Appreciation to Ghazala Group for providing the content for this guide.
Understanding Stress
STRESS! It’s a word that’s banded around a lot these days. Most of us have experienced something that we call stress at some stage of our lives if not on a constant basis.
In general, the term “I’m stressed” crops up when people feel overwhelmed or unable to cope. When it feels as though there is too much to do and not enough time to do it, we feel unable to perform a task, or we feel threatened.
In this guide we take a closer look at stress, what it is and what you can do to reduce stress, both in the moment (reacting to stress) and in the long term (preventing stress).
Internal Stress v External Pressure
First of all, it’s important to understand that there is a big difference between external pressure and internal stress.
Internal stress - that overwhelming or tense feeling that we experience when we say we are stressed – is our response to external pressure.
In some situations, we are unable to change the external pressure and we feel helpless. We can however change our response to the external pressure and thereby influence our internal stress levels.
So – let’s take a closer look at how we respond to external pressures. From here you’ll start to see how you can regain control and reduce the stress in your life.
Our Responses to External Pressures
We respond to external pressures in a number of ways:
- Cognitively – by thinking in a certain way
- Emotionally – by feeling a certain way
- Physically – muscles tense, heart rate increases etc
There is also a fourth aspect to our selves; our behaviour. Whatever is going on with us cognitively, emotionally, and physically, our behaviour follows; how we act/what we do.
As holistic human beings, our emotional, cognitive and physical aspects work symbiotically. If we change our thoughts, we change the way we feel emotionally and physically, leading to a change in the way we behave.
The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another
William James (American philosopher and psychologist).
Our response to external pressure and hence the level of internal stress we feel, depends on how we view the pressure.
If we view the outside pressure as an emotional or physical threat (whether actual or imagined), our system believes it is under threat and the physical aspect will produce adrenaline so that we can ‘flight or fight’ the perceived threat.
The cognitive/emotional aspects have told the body we need action; the body responds by shutting of energy to organs that are not needed in ’flight and fight’ and all our energy goes into what we need to escape or defend ourselves. For example; energy is taken from the bowls and redistributed to the heart; so it can pump harder to assist us with escaping or defending ourselves.
The Benefits of Stress
Our natural ‘flight/fight’ system is useful if not overused. It may save our lives when we really are under threat; our reactions become very sharp, our senses heightened, our blood pumping, extra energy, extra strength we can feel superhuman… just what we need to survive a real life threatening situation.
However these responses need to be cherished until we really do need them.
A little adrenalin and anxiety (the two are very linked) is natural and can motivate us, help us to meet deadlines, help us tackle something we are not confident about, sharpen our creativity; but like anything, if we overuse it, it crates havoc…
Constant Internal Stress Reduces Our Resilience to External Pressures
If we live in this state of high arousal for a prolonged period of time, when life’s preverable poo hits our fan we may have nothing left inside to deal with it; so one situation or event pushes us into a crash (cognitively, emotionally, physically) as we were already depleted.
It’s not so much the event, it’s that we had no reserves to deal with it as we were exhausted already.
The Impact of Continued Stress
Generally, we are not in a life and death situation; so all the adrenalin pumps round our body and the consequences include: high blood pressure, chest pain, digestive problems (ibs etc), sexual problems, sleeping difficulties, changes in appetite, headaches, diabetes, mental illness to name a few.
If we keep this up; continually perceiving that we are under constant threat, eventually the body becomes exhausted; the body’s resources are depleted as it keeps producing adrenalin and we don’t run it off or fight it out (punch bags really are more important than tv’s!).
This is why stress is linked to the six most common causes of death; heart disease, cancer, lung problems, accidents, cirrhosis of liver and suicide as well as depression, anxiety, panic attacks etc.
It’s the same as running extra electricity through your home’s circuits continuously. Eventually certain things in your home will blow; as they will in your mind and/or body. We are humans not robots, and if we were robots, we would still malfunction or break when placed under constant stress. Take our beloved laptops and PCs for example – even they are prone to “crashing” if overloaded or not cared for properly.
Managing Stress: Changing The Cycle
The remainder of this guide includes information on a variety of approaches that can help you to combat stress by working on the cognitive, physical and emotional aspects of your self.
We include approaches that help you to release stress in the moment AND tips to help you prevent stress in the long term.
Make sure that you set goals that are manageable and that you know you can achieve. One cognitive habit that may be having an impact on your level of stress and keeping you in a cycle of distress, is the habit of over committing yourself, setting unrealistic goals and having unrealistic expectations. Be gentle with yourself – we are not suggesting you attempt everything on this list; best to start with one and review after a month or so.
1. Breathing/relaxation techniques
If you are feeling very stressed you will not be breathing at a deep level, you will be breathing shallowly; thus not allowing the body/mind the oxygen it needs to process naturally. The more tense one aspect becomes the more tense the other parts of us become. We have to start relaxing/softening one aspect (this is a physical one) so that the body can gain an appropriate oxygen level to function and so shift the body and mind from panic/constriction/tense to lowering stress levels.
- Join a yoga class
- Try breathing exercises or meditation CDs/downloads
- If you use the computer, try Stillness Buddy an application to help you relax at the computer.
2. Reduce self harming coping strategies
If your car was spluttering because there was a build up of oil in the filter you would clean the filter. We are humans and most of us eat and drink stuff that we know weakens our system. In moderation this is fine, but if we are exhausted and stressed our body has less energy to deal with what our physical system is clogged with. Poisons and toxins increase physical stress which in turn increases stress in other areas. This is not about being perfect, it’s about self care.
- Quit smoking (try the NHS quit smoking service – it’s free)
- Reduce, alcohol, unhealthy eating, sugar, caffeine
- Hang out in nice cafés that serve healthy food.
