We’ve all experienced some form of stress at some point in our lives, whether it be mild or aggressive. We know that being stressed makes us feel like s**t and we have heard how stress can negatively impact our physical and mental health. Let’s take a look at why our physical health is put under pressure when we experience stress.
BRAIN – When you feel stressed, the brain sends a signal to the adrenal glands. The signal triggers the glands to release stress hormones. These chemicals cause changes to the body to prepare it to fight or run away (the fight or flight response).
HEART – Heart rate and blood pressure increase so that blood travels through the body faster. This helps deliver oxygen to make muscles work.
LUNGS – Breathing rate increases to deliver more oxygen to muscles and tissues.
STOMACH/ INTESTINES – Digestion decreases so that the energy needed to break down food can be redirected to other parts of the body
SWEAT GLANDS – Stress can trigger sweat to be released from some parts of your body. Stress-sweat is different from sweat caused by being hot.
MUSCLES – Muscles tense up throughout the body to prepare for responding with action.
So now you know the response from your body to experiencing stress, let’s look at the ways in which people experience stress. Stress can come from many different areas of life, it doesn’t discriminate and it is relative to the individual.
Having a high workload, having your workload consume your thoughts, working long hours and overtime, having job insecurity can all be factors which lead to stress, anxiety and ultimately – burnout. This is called work related stress.
If you have high levels of debt, are struggling to find employment, if you are unable to make ends meet, this can absolutely lead to stress. This is called financial stress.
If you are isolated socially at school or work, if you face discrimination, if you’re bullied, yep you guessed it, it’s likely to cause you stress. This is called social stress.
In the climate we are in now there is no denying factors such as pollution, noise, extreme weather events occurring all around us (and I am sure we can all remember the flash floods in Auckland followed by the cyclone and flooding absolutely devastating parts of NZ). This is called environmental stress.
Illness, injury and disability affect everyone in different ways but if your overall quality of life is heavily impacted, you’re more likely to be stressed by it. This is called health–related stress.
Problems with family and friends, issues in your marriage or with romantic partners can stress you out. This is called relationship stress.
We almost all would have experienced major life changes such as marriage or divorce, moving house, the death of a loved one. This is called life changes and transition stress.
Another prime example of what I would consider every-day lived stress for most, the constant state of connectivity. The pressure of having to stay “relevant” or up to date with technology and social media. This is called technology stress.
It’s been known for years, experiencing abuse, assault, natural disasters, work related accidents or trauma can lead to post traumatic stress disorder. This is called trauma and violence stress.
Okay, so I don’t think that if you went to your GP you would get a medical diagnosis for “change and transition stress” or “financial stress”. You would likely have a diagnosis for stress and the cause being related to the change and transition, or the cause being related to financial pressures or issues. But written out like it is above, you can see just how many factors in our day to day lives can have a negative impact on our stress levels.
So how can we manage it? Check out the blog called Stress Part 2 – How to Help Yourself.