Stress Less

Part of my intention with sharing more work this year is the integration of my psychology studies, namely through scientific research. 

Granted, there has been a degree of controversy around such papers recently, with many examples of researchers creating their hypothesis after already completing their study, opposed to genuinely testing it. 

Nevertheless, I think some of the information is useful and, to save you reading some quite dry research, I will be integrating it across my musings here. 

Stress, both as a concept and a phenomenon, is so commonplace these days we could be forgiven for thinking it has always been integral to our vernacular. But this is not the case. In fact, up until the mid 20th century, it was most often used to describe physical breakdown, both in humans and machinery. 

From the 80’s to 00’s, stress levels have risen by an average of 20% across the population (and it is anticipated to be even higher now). 

These days, it is almost entirely reserved for psychological or emotional difficulty. But what is it? 

The simplest terminology is: A state of worry or tension caused by excessive strain or difficulty. 

Essentially, stress occurs when our capabilities and resources are overwhelmed by our perceptive experience. Overtime, this stimulation begins to adversely affect our nervous system, inhibiting certain functions (immune system, hormonal regulation, digestion) and prime our body for danger. 

Though so much of our lives and daily experiences as a species have changed to be almost unrecognisable from a few hundred years ago, our basic physiological and psychological make up hasn’t. Our nervous system, as well as its regulatory functions, are still operating with the same base programming as when we sought caves for shelter and created fires for warmth and light.  Stress is what occurs when our individual capacity and resources are overwhelmed by our experience of life. If this happens consistently, it becomes distress. 

One of the hardest things for us to understand or change is when this stress becomes part of our daily experience. In fact, our body will actually become addicted to the activating sensation of the autonomic nervous system (the sympathetic nervous system) and start to seek out situations and scenarios which induce cortisol being released. This is why we can see in ourselves or others a desire to constantly find drama or difficulty - stress makes our body feel alive and creates a new baseline, with the more restful state feeling dull by comparison. 

After months or in many cases years of living like this, our baseline changes and our body stays in this constantly vigilant state, in biting the immune system, affecting sleep and focusing most of its energy towards producing stress chemicals and inhibiting more feel-good ones. 

This is why, in the last few decades, Australia has seen nine of the ten biggest killers in our country become stress-related diseases, when previously none were. 

The question then becomes, if we are experiencing an inordinate and unhealthy amount of stress in modern life - what do we do about it? 

In this, the research is quite clear - even though the results may vary. 

We must prioritise activities that actively reduce stress. There are bodies of research to highlight the positive effect regular exercise has on our ability to cope with and process stress, with some naming it our single greatest tool in combatting it. Active rest, in the form of meditation, yin or yoga Nidra are also seen as powerful allies, while other examples single out time in nature or with loved ones as beneficial to restoring our nervous system. 

Unfortunately, spending hours in front of the TV - especially when watching stimulating material - does nothing in reducing activity in our nervous system and, although socialising and exercise can combat excess stress they have the potential to be a cause too. 

One thing the research doesn’t touch on, probably because it is too hard to define, is the cultivation of awareness. 

Perhaps the core essence of Asiatic spiritual teaching is the importance of being able to observe the mind, not become lost in its activity. Yoga, Zen, Taoism and Sufism all highlight this discerning ability as perhaps the most important to hone. The more we can separate our attention from the stimulation of our senses, memories and emotions the more clearly we can see life as it is, not as we are. 

In terms of stress, this skill permits us perspective; watching our heart rate increase, noting our pulse quickening, recognising we are moving towards unhealthy behaviours, perhaps becoming internally agitated or fearful. To begin with, we can’t do much about this inner reaction but notice it’s happening. However, over time we become able to down regulate through breathing or simple choice, become in control of our emotions opposed to at the behest of them. 

Stress will happen in life - it is quite simply inevitable. Our role and power comes from not trying to avoid stress, but in being able to effectively manage and mitigate it whilst not losing ourselves in the process. 

Main References

Brahim, L.O. et al. (2021) The effects of self-management interventions on depressive symptoms in adults with chronic physical disease(s) experiencing depressive symptomatology: A systematic review and meta-analysis [Preprint]. doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-228613/v1.

Fink, G. (2017) ‘Stress: Concepts, definition and history☆’, Reference Module in Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Psychology [Preprint]. doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-809324-5.02208-2.