it seems you cannot get to sleep but there are some great ways to help. Remember don’t drink caffeine or alcohol prior to getting ready for bed, try reading before bed rather than watching tv, and have a glass of warm milk. If you have started meditation try relaxing when you get into bed by using the same technique. Finally, stop worrying about not getting enough sleep, it is a vicious circle because the more you worry the less likely you are to sleep and the less sleep you are getting the more you worry.

8.      Stay socially connected

Having a good social life helps relax you. By mixing with people and sharing their experiences your stress levels will start to reduce. In our society loneliness is something that many people deal with every day. What are your interests? Is there a local club that you could join that caters to your interest?   

9.      Make time for rest and relaxation

Many people feel guilty if they spend time relaxing and enjoying themselves whilst there is so much to do. Believe it or not this is one of the best things you can do to reduce your stress levels. Set a regular time for yourself to chill out. Do something you really enjoy, play games on the internet, read, complete some puzzles, meet friends.

10.  Seek help from your doctor

You should always remember that if the stress gets too much that the doctor will help. There are medications that will help you start the journey to a calmer you. But pills aren’t the final answer they are a way to help you get started. Then look at you lifestyle and make a commitment to change.

Stress happens to us all and we all need stress to help us grow. But too much stress is bad and can lead to health and relationship problems. Remember our brain reacts to perceived threats the more we realise this the greater change we have in controlling our responses.