Stress Free Life |
Stress Management - The Definition of Stress in the Modern World
You will have heard the word ‘stress' bandied about in many contexts involving health; “it's just stress”, “that's stress-related” or “you need to bring your stress levels down”. Many people come out of the doctor's surgery feeling fobbed off or feeling that this is an easy reply because the doctor doesn't have the answers they want. So what is this ‘stress' that is so readily pounced upon and what does it really mean to the body and your health? We have very different worries, concerns and actual stressors than our ancestors and even people just a few generations ago. We don't worry about scarlet fever, malaria or cholera; we don't need to hunt for our own food or escape a real predator. The diseases that we now worry about are degenerative – they cause slow accumulation of damage1 – heart disease, cancer, arthritis, osteoporosis, diabetes, cerebrovascular disorders, all unpleasant, but they mark a correlation with the recognition that our biology and our emotions are intertwined. We now understand and accept that extreme emotional disturbances can affect us physiologically and medicine is now recognising that many of these degenerative diseases can be worsened or even caused by stress. If you think about what you find stressful in your life, you may find this is very different to the person sitting next to you; not just because their life presents different problems to them, but because we respond differently to different stimuli. Thinking in different terms of stress, we begin to see how we can categorise various states of stress; animals often experience acute physical crises, that is that they are faced with a very immediate danger (like being chased by a predator or chasing a prey when half-starved) that may be absolutely terrifying and possibly life-threatening. Our bodies are well-equipped to deal with such immediate responses and adaptations and they are usually relatively short-lived. Chronic physical challenges are also much less known to us now in the Western World; drought, famine, having to walk 2 miles for water whilst starving – all daily occurrences for many humans on the planet and a part of life at least sometimes for many animals. The body is quite well adapted to dealing with these circumstances and handling these more sustained stressors. Part of the irony of modern life is that in response to our over-fed lifestyles we often “diet” to recreate this stressful environment and then wonder why we put on weight when our body has kicked in its natural preservation, starvation techniques and conserved energy by slowing down metabolic rate. The type of stress that we tend to describe in the West are social and physiological disruptions; that is to say that we spend much time postulating and worrying about our interactions with the world around us. Most of us rarely settle a dispute with a fistfight or have to fight off other diners for our food in a restaurant. Instead we have food in abundance, a general acceptance that we will live long enough and therefore the space to create the stressful events in our heads and less physical outlet to externalise this. This can partly explain why you can see many highly stressed individuals pushing themselves to the limit in the gym or out running – we have few really physical expressions for the stressors that our social interaction and our ability to imagine create. So one of the burdens that we have as humans is that we can even experience the physical stress response even just from perceived stress, i.e. stress that we anticipate or worry will or may happen. People doing something as seeming unphysical as playing a game of cards or chess can provoke a similar response to a severe physical threat. The neurologist Antonio Damasio studied the conductor Herbert von Karajan and saw that his heart would beat as wildly when he was listening to a piece of music as when he was conducting it 1. So the term ‘stress' refers to any physical, mental or emotional stimulus that upsets the body's natural balance. It can be caused by physical or psychological circumstances, from the obvious job or personal pressures to those created in the mind, without objectivity in the form of worry. Being overworked, lack of sleep, physical illness, excessive alcohol consumption, and stimulants such as tea, coffee and smoking are common physical factors that put stress on the body or stressors. Psychological problems like depression and anxiety are both causes and symptoms. “Balance” refers to the body's continual need to return to the most ideal situation or parameters that it has, referred to as homeostasis or “staying the same”. This terminology has been more recently adapted to allostasis, recognising that these ideals constantly change for different situations, but this is still appropriate for the initial working definition of stress, “a stressor is anything in the outside world that knocks you out of homeostatic (or allostatic) balance, and the stress-response