The Perfect Dose of Stress
No one wants to feel stressed and worn out. But no matter how hard you try to avoid it, stress is always there – ready to take over you at any moment. When too much, stress can affect your physical and mental health and make you vulnerable to many diseases. But with the right amount of stress, you will definitely feel better.
So how does stress affect you?
Stress is your body’s natural response to any kind of demand. It can be caused by good or bad experiences which are often unexpected. When you are in a ‘stressful’ situation, your body releases chemicals into your blood that give you more energy and strength. This can either be a good or bad thing. Good when you are faced with physical threats. For instance, seeing a large venomous snake nearby can trigger your body to release stress hormones, which in turn activate your body’s ‘fight or flight’ system. But if you feel stressed in response to an emotional trigger, and you don’t have the outlet for your extra strength and energy, it does more than unnerve you.
The good side of stress
Do you ever wonder why most people can carry heavy loads in the middle of an emergency (e.g. when evacuating from a burning house) while under normal circumstances, they can’t? That’s because in such moment, their bodies produce adrenaline, a stress hormone that allows the body to access its stored energy. Feeling ‘stressed’ is also good in some other ways. For instance, during an injury, the brain releases norepinephrine, a hormone that constricts the arteries leading to the skin, slowing down the blood flow and preventing blood loss.
In times of emergency, stress can help you make the safest decision. But repeated chronic stress can affect your health in many different ways – increasing your risk of heart disease, cancer, and other serious illnesses.
How much stress is good for you?
As much as possible, you need to avoid persistent stressors and get a dose of the short-lived and manageable ones. But how do you know you’re getting the perfect dose of stress? According to Robert M. Sapolsky, a neurobiologist at Stanford University, you experience good stress when you have control over the situation. No matter how your body may respond to the situation at hand, you know that in the end, you will be fine. And whatever discomfort it brings, it will certainly go away after a short while. For example, riding on a roller coaster can fire up your stress levels. But after a few minutes, you know you are going to be alright.
Aside from the duration of the stress, your perception of it also matters. Wendy Berry Mendes, psychologist at the University of California, USA, suggests that people have to view stress as a challenge and not a threat. For instance, preparing for a job interview can be extremely ‘stressful’ or ‘challenging’ depending on how you view it. If you greatly believe can do it, your stress hormones come into the action to help you – firing up your heart rate and making your brain and body more alert. But if you are a negative thinker who perceives challenges as threats, the effects of stress on your body will just distract you, and make you feel less comfortable and uneasy. And when you are overwhelmed by these emotions, you spoil the interview.
If you feel this way every time you are faced with a challenging situation, you are more likely to respond negatively to it again. That’s the time you develop ’learned helplessness’ – a behavioural disorder that makes you give up without even trying at all because you learned there’s no point doing so.
There’s no standard recommended daily dose of stress. The key is to finding the perfect amount of stress your body can utilise to its advantage. Some people don’t get deeply affected with usual life’s stressors, such as job loss, breakup, and financial loss while others are. No one can tell whether you are stressed just right or stressed too much. Being aware of how your body responds to stress is the key.
Managing Stress
Your body’s natural response to stressful situations is affected by a variety of factors, including your genetic makeup and personality. If you’re the optimistic type, you can easily get by with a challenging scenario, no matter how difficult and devastating it effects can be. But if you are the scenic type, or are prone to anxiety disorder, depression and some other mental health problems, stress can easily overwhelm you. The good news is – decades of research have shown that regardless of your personality and upbringing, it is possible to alter your perceptions and improve your body’s natural response to stress. How?
· Find the goodness in the bad. Bad things happen and that’s normal. What is important is that you see something positive out of every difficult experience. For instance, instead of feeling exhausted and irritated for waking up late this morning, just be thankful because you get to give your body a longer time to rest!
· Write down your weekly goals. Make a list of the attainable goals you wish to achieve this week. Whether it’s being able to sign up for a fitness class, or saving extra money, being able to materialise small goals is likely to improve your sense of wellbeing, a fact that increases your resiliency to stress.
· Do acts of kindness. Being good to other people and helping those who are in need makes you calmer and happier, research found.
· Practise meditation. This ancient practise is known for its stress-busting effects. Regular meditation can actually change the brain and thicken the grey matter in areas involved in the regulation of emotion, and reduce the activity in the amygdala – the fear-response system of the brain.
· Observe healthy lifestyle. Eating right, exercising, and avoiding vices like alcohol abuse and smoking will greatly reduce your stress levels. Quality sleep is also critical to managing stress.
Dear Readers,
How do you cope with your daily stressors? Can you suggest natural therapies that can help reduce the effects of stress in the body?
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