The reactions the body has to stress comes from inbuilt physiological responses which have been developed over thousands of years of evolution and from a time when we needed to survive dangerous unpredictable and often life threatening events, thankfully, we are rarely in these situations today.
Even so, we still maintain these physiological responses and nowadays they are more likely to be triggered by everyday circumstances like work pressures, traffic jams, financial worries, unwanted change, and latterly periods of uncertainty like we have experienced during the pandemic.
As we become stressed, this is a signal for the body to react and prepare to deal with the perceived danger or threat, a reaction sometimes called ‘fight or flight’ these triggers physiological responses to prepare the body to either stay and deal with the perceived threat (fight) or to run away (flight).
No-one can avoid stress entirely and some stress is actually good for you.
“Good stress” gives you a feeling of excitement or anticipation. It is needed to motivate you and help you meet challenges and achieve results. You may feel good stress before an interview, or competition, or when meeting a new partner. Psychologists refer to this type of stress as ‘eustress’. Eustress is typically felt by the body for short periods of time and after the event, the body should return to normal.
However, if we are not mindful, we can find events in our lives causing us to move in and out of fight or flight reactions, many times a day. Life events, like bereavement, divorce, job loss and hormonal changes like menopause can make us more prone to stress reactions and in turn can lead to involuntary responses like panic attacks and anxiety.
Some people are more prone to stress like those with low self-esteem, or a lack of confidence, anyone suffering depression or those who are in constantly stressful situation like those in abusive relationships, or those who have a lack of financial security etc.
There are also people who actually become addicted to stress, so called ‘adrenaline junkies’ who constantly seeking out high risk activities, high achievers who continually set and achieve goals and find it hard to relax. People who are incessantly playing computer games, gamblers and anyone who has to ‘win’ are just some examples of those who can become addicted to stress.
The good news is there are lots of things we can do to alleviate stress. It starts with being aware of our bodies and the warning signs and learning how to recognise when we are exposed to continual long term stress and taking action. Without action continual stress can lead to serious consequences for our health.
In part 2 of this blog, I will cover the three levels of stress and how it can impact our health.
