Fighting Stress, the Non-Stressful Way

We had a conversation in the gym about stress yesterday. Boy, it’s fun! Headaches, back pain, sleepless nights; all sorts of enjoyable mementos.

For some reason (I can’t imagine why), it feels like people have been particularly stressed over the past few years. Have you noticed it?

So let’s discuss a few facts about stress as well as a few things you can do to help your reaction to it.

Every single system in our body is designed for survival, and stress is no different.

Stress improves us. Teaches us to walk. Makes us stronger and faster so we can hunt for food. Living is stressful so we evolved to deal with it.

Our nervous system has two modes.

1.      The Sympathetic system is “fight-or-flight.” Our bodies go here when stress is high, and we’re getting ready to deal with something. Breathing gets quick and shallow, muscles get tense. Our bodies think this will help us survive the imminent threat we feel RIGHT FREAKING NOW!!

2.      The Parasympathetic system is what we call “rest-and-digest.” This is the mode that allows us to relax and recover. We breathe deeply, digest food, rebuild muscle, sleep.

Both modes are essential for survival, but problems occur when we spend most of our time in “fight-or-flight” mode, which so many of us do. Yes, I know we’re not running from a lion or a T-Rex, but our bodies don’t know that. To our bodies, STRESS IS STRESS, whether it’s a life-or-death situation or our boss yelling at us.

This leads to what we talked about earlier. Chronic pain, sleepless nights, headaches, all sorts of fun stuff like that. While the right amount of stress can improve us. Too much stress breaks us down.

While it’s impossible to eliminate stress from our lives it is possible to improve our response to it. Here are a few ways to do that.

1.      Breathe deeply.

Breathing deeply is what tells our body that things are safe and it’s OK to calm down.

To practice, lie on your back, put your hand on your belly and feel it expand and retract with each breath. Breathe in and out for a minimum of 7 seconds each way. Do this for 5-10 minutes.

2.      Know that you’re in control.

While you may not be in control of everything that happens in your life, you are in control of how you react to it. While reacting in a healthy manner is sometimes easier said than done, it’s important if you truly want to be better. When feeling stressed, take a step back and breathe, and you’ll have a better chance to react positively.

I hope this sheds some light on a very complicated topic.