Stress. Possibly the most loaded word of the 21st century. At least, in the workplace. The slogan: “I’m so stressed right now, I don’t know if I can still …” Probably doesn’t sound strange. But what exactly is stress?
“Stress means a state of pressure or strain that occurs when the adaptive capabilities in a given life situation are exceeded. Stress can be either positive or negative. ” [1]
Let’s dissect this. What immediately stands out is the distinction between positive and negative stress. Positive stress (or positive tension) results from the anticipation of a pleasurable event, such as before a competition or before a vacation. After some time, this tension dissipates and the body returns to a state of rest. When stress is not in a person’s best interest and is borne as an unpleasant event, we speak of negative stress. [2]
Then, to examine the first part of the definition, we must go back in time, to the age of primordial man. Our bodies have developed and evolved over millions of years in response to a number of predictable environmental stressors. In dangerous situations, your body goes into crisis mode; your metabolism is optimized and your cortisol and/or adrenaline levels in your bloodstream to the major muscle groups rise to help you fight or flee (fight-or-flight response). So the release of these (stress) hormones help your sympathetic nervous system direct energy to where it is needed. [3] Useful when you are face to face with a growling tiger, less appropriate when you are in the car and threatening to be late for a meeting.
Chronic stress – or stress that is not the result of an acute incident – is literally killing us. By continuously experiencing modern “life or death” events and then replaying these events in our minds, we continue to experience stress and our bodies do not return to “rest-and-digest” mode. [3] When a duck has fended off a rival, it flaps its wings several times to get the frustration out of its system and then happily floats on again. [4] We don’t. We attach emotions to our experiences and start visualizing different outcomes. That takes a lot of mental resources and thus energy, which then does not go where it is needed: the immune system. Increased blood pressure, palpitations, severe anxiety reactions, depression and also the dreaded burnout are all (possible) consequences of chronic stress. [5] It also significantly increases the risk of (chronic) diseases. In fact, the CDCs (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; sort of like the U.S. Public Health Service) designate stress as the cause of 90% of chronic diseases! [6] So as you can see, chronic stress really is literally killing us!
But how do you dodge the bullets? The first step is recognition. Symptoms of stress include: headaches, dizziness, digestive problems, stomachaches, sleep problems, fatigue, memory and/or concentration problems. [5] One of the most impactful things that happens when you are chronically stressed is that blood flow to the prefrontal cortex is cut off. Anyone somewhat familiar with neuroscience probably knows that the prefrontal cortex is the part of the brain that helps us with tasks such as abstract thinking, problem analysis, higher cognition and moral reasoning. [7] It is literally what sets us apart from the apes. Do you recognize yourself as more impulsive, reactive, distrustful and less empathetic? Then chances are you’ve been flapping your cortisol credit card quite a bit (for those who have read my previous blog, this is very similar to the energy credit card metaphor).
One way to arm yourself against chronic stress is to develop your prefrontal cortex. Meditation can help with this, as it increases the density of your nerve cells(cortical thickness) in this area. [8] Be especially aware that throughout the day we are bombarded by all kinds of advertisements that cater to our cravings, demanding our attention and money (duplicate ads on Youtube, spoken advertisements on the radio, pop ups while browsing, etc.). Just dwell on the thought that all (social) media seems to be essentially out to make us feel anxious, unattractive or isolated. And who have an answer to that? You guessed it – for just a few bucks, you can feel beautiful and desired again. And what about all those fast food advertising signs? No wonder you crave those carbs after your glycogen stores in your liver are depleted by the cortisol.
The Buddhists among us probably recognize covetousness as the root of human suffering. My advice: free yourself from these cravings and manage your information flows. Have you seen “The Social Dilemma” on Netflix yet? Even the creators of Facebook themselves say they keep their children far away from it. That’s how addictive and toxic it is! Don’t give in to slogans like “Real men drive such and such cars.” Or “If my kids don’t get an IPhone then they don’t belong.” Bullshit! These kinds of mental viruses are par excellence the way to be broke as part of the 3.5% richest people on this globe anyway; not exactly conducive to your stress level.
So, meditate, do breathing exercises, practice morning visualization or shake it off by moving around and flapping your wings. First, create an overview in that mountain of responsibilities so you spend less mental resources remembering, recalling and panicking because you “can’t see the forest for the trees. Learn to defend yourself and consume less caffeine. Dare to step out of your comfort zone and say “No” occasionally. All of these ways will help you increase your mental resilience and re-calibrate your stress bucket so that you can go through life relaxed again.
Dennis Kruijer
[1] https://www.ensie.nl/redactie-ensie/stress
[2] https://www.stresscentrum.nl/informatie-over-stress/stress/
[3] Shojai, P (2016) The urban monk, eastern wisdom and modern hacks to stop time and find success, happiness, and peace. Rodale Inc.
[4] Tolle, E. (1997) The power of now: a guide to spiritual enlightenment. Namaste Publishing Inc.
[5] https://www.ggzheuvelrug.nl/chronische-stress-wat-is-dat-eigenlijk/
[7] O’Reilly, R.C. (2010) The what and how of prefrontal cortical organization. Trends Neurosci. 33, 355-361.
[8] Lazar SW, Kerr CE, Wasserman RH, Gray JR, Greve DN, Treadway MT, McGarvey M, Quinn BT, Dusek JA, Benson H, Rauch SL, Moore CI, Fischl B. Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness. Neuroreport. 2005 Nov 28;16(17):1893-7.
