What is Stress?
Imagine you’re running late for an important meeting at work, and while you're driving, a car swerves into your lane and nearly crashes into you. You swerve just in time, heart racing. This is your fight or flight response kicking in, activating your senses to instinctively avoid a collision. This innate function of your sympathetic nervous system allows speedy reactions when it perceives danger or stress. When this system is activated, adrenaline and cortisol are released, priming your body to escape the threat.
This system is not only activated during danger, but can also be activated due to stress. Stress factors like deadlines, disagreements, first dates, or hearing alarming news can all trigger your fight or flight response. Regardless of what triggers your fight or flight response, your body goes into a state of hyperawareness and increased sensitivity. To compensate, your heart rate increases, blood flow to muscles are heightened, digestion slows, your pupils dilate, and your airways expand to prepare for rapid response. These reactions are great during a stressful situation, but there are drawbacks if it activates too frequently.
Recovery
Our bodies need time to recover after a bout of fight or flight. The sympathetic nervous system is balanced by the parasympathetic nervous system, also known as the “rest and digest” state. When there is no perceived threat, the body can relax, recover, and digest. Balancing these two systems is integral to optimal well-being, as it can affect digestion, nutrient absorption, heart rate, blood pressure, and waste excretion. Ideally, the time spent in the “fight or flight” state should be minimal. A holistic approach to resolving stress integrates techniques from the mind, body, and spirit. With practice, we can activate these interconnected systems and improve how we manage stress.
Symptoms of excessive stress appear in many ways. Physical signs may include fatigue, headaches, muscle tension, digestive issues, and changes in sleep patterns. Mental signs include irritability, brain fog, feelings of being overwhelmed, and using unhealthy coping strategies. Although dealing with stress can be challenging, think of the signals of stress as a wake-up call that needs attention to prevent further complications. When stress goes unaddressed long-term, every system in your body can be thrown out of whack. Chronic stress can lead to inflammation, contribute to weight gain, and increase the risk for other chronic diseases. Active intervention is the best approach to start managing stress.
Stress Management
Some form of stress will always be present in our lives, but we can control our approach to how it affects us. This can start with stress tracking techniques, such as journaling or fitness watches. Observe the days and times you feel stress rising. Identify what the stressor is and how big an impact the thought or feeling had on you. Identify persistent symptoms such as headaches, irritability, tension in the neck and shoulders, shallow breathing, brain fog, digestive discomfort, changes in sleeping or eating habits. Once you’re able to pinpoint the what and when, you can start to change the response. Reframing your thoughts about the cause of stress might be a productive approach. If you identify a stressor, but it is something that is out of your control, you can try to accept that you cannot independently change it. If it is something you can change, you can create a step-by-step approach for how you will work towards a resolution.
Another helpful technique that you can implement right away is practicing breath work. Elongating the time of your exhale vs. your inhale helps transition into the parasympathetic nervous system. In a moment of stress, you can inhale for a count of four seconds and exhale for a count of six seconds. This practice helps shift your focus to your breath rather than your stress and lets your body know that you are safe and not in imminent danger. Other techniques you can use are mindfulness exercises like meditation, progressive muscle relaxation, or a full body scan. Meditation can be anything that helps ground you in the present moment and can include messages of affirmation. Progressive muscle relaxation involves contracting each part of your body independently for a few seconds and then releasing the tension fully. Often, we are not aware that we are holding tension in our bodies, but if we toggle between maximum tension and softening, we allow our nervous system to learn the difference and relax. A body scan can be done in almost any setting to help reinforce the feeling of safety and grounding. Starting at either the feet or head, scan each part of the body to identify any sensations you may be feeling, without judging them as good or bad. For example, you may feel your stomach rise and fall while breathing, or you may feel tingling in your feet. The purpose of these practices is to regularly allow your body and mind to go into a safe place. When this is done consistently, it can become easier to regulate stress responses.
Lifestyle choices fundamentally influence the stress cycle by offering practical strategies for improvement. Incorporating practices such as regular physical activity, a balanced nutrient-dense diet, mindfulness, and sufficient sleep are all vital to enhance your stress response. Furthermore, maintaining positive mental health through actions like setting boundaries, creating realistic expectations, asking for help, and incorporating pleasant activities helps to reduce overall stress levels. Ultimately, these combined efforts provide a holistic approach to managing stress and improving overall well-being.
Magdelene Plonka is one of the personal chefs in our Chicago branch of Friend that cooks. She has a degree in Holistic Nutrition and is passionate about her journey towards better nutrition, not only for her clients, but for herself and her family as well.