Understanding the stress cycle

UNDERSTANDING THE STRESS CYCLE

Both adults and children experience stress at some point in their lives. Stress is ‘the non-specific response of the body to any demand made upon it’

Stress can be any factor that threatens our physical or mental well-being. These can be real or imagined, either a physical attack or a worry about an area of your life such as losing your job, our bodies respond in exactly the same way. When the body feels it is in danger, real or imagined it prepares to fight or run, which is commonly known as the ‘fight or flight’ syndrome’.

Specifically known as the 'sympathetic' nervous system, this is the rapid involuntary response to stress, this is the system that prepares us in fight or flight and the other known as the 'parasympathetic' nervous system is the calming and restorative, more composed partner to this yoyo couple. So one calms and soothes the other sends the body into high alert, all hands on deck so to speak into protection mode if the sympathetic nervous system has responded to stress.

In this world we live in today, stress is batted about as if it is expected to be part of our lives on a daily basis and that it’s ok, it’s considered normal to some extent. That’s a ‘BIG FAT LIE’ it’s not normal, never should have been or even got us to this point of modern day stressors, financial worries and especially for a majority during the pandemic this past fifteen months. Work problems and relationship difficulties very rarely completely disappear, so a majority of the populations bodies remain tense and cannot relax. It is this unused response mechanism that causes so much damage emotionally and physically to the majority.

With an estimated two-thirds of all the illnesses seen by GP’s are stress related and 55% of the UK workforce miss 19 days or more per year due to stress and a staggering 85% are stressed at work.

So I figure getting to understand the stress cycle is a good place to start if you want to understand what’s really going on when it comes to stress in your body and mind.

Step 1 - Stress begins with a your thoughts. It is not the events of life that cause stress, but the way that the person thinks about the event.

A great quote from Epictetus, 120 AD is:

“MAN IS NOT DISTURBED BY THINGS BUT BY THE VIEWS HE TAKES OF THEM”

Stress only becomes problematic when you think negatively about whatever it is that is stressing you.

Step 2 - Negative thoughts produce negative emotions. The thought you are thinking about starts in the cortex of the brain which triggers in the mid-brain an emotion consistent with the thought, that thought could be fear, anger, hatred, guilt, anxiety, regret, grief, sadness, jealousy, embarrassment or remorse.

Step 3 - this is where it gets serious if you haven’t recognised the signs by this point, the sympathetic nervous system and the endocrine or hormonal system now get involved. The negative thought sends nerve impulses to the adrenal glands which release into the blood stream a number of different chemicals. (You’re starting to get my drift now aren’t you). These chemicals can now circulate throughout your body affecting the pituitary gland and causing it to release yet more chemicals known as, yes you guessed it’ ‘the stress chemicals’ these include corticosteroids, such as adrenaline, noradrenaline, other hormones and neurotransmitters.

Step 4 - and here it is the 'jackpot' of all the things you really do not want, the stress chemicals activate every single organ in your body and the physical effects are more noticeable if the emotion has been pretty intense. Some physical symptoms show up as heart racing or palpitations, headaches, feeling nauseous, trembling, insomnia, sweating, Short term these symptoms can subside and are harmless, but if it is a constant stress factor then medium and longer term issues and symptoms will show up and the longer this goes on the more chance of chronic disease, shortening of life or a decrease in the quality of life.

So what can you do about stress? Well if you start to recognise any thoughts that come up that are not really aligned with what is 'factually' going on in your life but an emotion to a situation is becoming quite strong, then start to take note of when it happens and try to look at it and find out if it is indeed an emotion worthy of the situation or is it just a big fat lie that you are convincing yourself of. We have all been guilty of assuming the worst or talking negatively about ourselves, to ourselves or about a situation at certain points in life, but it's when this negative chatter becomes the norm that you need to keep it in check and clear out the negative untruths.

Just start to recognise any red flags and give any unjustified negative thought a make over and put a more realistic positive spin on it, or look for solutions rather than dwelling on any given problem that may arise. Start to think of arming yourself with coping mechanisms to avoid a full on journey all the way to step 3 or 4, try to stop any unnecessary thoughts getting too big in the first two stages, recognise, respect what’s currently going on, be present and calm the reaction or emotion down before it goes into spiral mode.

Breathing technique advise, holistic remedies, meditation apps are all on hand everywhere you look these days. Healthier eating plans to avoid excess junk are necessary as poor nutrition also puts your body and mind under huge stress, again information is everywhere so do your homework and find out what works for you and your lifestyle.Take some time out to find out what you like and start there.

A huge must do is to move, move your body which in turn moves your mind out of the negative into a more positive 'feel good' natural state. Moving is what ever makes you happy, a workout, a walk, gardening, dancing to a great tune while you are doing some housework, biking, hiking, running, swimming, what ever you want but just move daily and this will definitely help with your thought process and keep you aligned with a much higher feeling energy and vibration.

I suggest you have a good look at all areas of your life and any stress factors, be honest and start to see if you need more balance and more calmness and perhaps a simpler way of living your life with out too much chaos. Find the balance and make sure that there is plenty of time to spend in the opposite system to the fight or flight high alert area, get more familiar with learning how to enter calm, balanced, restorative and more present parts of your life so that both systems can find their balance and keep you out of any unnecessary future illness or discomfort in life.

I’ve treated many clients, each one of them has been taught the importance of relaxation, and the benefits of understanding their own parasympathetic system, this is the very system that comes into play during the relaxation stage, the ‘Alpha’ frequency wave pattern of the brain at the start of hypnosis before moving onto the theta frequency wave pattern, where we gain access into the deeper levels of hypnosis, the intriguing border between the conscious and the subconscious worlds. Advanced meditation also takes you into these frequencies, so perhaps read my blog on ‘Meditation’ if you would like to learn a new skill that will enhance your ability to relax and re-focus.

If you feel too busy to learn anything right now on your own, simply reach out on here via the email form to me in person for a complimentary chat regarding your needs, I love hearing from new clients.

Hopefully this has opened your eyes a little on how 'heavily impacted' your physical body can be through your thoughts alone. If so, my work here is done and you're welcome.

With huge love,

Until my next blog,