Many of people I meet say they are ‘Stressed Out’ or ‘Feeling Under Pressure’ for most of their waking hours. So I thought I’d do some research into ‘Stress’, the effects it can have and some of the ways to combat one of the silent conditions that’s slowly killing the nation.
It sounds serious but it is - especially for those that are having their lives ruined by their natural reaction being permanently on ‘Red-Alert’.
You see ‘Stress’ is your way of responding to demanding situations or threats. Us humans are ‘Hard-wired’ to sense danger - whether real or imagined - and under attack, our defences kick into high gear in a rapid, automatic process known as the ‘Fight-or-Flight’ reflex known as the ‘Stress Response.’
The ‘Stress Response’ is there to protect you and when working properly, it maintains focus, spikes energy levels and in general keeps you alert. In emergency situations, ‘Stress’ is actually a life-saver - giving you extra strength to defend yourself.
‘Stress’ can also help you rise to meet challenges. It’s what keeps you on your toes at work, sharpens concentration when playing sport, or drives you on in a marathon when you might want to DNF. However, beyond a certain level, stress causes major health issues - affecting your mood, productivity, relationships and quality of life.
Now you can see, why ‘Stress’ is a ‘Silent Killer’.
It can also be a ‘Silent’ emotion. I’m quite convinced or rather, I’ve convinced myself that I don’t suffer from ‘Stress’ too much. It might just be that subconsciously, I’ve found a way of handling ‘Stress’ that nullified my ‘Stress Reaction’. I do fell calm most of the time and very patient.
A kind-of-natural ‘State of Prozac’. The drug Prozac is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI). The drug works by blocking the absorption of the neurotransmitter serotonin in the brain. BY regulating the amount of serotonin that helps our brain cells transmit messages to each other it results in a better and more stable mood - a state in my case of feeling ‘Less Stressed’ - Who knows? It sounds like a good theory though doesn’t it.
My personality type says I should be stressed or fatigued due to an overload of sensory or emotional input - and I understand that I should be a more stressed person considering my lifestyle and job - however I’m just not. Don’t get me wrong, I can be just as adrenalised as the next person only not all the time and certainly not ‘Stressed’ by inheritance from anyone else’s predicament either.
I do believe my ‘Stress Response’ was supressed in my teenage years and that possibly surviving an all boys’ school taught me to compartmentalise different situations and tasks which I’ve simply carried on and used in adult-life. Life is processed like a production line one task at a time.
Anyway, it could be a system that you could use, especially if you are feeling ‘Stressed Out’ right now.
That’s if you are ‘Stressed Out’ or in fact just ‘Under Pressure’ from a number of personal issues or situations that are lining up like the planets creating a major cataclysmic life-problem coming over the horizon.
Everyone is under the cosh and driving the five miles across Cardiff this morning, made even my blood start to boil and for those doing this every day of their working life - well I can understand why it might take a couple of hours and a few coffees to clear the grey storm clouds that can gather in that nose-to-tail-traffic-jams.
Yet it could be avoided by people going to work earlier of later to avoid the situation -working from home or simply cycling/walking instead. For those that tell me that work really stresses them out, I always say, ‘Well, find another job’… Or speak to the powers that be as they want you to happy and productive in your work just as much as you do - try speaking to them when they’re not ‘Stressed Out’ too perhaps.
Now, rather than just go on and on about ‘Stress’ and ‘Stress you out’ further, I’ll offer you a solution. A form of ‘Stress Management’ - or rather ‘Stress Awareness’ so then you can fell ‘Stress Liberated’.
My task to you then, is to look at your levels of ‘Stress’ during the day. 0 being so laid back you are horizontal and 10 meaning you are on the edge ready to jump. Taking a reading three times a day gives a simple out of 30 score where we can see the peaks and troughs through the day and where the ‘Days of Stress’ occur in the week.
For a lot of folk, it’s just after work and just as they get home that the ‘Stress Factor’ will be hitting 10 - fatigued, hungry and emotionally drained - that’s the danger point where booze and food are used to lift the mood. We do know by regulating the amount of serotonin that brain cells use to transmit messages to each other - it results in a better and more stable mood and perhaps if better understood, we wouldn’t go on a journey of self-destruction in front of the fridge or head off to the off-licence.
Running, cycling, walking, making goals, being creative, listening to music, yoga - just being active can make your ‘Stress Response’ trip out and let reality return.
Yes, putting it simply all you need to do to ‘De-Stress’ is to get active. If you haven’t tried, give it a go. Also ask yourself what’s really causing your ‘Stress’ - Wife/Husband, Kids, Money, Job, Lifestyle, Alcohol, Drugs, Addiction, whatever and just start being honest about what could be a ‘Life-Changer’ if left unchallenged.
I’m going to think on about what I can do to keep my ‘Stress-Reaction’ confined to when I’m under attack and can let my ‘Fight-or-Flight’ reflex kick in and save me.
I hope it will ‘Save’ you too - Amen
1,025 Marathons - 248 Ultras - 15 Marathon des Sables - 9 Guinness World Records
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