One of my pet peeves lately is hearing the phrase “manage your stress”.
This phrase bothers me because it assumes that all stress is bad stress, but stress isn’t always bad that needs to be managed. And some stress feels so big that it’s hard to manage with the classic recommendations of meditation and breath work.
So, let’s talk about stress!
What is Stress?
Stress is defined as “the body’s physical and mental response to demands or challenges, which can be caused by both negative and positive events.”
When something stressful happens, our body releases adrenaline. Adrenaline helps the body with the fight or flight response. You become more alert and your blood pressure rises.
Your body will also make changes when you go through a stressful event – your muscles tense, your breathing quickens and is more shallow, and systems in your body slow down (for example, your digestive system slows to conserve energy, in case you do need to fight or flee from a situation).
Most people correlate stress to things like sitting in traffic, being called into your boss’s office, or having a lot of work with a tight deadline.
But stress is also the “good” stuff, like interviewing for a job, giving a presentation, your workouts, and when you’re in a calorie deficit to lose weight.
Though your body is very smart and an amazing place, it cannot tell the difference between “good” stress and “bad” stress. At the end of the day, it’s all just stress.
Acute Stress
There are two types of stress. Let’s start with acute stress!
Acute stress is short term stress. This is typically stress responses to immediate demands like a deadline at work or having to slam on your brakes in traffic.
When this event takes place, your heart rate will increase, your breathing will be in your chest and become more shallow, and you may sweat. But your body quickly returns to your baseline state when the event is finished.
Over a short period of time, acute stress can impact your memory, your decision making skills, and how alert you are. In the short term, you will feel anxious, anger, fear, and like you’re “on edge”.
Physically, acute stress can lead to insomnia, digestive issues, and feeling avoidant to situations.
Though your body will recover quickly from acute stress, there is a potential to get Acute Stress Disorder, which has your stress symptoms lasting for 3 days up to one month after the stressful event. PTSD can also happen for some people because of acute stress.
Chronic Stress
Acute stress may be the “better” stress, chronic stress is the type of stress that can and will impact your goals, your health, and your hormones the most.
Chronic stress is prolonged and repeated stressors that cause you to stay in a heightened state of stress and alert for a longer period of time.
Chronic stress can be caused by financial hardship, relationship problems, job security or environment, health concerns or chronic illness, major life changes (like having children or moving), and loneliness.
With chronic stress, your symptoms get worse. Physically, you’ll experience more aches and pains, jaw clenching and muscle tension, fatigue, exhaustion, digestive problems, higher blood pressure, a weak immune system, and sleep issues.
Mentally, chronic stress leads to anxiety, irritability and mood swings, depression, difficulty making decisions, trouble concentrating, forgetfulness, and crying spells. All of these can also lead to social isolation, changes in eating habits (either eating too much or too little), nail biting and teeth grinding, and restlessness.
Chronic stress can lead to health concerns like heart disease, diabetes, anxiety disorders, and even PCOS and other autoimmune disorders.
How to Actually Manage Your Stress
Stress is not avoidable, but we want to try to prevent it from turning into chronic stress that leads to health concerns.
So, how do you actually manage stress?
- Exercise regularly, even before you’re stressed, makes you more resilient to stress, improves your mood (hi endorphins), and reduces your anxiety.
- Prioritize sleep. Good, quality sleep improves your mood, your energy, and your physical health.
- Eat a balanced diet. Nourishing your body with healthy foods (and frequently) will keep your blood sugar stable and make stressful situations easier to manage.
- Limit alcohol and drugs in times of higher stress.
- Find relaxation techniques that work for you. You don’t need to meditate and do breathwork unless they work for you. You can also do yoga, get outside, listen to music.
- Take breaks and listen to your body. It’s also helpful to know what phase your cycle is in – some phases are more resilient than others.
- Connect with your social circle. Getting social helps with stress!
- Limit exposure to known stressors where you can. Sure, you can’t avoid your boss, but you can take breaks from social media and the news if they make you anxious.
- Look for areas you can reduce stress. For example, cluttered spaces stress women out more than men. Or is there a boundary you’re avoiding that would help eliminate stress?
- You’re not a failure if you ask for help. Mental health professionals, trusted friends, and family can all help with your stress!
Though there are stressors everywhere we turn, your stress doesn’t necessarily mean it’s bad. The bad stress is when it turns chronic and you develop symptoms from the chronic stress.
So, stress is not a bad word and neither is cortisol. Both are important in different ways and areas of our lives.
However, left unmanaged or when you have stress on top of stress on top of stress, that’s when stress becomes a problem.
If you feel like stress is potentially a problem, take the Hormone Symptom Analyzer Quiz to see what your hormonal symptoms are saying to you!
Or, if you want a customized plan for your hormones – including your cortisol management – let’s schedule a free Hormone Analysis Call to uncover how stress is impacting your hormones and life.
