In today’s world, it’s hard to avoid stress in one form or another. We may have stress in our personal lives, with health, relationship, or money issues, or be under pressure at work. Also, anyone who watches the news may be deeply disturbed by the current state of the world. So, it’s no wonder we sometimes feel stress.
Part of the challenge is that our bodies are still wired to react to threats in the same way as when we were hunter-gatherers over 60,000 years ago. This is the fight-or-flight reaction, which prepares the body when we feel threatened. While this made sense facing a dangerous snake, we now experience many smaller, often intangible, challenges over the day, where this same mechanism triggers. And stress in today’s world is increasing. A recent survey found that one in three adults regularly experiences high or extreme levels of stress.
Of course, there is positive stress that motivates us to get things done, and negative stress, which damages our health and reduces our performance. When we become stressed, the sympathetic nervous system stimulates the adrenal glands to release adrenaline and the “stress hormone”, cortisol. Adrenaline increases our heart rate and blood pressure, while cortisol shuts down non-essential systems in the body, alters the immune system, and affects our mood and emotions. Once the pressure or threat subsides, it can take between 20 and 60 minutes for the stress hormones to return the body to its normal level. If the stress is constant, the physical symptoms accumulate and remain in the body for much longer.
Stress affects the brain, body, and emotions. Physical symptoms can include low energy, insomnia, headaches, aches, pain, and tension, as well as a lowered immune system. Higher levels of cortisol interfere with memory and learning, which makes it difficult to concentrate and focus. Emotionally, we may feel overwhelmed, agitated, anxious, depressed, angry, and irritable, and experience lower self-esteem.
Interestingly, the stress response can be triggered by both real and imagined threats. We interpret the world through our thoughts and feelings, which are not always reliable guides to reality. Our mind is so powerful that simply believing anxious thoughts is enough to trigger the symptoms of stress.
Another cause of stress is our tendency to react automatically, often out of unconscious habit. For instance, we skim-read an email that triggers fear and anger and then reinforce these feelings with emotionally charged thoughts about who is to blame.
There are several ways to work with stress. These include identifying what causes stress in our lives and proactively working on reducing its impact. Some ways to reduce stress could include changing the way we prioritize and manage our workload, being more assertive about not taking on more work, taking exercise to relieve tension, and socializing.
Practicing mindfulness also has a useful role to play. Awareness of our body, thoughts, and emotions allows us to notice the signs of stress earlier, as well as helping us observe how we interpret our experience. Once we have noticed the symptoms of stress, we can use mindfulness techniques to help release physical tension, settle mental agitation, allow negative emotions to dissolve, and bring kindness and compassion to ourselves. By releasing tension and stress, we will have the resources that allow a bit of space and flexibility to respond appropriately, rather than reacting automatically. These techniques work when practiced and experienced during challenging situations, which is not always easy. Over time, they can make a real difference in our ability to manage stress and can bring greater stability, balance, and clarity into our lives.
You can stand in the sea and turn your back to the sea and brace yourself as the waves come crashing into you, or you can face the waves and gracefully float up and down with them as they rise, flow past, and fall back into the ocean.
Suggested weekly practice
- Notice the early symptoms of stress and start working to reduce stress as soon as you can.
- Make sure you include some pleasant activity, like socialising with friends, which allows you to really relax and let go during the week.
- Watch out for pushing back and resisting what arises in your experience and instead allow and accept what happens with openness and kindness.
Guidance
Find somewhere undisturbed and sit in a comfortable, dignified, and upright posture, where you can remain alert and aware.
There are two guided practices for this session. You can close your eyes or lower your gaze while the meditations play.
- Play the first settling practice, then read the session content, which you can print off if that helps.
- Then play the second practice to gently explore how your body, emotions, and mind react to stress and use mindfulness techniques to reduce and release the symptoms of stress.