What Is Stress And How To Keep it From Ruining Your Life?

Nowadays, it is very common to hear the words ‘stress’ used at every turn causing ‘stress’ to become part of our daily vocabulary - from “I am stuck in traffic, I am stressed!” to “I have an exam tomorrow, I feel stressed” or “I have so much stress in my life”. As we can see, in these instances, stress primarily has a negative connotation and is seen as this unwanted state of being that needs to be avoided at all costs. But what, exactly, is stress and how can it ruin your life?

Specifically, our heart would pump faster, blood would be diverted from our extremities and directed towards our larger muscles group ready for action, our level of vigilance would increase and unnecessary bodily functions which use up energy, such as digestion, would stop etc.During a stress response, our bodies also secrete hormones such as cortisol (also called the stress hormone) and adrenaline which triggers the body’s fight or flight response. And so, when the message that there is a threat is clear, the automatic bodily response is: I need to run (i.e. flight response) or attack (i.e. fight response) in order to stay alive.

As we can see, back then the danger was real: a predator was about to eat us alive! However, nowadays, the predator takes different shapes – the predator can be our sulky teenager, our grumpy partner or our abusive boss. As a result, we are no longer able to discharge the excess of energy caused by the release of hormones and neurotransmitters. Our ability to run or attack is jeopardized. We cannot run away from our grumpy teenager or partner and we need the job to keep a roof over our heads. So, even though our lives are no longer threatened physically, we feel the impact of stress emotionally. This is seen by the increase of stress-related symptoms, worldwide.

Similarly, keeping a regular daily practice of self-care activities can help reset our central nervous system – these include breathing or grounding exercises , a meditation practice or expressive or creative arts can serve to teach our brain to relax or de-escalate its activation. Try one or some of these tips and keep stress from ruining your life.

If you need support with learning how stress is affecting your life and stress management, our team at In Time Counselling would love to help you. Click here to book a free 15-minute “meet & greet” with us.