What is Stress

Stress is just a signal that we are being threatened in some way. So how do you spell relief when you get stressed out? Most people prefer to take a pill. It’s easy and quick. Not me, especially since the side effects of all anti-anxiety and anti depression (depression is a side effect of long term exposure to unresolved stress) medications include deeper depression, suicidal thoughts and death. Just watch TV commercials for these products. They’re scary and enlightening. Besides, once you understand stress, controlling it without medication is not much more difficult than taking pills. So let’s look at what happens when we get stressed out.

In fact, let’s look at how stress evolved in the human species. Our early ancestors lived in very hostile environments. Danger lurked around every corner. Our ancestors survived because, at the first hint of danger, their nervous systems automatically increased the supply of specific chemicals (hormones) to help them respond to the threat. These hormones increased the supply of oxygen to their brain, arms, and legs, dilated their pupils, and increased their blood pressure. These same hormones also shut down their reproductive and digestive systems. I guess one doesn’t need to think about romance or what’s for dinner when being chased by a saber-toothed tiger. This made them stronger and faster, able to see the danger better, helped them react to the danger quicker, and improved their stamina.

So how does that help us understand what to do when we get stressed out? In the process of responding to the threat our ancestors exerted a lot of energy either in physically confronting the threat or fleeing from it. Because all of our systems speed up when we engage in intense physical activity they probably had to urinate shortly after surviving the threat. And then they either took a nap to recover from the intense exercise or slept really well that night. Experts state that ninety percent of stress hormones and their byproducts are eliminated from the body through the breath. The other 10% is eliminated through urination and sweat. Rest then helps the nervous system go back to a normal state and recover from fright and intense physical activity. In a moment you’ll see why that’s important.

Today we face very few life-threatening events yet experience stress on an almost constant basis. Now, the threat is to our life-style, happiness, or sense of security. This is known as mental or psycho-social stress. The same hormones released in the case of life-threatening events flood our bodies when our life-style, happiness, or sense of security are deemed threatened. Unfortunately, the chemicals that signify any type of threat are not naturally or easily eliminated from the body. They must be deliberately forced out. Now what did our ancestors do when their lives where threatened? They exercised, sweated, breathed deeply, and rested. I’ll give you three guesses what we have to do when we get stressed out at home, work, school, or in any social situation and the first two don’t count.

Next time we’ll look at some options for eliminating the destructive effects of stress immediately and over the long-term and why these actions are important. For now, get some exercise, breathe deeply, and get sufficient rest.