Stress 101 - A Beginner's Guide

What is stress and how does it work?

Let’s start from the beginning. You need to understand a few basics, because it’s only when you understand what’s happening to you, and why, that can you start to take control of it and change it.

Stress is a natural, and entirely healthy, bodily response to danger. Any danger – real, anticipated, imagined, emotional, psychological, physical.

Stress is the body’s way of coping with danger: nnby rerouting blood flow to major muscles (the ones you might need if you are about to run from a hungry tiger)nby causing you to sweat so you stay physically cool (so you don’t overheat when running away from the tiger)nby speeding up the breathing rate so you get oxygen into your body (giving you fuel to use when fleeing from the tiger)nby improving your vision a little (so you can see which way to run and see exactly where the tiger is)nby releasing glucose stored in the liver so you get an energy rush (and can outrun the tiger – or at least keep going long enough until you find a tree to climb.)

So stress is pretty useful. Without it you might end up as a tiger’s dinner.

If you are in danger of being attacked by a tiger (or if your car suddenly goes out of control, or if you see your child about to put her hand in the fire) what you need is exactly what stress offers you – a short, sharp improvement in the body’s ability to perform. You need to think quicker, act quicker, see better.

But then, when it’s over, you need to relax.

And here’s the problem. Modern life isn’t usually like that – sudden life-or-death emergencies, over as soon as they start. You don’t meet that many tigers nowadays (though I’ve worked for a few sharks in my time….).

Stress today is continual - low level pressure from a thousand sources that never seems to let up. We are always under stress. We never get to relax. Our bodies are continually in a state of over-preparedness. We are, essentially, expecting to be attacked at all times.

So our breathing stays shallow, we feel low-level panic, we don’t sleep too well. We find ourselves preoccupied and don’t pay enough attention to the relationships with those we care for. We find things start to go wrong and - guess what – that means that we feel under attack and when we are under attack, our perfectly natural stress reactions kick in…

Different people react in different ways to the continuing presence of stress in their lives. Symptoms can include the following:nnanxiety or panic attacks;na feeling of being constantly under pressure;nalways being harassed or feeling that you are always in a rush;nirritability;nsadness, moodiness, depression;nphysical symptoms(eg. stomach problems, headaches, chest pain);nallergic reactions, (eg. eczema or asthma);ninsomnia or waking too early after restless sleep;ndrinking too much, smoking, overeating, or doing drugs;nn[PLEASE NOTE: If you experience some or all of these symptoms, they may not be to do with stress – there may be other causes. If you are concerned you should always consult a qualified medical practitioner or therapist.

Remember what I said at the very start – it is never wrong to ask for help from an expert when you are not sure what’s going on in your body or your brain! That’s what experts are there for.
So, stress is generally a natural (and quite a good) thing. But too much of it, for too long, without a period of relaxation at the end of it, can do us a lot of damage.]

I guess the reason you are reading this is that you have too much stress and that it’s doing you harm. But at least you need to know this: stress is perfectly natural. You are not ‘ill’ or ‘ damaged’ because you experience stress. However, if stress, like any other natural function, is out of control, then you need to work out how to manage it.

Many of the things that happen in your life are outside your control – you can’t control what people say about you, or what the economy is doing (and how that might affect your job), or whether someone you love becomes ill, or whether it is going to be sunny on your annual vacation. However you can learn to control how you react to these things.

At heart stress management involves two things

Taking control of how many stressful things you allow into your life.
Taking control of how you react to the stressful things that will stay in your life.