- Book an appointment with a professional nutritionist.
- Read up on nutrition and how the food you eat can effect your mood
- Increase your awareness over how you mood is ultimately affected by consuming toxins.
3. Reconnect with nature
Research clearly shows that time spent outside in “green spaces” improves our mood and reduces stress. The benefits are reported to be even higher if the space incorporates water, such as a river, lake or the ocean. Even looking at a picture of a forest for 10 minutes rather than gazing at a computer, has some positive effect. So switch off your television or computer, turn off your mobile phone, and give your brain some space from electronics by connecting with the great outdoors. At the very least, this is a great way to create some space from external pressures, allowing us time to gain perspective and choose our responses calmly.
Things you can do:
- Arrange a regular walk with a friend
- Join a walking group or green exercise fitness club
- Take up photography or journal writing with an emphasis on nature
Find a walking group, green exercise club or nature orientated activity.
4. Mindfulness
When we are in our thoughts the body responds with matching emotions i.e, if we have a self critical thinking habit it is likely that this produces anxiety, anger and other uncomfortable emotions in the body. We cannot stop our mind from thinking, that’s the mind’s job, we can however learn to pull out of our thoughts, stop feeding them and prevent them from taking over.
Mindfulness is the ability to observe ones thoughts and there is large amount of research to support it as an effective therapeutic approach and tool to manage emotional and psychological wellbeing. Research shows that regular practice lowers stress levels, boosts the immune system, lowers depression, can prevent further depression and more.
5. Massage
A well trained massage therapist knows about the body! Effective massage releases lactic acid from the muscles (toxin build up) and therefore encourages the body to release some of this tension being held.
Giving permission to have some self care is also supportive cognitively and emotionally. Allowing a therapist to take care of you for just a little time is invaluable support on every level.
6. Visualisation.
This is a powerful tool used by many of the top sportsman because it gets results. Running situations through the mind opens up new neurotransmitters and therefore allows new channels to be easily accessed in the mind. For example a golfer may visualise a round of golf, shot to shot allowing the mind to explore every possibility so that the mind and body can react to any situation quickly. (Tiger Woods has practiced this since he was 6). Some hospital recovery wards now teach patients to visualise their healing process as research shows that their recovery is up to 30% quicker.
7. Take some time off work while body self adjusts and learn some new habits that will support you.
If you are feeling overwhelmed then you may need some time off. If we get to the stage of feeling we cannot cope with every day things then something needs to give. You may decide to take some holiday or speak to your GP and see if he/she recommends a bit of time off. If you do take some time off, take several days to relax and then plan what you will do to avoid becoming this overwhelmed again. There is little point reacting to something and then running the same patterns that will get us into the same place!
8. Self care boundaries; saying no!
Unless we have a balance of work and play in life we cannot remain balanced inside. Disease be it cognitive, emotional or physical is the system being at dis-ease. If we are on the go all the time, and spending too much of our energy on others we may end up with no reserves inside for us or to deal with additional challenges, that have a tendency to pop up. Saying no to others sometimes also does them a service, it makes them realise we know they are capable of dealing with the situation.
Take time to do regular Yoga, walking, mindfulness, creative hobby, doing nothing space, day dreaming, gardening, colouring, personal journal writing, visualisation…whatever gives you pleasure and feeds your heart.
9. Less TV & Computers; this is more information for your mind and body to process.
I love films and am not anti TV, however it is not relaxing if we do it too much. Equally, the internet has exposed us to a mass of information, which again is fantastic – unless we use it too much.
Our mind can only process a certain amount of information before it becomes tired and overloaded, and most of us watch TV and surf the internet in the evening when our mind has already had a full day of processing.
You could experiment with the odd night without a TV or computer. Put on some music, lay on the sofa, close your eyes and get into the music!
10. Recognising the signs of when you are moving into stress cycle
When we become aware of the cycles we get into, we have the chance to recognise that we are heading in that direction. We only have a choice of doing something different if we can see our cycles. Our self awareness has to be raised enough before we can make conscious choices.
Talking therapy, mindfulness and meditation are invaluable tools for helping us to increase our self awareness and make positive changes to our behaviour.
11. Exercise regularly
We all know that we cannot function healthily without regular exercise. We don’t have to go to the gym everyday; however we do need to stretch our muscles, get some fresh air and have some down time to keep in good mental and physical shape. A clogged tired body will have a clogged tired mind.
Exercise is free and easy in the summer with those lovely long evenings, but during the winter you could take the stairs rather than escalator/lift, get off the bus one stop early, park in the car park furthest from the shops or use an indoor system like the Wii fit, or a dvd. Once a week is much better than nothing, three times a week is brilliant.
There are lots of different types of exercise too, so choose one that you like and enjoy. Research shows that yoga can reduce levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Other more vigorous work outs may “clear your head”. Try a few different exercises and see which ones makes you feel the most relaxed afterwards.
Find out more about yoga and stress along with some recommended yoga postures for stress relief.
12. Get enough rest and sleep
Would you force a child to stay up when they were tired? Probably not because apart from anything else, you know that the next day you will have to deal with their lack of resilience and energy. They would not have enough reserves to cope with the day and what it brings. We are no different, we just wear bigger pyjamas! This is a foundational need, the bottom rung on our ladder of needs. If our foundational needs are not met, everything we think, feel and do will be effected as we have limited energy and strength. We cannot fire on all cylinders if there is no fuel (energy) in the tank!
Hopefully, these twelve points will give you some good insights to help you understand and manage your stress levels. If you have any particular questions or would like more information, get in touch and let us know. We have more content in the pipeline and we can take your requests on board with our plans.
