I’m stressed out… The word stress is common enough, it’s part of everyday language. In a 2006 APA survey, nearly half of respondents reported concern with the amount of stress they have in their lives. We frequently hear about stress management being important, but why? What do you really know about stress? What causes it, and why it is important to address? Basically, stress is the “wear and tear” on the mind and body in response to activities of daily living. It greatly impacts our health and wellness.
Stressors, the events to which we react, come in all shapes and sizes. Some we recognize easily, and some are completely off most people’s radar. Death of a loved one, financial ruin, and imprisonment most people recognize as stressors. Change in eating habits or sleep habits, vacation, and outstanding personal achievement many people don’t even consider having a stress load to them… yet they do.
In clinical circles, we look at what events create social readjustment or “stressfulness” associated with life events to identify stressors. Stress load is the accumulative sum of readjustment indicators. High and prolonged stress loads and illness have a causation relationship in research. The risk of illness is reduced by 30% when we maintain a moderate stress load, and minor stress keeps illness risk low (Holmes & Rahe). Research by The American Institute of Stress, 2007, indicated that 90% of all health problems are related to stress. Adjustment to a stressor involves a complex mind body response with both a physiological and psychological aspect to it. Stressors can be acute or chronic and be positive or negative events in activities of daily living. Stress creates a window of opportunity for illness.
Simply put, stress has a chain response: an external event or stressor creates a reaction that creates a change in physiology. Part of the reason we don’t notice stress is that we can become habituated or accustomed to the stress. It is our “normal”. It is important to inform yourselves about the effects of chronic stress and, of course, do something about it. It becomes more difficult to ignore or laugh off a lifestyle with chronic stress when we understand the consequences to our bodies and minds. Creating habits that support a low-stress lifestyle is important.
Although we may not notice, the physical stress response includes increases to heart rate and blood pressure to provide increased blood flow to the brain to improve decision-making. Blood sugars rise to provide more energy, and blood is directed away from the gut to the limbs and large muscles to provide strength for combat or escape. This is commonly known as the fight or flight response; after all our stress response is connected to our hardwired self-preservation response. Stressors create a brain response with increased activation of the amygdala, which is in the “stress pathway” of the brain (Le Doux). Every change in our physiologic state is accompanied by an appropriate change in our mental-emotional state, conscious or unconscious, and conversely, every change in our mental-emotional state is accompanied by an appropriate change in our physiologic state (Green, Green, & Walters).
Not convinced yet of the importance of addressing stress. Consider a list of the effects of chronic stress.
- Compromised Memory and Concentration
- Skin Problems
- Stroke Risk
- Sleep Disorders
- Mood Impacts: depression, irritability, etc.
- Heart Disease
- Digestive Problems
- Weakened Immune System (get sick easier)
- Hypertension
- Weight Gain
Do yourself and your loved ones a favor. Take just one step; make a plan to evaluate the stress load in your life.