Stress is becoming an epidemic.
Traffic. Transport delays. Wi-Fi rage. Late for a meeting. A row with a partner. Worrying about bills or caring for a sick relative: all common examples that sum up living with stress in the 21st century.
The body’s stress response
While it’s hardly on the same level as living in a war-torn country or being chased by a lion, the ‘primitive’ part of the brain that regulates fear still responds in the same way. It’s a part of the brain called the amygdala—part of the brain’s limbic system that contributes to emotional processing and behaviour. In the event of a strong perceived threat, the amygdala drives the ‘fight or flight’ response, overriding the rational reaction of the front lobes in the brain’s cerebral cortex.
Although this mechanism is designed to keep you safe from physical danger, the threats most people currently face in the civilised world are the everyday pressures and strains of modern life. These include psychological stressors that trigger the amygdala’s fight-or-flight response. You can’t control all the factors that may make you stressed and anxious.
Common causes of stress
Some of the biggest external challenges remain the same: lack of control over finances, working conditions and insecure accommodation. However, when you adjust for those, there are some common underlying factors that can make you more prone to stress, including:
- Lack of sleep
- Poor nutrition
- Excessive sugar, caffeine, alcohol/drug intake or smoking
- Excessive social media
- Loneliness
- Lack of exercise
- Lack of sunlight
All these issues can lead to excessive activity on the part of the sympathetic nervous system, taking the form of stress hormones cortisol and adrenalin. In the short term, this adaptation provides your body with the resources it needs to fight the threat, or to flee. It:
- Increases blood flow to muscles for strength and speed
- Expands airways to take in more oxygen
- Releases sugar to the brain and muscles
- Dilates pupils for faster responses
The effects of long-term stress
However, long-term stress has metabolic consequences and puts your body into a more permanent ‘catabolic’ state, where muscles are broken down for fuel, blood sugar may remain high for extended periods and thyroid function and energy expenditure may decline.
Stress depresses the immune system, inhibiting the activity of white blood cells such as lymphocytes and phagocytes to mop up infectious or pathogenic organisms. Over time the body’s tissues may respond less sensitively to the stress hormone cortisol, which can lead to higher levels of inflammation and autoimmune disease.
So what can you do to manage the effects of stress?
1. Emotional competence
Be mindful in your emotional connections with others, so that if you are feeling triggered by something they say or do, you can respond with conscious intention. The author Gabor Mate calls this skill ‘emotional competence’ in his bestselling book When the Body Says No: The Cost of Hidden Stress:
‘Emotional competence requires: the capacity to feel our emotions, so that we are aware when we are experiencing stress; the ability to express our emotions effectively and thereby to assert our needs and to maintain the integrity of our emotional boundaries; the facility to distinguish between psychological reactions that are pertinent to the present situation and those that represent residue from the past.’
Gabor Mate – When the Body Says No: The Cost of Hidden Stress:
2. Deep breathing and mindfulness
Practice mindful exercise daily. During the day, concentrate periodically on what you can see, hear, and touch, expanding your awareness to what Les Fehmi calls the ‘open focus brain’.
There are lots of different breathing techniques to try, such as the Box Breathing technique. Deep breathing stimulates lymphatic circulation and drainage, calms the amygdala, and boosts the immune response.
3. Excercise
Exercise has been shown to be an effective substitute for antidepressants in cases of mild to moderate depression and anxiety[1] However, avoid excessive cardio which can push the body into more sympathetic activity. Opt for yoga, pilates and swimming instead.
4. Wild Swimming
Wild swimming may help the body to react more appropriately to chronic stress by teaching it to adapt to short-term acute stressors such as the cold. Wild swimming has been popularised by exponents such as Wim Hof, who’s developed the ‘WHM’ or ‘Wim Hof Method’. If you don’t have access to a river or sea, you can get similar benefits from having a cold shower.
5. Eat nutrient-dense foods
Eat regularly and add enough protein and nutrient-dense foods to your diet. Choose foods high in B vitamins to support your nervous system: fatty fish such as salmon, leafy greens, eggs, seafood, and legumes are all great sources.
6. Herbs for stress
Consider adding some herbs to your regimen: ashwagandha, holy basil, rhodiola and liquorice are all adaptogenic herbs, which means they can support a healthy nervous system response and bring you back into balance when you are under stress. Liquorice is a sweet herb that can support adrenal health by slowing the breakdown of cortisol in your bloodstream, so you are not constantly drawing upon stress hormones.
References
[1] (Carek, Laibstain and Carek. Exercise for the Treatment of Depression and Anxiety. Intl. Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine. 2011. https://doi.org/10.2190%2FPM.41.1.c).