is what your body does to re-establish homeostasis (or allostatis)” 1. The important point here is the word anything; whatever the stressor is – wounded, starving, chased by a tiger, late for work, arguing with your spouse, too hot, too cold, being run over, being fired, hating your job, being caught in a fire, screaming kids – the stress response that your body turns on is exactly the same. The definition of stressAccording to the renowned Naturopath Marion Kirkham, “stress is anything that creates the need to return to homeostasis and is neither good nor bad, but purely relative; it just is. It is a provocation to adjustment, a situation from which we must either adapt or escape, the two alternative reactions” 2. The worse stressor occurs when neither of these mechanisms are available or possible and perceptions of helplessness are felt (“I feel less able to cope”). This situation has been shown in studies to happen in mental illness and jobs such as nursing where employees feel that they have little control and might feel unheard and undervalued. The effects of chronic stressChronic means “continuing for a long time or constantly recurring" and can refer to any state which causes a stress response. Next week we will look at the mechanism of this reaction, but you may recognise some of the symptoms or states below that can be the effects of continual stress over a long period of time: · Chronic stress affects the gut as blood is diverted away from the muscles, lowering circulation and oxygenation. A build-up of blood in the liver can also occur from the influx of toxins that may in turn be released in the bloodstream and gut via the bile. · Chronic stress lowers the mucosal defences by altering the bicarbonate and other buffer systems that control the body's acid/alkaline balance. This can lead to inflammation which may be more damaging than the original invaders. · It is not the intensity of stress that counts, but how we handle it emotionally and how our system reacts. · If there are many stressors at one time or they are constant or relentless, the ability to have the appropriate response will be impaired and more nutrition will be needed for adrenal and support of hormonal systems. · Cortisol is the steroid hormone produced in response to long-term stress, which raises blood sugar levels and is dangerous on a chronic level. · The bacteria H.Pylori adheres to the mucosa far more easily during stress, leading to stomach ulcers. · Digestive problems (food intolerance and allergy) – energy resources are diverted elsewhere during stress as digestion is not seen as vital at that time; these resources are reprioritised leading to lower absorption of food and therefore lower nutrient status – ironic at a time when more nutrients are needed. · Fatigue associated with blood sugar irregulation and hypertension or high blood pressure. · Pale, ashen face and large pupils. · Low levels of the “anti-stress” hormone DHEA can lead to symptoms such as constant hunger, low sex drive, fat storage and insomnia. · High levels of the stress hormone cortisol can lead to low secretory IgA ( antibodies in gut) and poor gut healing, low immunity, poor tissue healing, raised free radical production in the liver and toxic bile (can cause gut irritation), easy bruising and low melatonin leading to disrupted circadian rhythm (sleep cycle). The body's ability to deal with stress can depend upon its nutrient status and in turn, stress depletes the very nutrients needed to deal with stress; vitamin C, B vitamins, magnesium, zinc and chromium to name a few. A vicious cycle begins and this may cause physical symptoms such as fatigue, chronic headaches, irritability, appetite changes, memory loss, low self-esteem, withdrawal, low sex drive, insomnia and digestive problems. Total Being OpinionAlthough stress can lead to disease, a researcher named Huethner has suggested that long-term stress may cause humans to better adapt to their environment. He argues that severe, long-term stress can cause persons to reject long-held assumptions or behaviours, and that stress can actually help the brain make physical changes that reflect these mental or emotional changes. In short, stress might allow persons to change the way they think and act for the better. So it all boils down to finding that balance in life doesn't it? Too little and you can easily become unmotivated and lethargic; too much and you can be on a one-way journey to degenerative disease and cycles of symptoms . But as we mentioned, the real point is how you respond to the stressors around you, those social and physiological disruption. How well-equipped your body is can determine how these effect you; you know that you can handle similar stressors differently at different times. See www.totalbeing.com for a Nutritional Assessment to choose the right diet and supplements to help you get in control of your health! See www.healthyconvenience.com for help remembering how to get healthy – for posters, shopping guides and recipes. References Bibliography |