Stress is so commonly experienced that it is often overlooked. It is so woven into American culture that many of us experience daily life against a backdrop of stressors. I think this makes it more difficult for us to create space to take care of the stress response. It may feel impossible to be able to create enough space, it may feel like there are so many external stressors that your day would look like constantly addressing the stress response, it may feel overwhelming, or it may feel like you should be able to handle stress without experiencing the stress response.
The stress response is what happens in the body when the brain perceives external stimuli as threatening or challenging. Some examples of external stimuli may include sitting in traffic when you’re running late, an upcoming deadline, the phrase ‘pop quiz’, your boss coming into the office in a bad mood, etc. To further explain what is meant by an external stimuli, let’s look at the slight difference between anxiety and stress. Anxiety is a more internal response to our interpretation of an event. For example, if your boss comes into work and yells at the first employee they see, your body’s stress response is most likely going to activate. However, anxiety plays a role when we begin to interpret the stressor, i.e. “my boss knows I’m running late on that deadline, my boss never liked me, my boss is going to yell at me next”. Each of these example phrases is a different path that anxiety can take.
This matters because when we’re thinking primarily of the stress response, our focus is on how the body reacts to external events. The stress response does not need the parts of our brain that interpret events, it’s function is to keep us safe from potential harmful threats. It is designed to activate the flight-fight-freeze-fawn response that will miraculously move your legs as you run away from a bear in the woods before you have even fully processed that there was a bear. This is, however, just an example and not advised as I believe most bears if you run- they will chase you. So, although anxiety and stress are very closely related in order to start identifying and understanding our own stress response the differences in the two matter.
The Stress Response
Stress is a natural human response. It is the way our body reacts to perceived threats and challenges. This is where the flight-fight-freeze-fawn response comes into play. When the brain decides a situation is a challenge or perceived threat, the hypothalamus sets off this alarm in the body. For example, on your morning walk someone drives past you speeding. The hypothalamus perceives this as a threat to your safety and signals an alarm that releases a surge of hormones in the body, mainly adrenaline and cortisol. Adrenaline makes the heart beat faster, causes blood pressure to rise and gives you energy. You are better prepared then to either fight, run away, or hide from the perceived threat. Cortisol, the primary stress hormone, slows functions that would be nonessential or even harmful in a potentially dangerous situation. For example, if the car speeding is veering towards you- it would be harmful to think through your options, your body needs to act quickly to keep you safe. This natural alarm system also communicates with the brain regions that control mood, motivation, and fear.
This is why our brain can often feel “offline” when we are experiencing the stress response. We don’t need the ability to process, think carefully about our next steps when we are presented with a truly life threatening situation. We just need to act in order to protect ourselves. This is also why, fun fact- most people are not able to accurately guess what their fight-flight-freeze-fawn response will be until they are presented with the situation. Fight refers to confronting something head-on, flight refers to trying to get away from the threat, freeze refers to hiding from the threat or staying still and fawn is trying to reason with the threat. So, if the threat is someone that may be intending to cause you harm- you may punch that person, you may run away from that person, you may stay incredibly still, or you may plead with that person to stop. There is no shame or judgment in these responses as our brain goes offline and the body does whatever it thinks is the best way to protect us in that given moment.
Stress and the stress response is a built in safety alarm system. It is not inherently bad. It can be a good thing to find motivation in a deadline, or be encouraged to fight for something we believe in, etc. However, too much of a good thing can also result in something negative and that is especially true with stress.
Negative Health Impacts of Stress
Chronic stress, or prolonged experiences of stress have negative impacts on our health both physically and mentally. This is because the stress response is intended to be used in the short-term, so when left turned on for longer periods of time the affected systems in the body are not able to go back to their regular activities. This long-term activation and too much exposure to cortisol and other stress hormones actually can disrupt almost all of the body’s natural processes. It puts you at a higher risk for experiencing anxiety, depression, digestive problems, headaches, muscle tension and pain, heart disease, heart attack, high blood pressure, stroke, weight gain, sleep problems and problems with focus or memory.
This list totally sounds scary. But, it is the reason why taking the space in order to turn off that built in alarm system is necessary. Again, it is designed to work positively for us in the short-term, it’s when it is left turned on that things can go hay-wire. That means, finding the time to talk to your community when confronted with new challenges, such as having a baby, or starting a new job, or ending a relationship. Make time for joy and deep breathing. Make time to eat full meals and drink enough water and move your body. These things I know are preached at us all day long- but how do we actually do it? I know I’ve had jobs where it feels silly almost to take my 10 minute break by walking around the office building, with no purpose other than to just walk. It feels limiting to know that I have to build in breaks in order to eat my meals, it feels impossible to juggle all the responsibilities of life and take care of yourself.
Stress isn’t going anywhere, and American culture is going to keep adding external stressors. We live in a society of what seems like never-ending expectations to produce, work, and be efficient. So, in order to take the space you need to address the stress response is a radical action. A radical act of self-love and acceptance of the body’s natural response to the world around us. So, take the silly walk with no purpose around the office, create space in your schedule to spend time on an activity that is purely just for fun, sit outside in the mornings for 5 minutes and feel the breeze on your face, call a friend on your morning commute. Taking the time to pause, breath deeply (inhale through your nose for 5 seconds, hold for 5 seconds, and exhale through your mouth for 7 seconds), to stretch, or to laugh always takes less time than it feels like and is deeply worth it. Allow yourself space to turn off the stress response when it gets triggered.
- Laura Bowling, BDAC Staff Therapist
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What’s the difference between stress and anxiety?