“Stress and its impact is the number one health issue confronting modern civilization. The release of adrenaline-like hormones to prepare the body for fight, flight, or freeze is linked as a comorbid factor with virtually all body systems and illnesses including cardiovascular, pulmonary, digestive, endocrine, immune, and nervous diseases.” Physician Dave Johnson (source ▶️)
When it comes to health, we don’t immediately think about stress management. The fact is, stress affects our body, mood and behavior. On top of eating, exercising and sleeping, it benefits our health to pay closer attention to our stress level.
Evidence indicates that we have reduced mental capacity when we are under pressure, which causes bad judgment and decisions. “Stress can rob you of the ability to draw on cognitive systems underlying memory and goal-directed behavior that enable you to solve problems more quickly, more efficiently and more effectively,” notes psychologist Anthony Wagner. Princeton research found that poor people, under the duress of limited resources, “exhibited a drop in cognitive function similar to a 13-point dip in IQ” and were “left with fewer ‘mental resources’ to focus on complicated, indirectly related matters such as education, job training and even managing their time.” What is true about poverty can be true about any other types of pressure due to jobs, love, or other tough situations. When stress persists, it can lead to clinical depression or anxiety.
Stress is not all bad though. A healthy dose of stress and the right mindset can jolt us into action, enhance our performance, and subsequently improve our lives. The key is not to be too on edge that our health starts to suffer.
Here are a few tips on how to live an stress-managed life:
- Notice your stress level throughout the day. When you get too stressed, relax. Take a breather, go for a walk, take a shower, or do something you enjoy such as listening to music.
- Have a sense of control. Research done by University of Amsterdam shows that people’s perceived control of their situations is positively related to both how engaged they are in coping with the situations as well as their wellbeing: “strategies reflecting more engaged coping such as active confronting and reassuring thoughts, were associated with more sense of control and therefore to psychological well-being… In contrast, strategies reflecting disengagement coping, such as passive reaction pattern, palliative reaction, and avoidance, were associated with less perceived control, which in turn was negatively associated with psychological well-being.” One way to get control over your life is through a growth mindset. See more in Self > Principles > Growth Mindset.
- Change the narrative. As scientist David Hamilton argues: “…how many stress hormone in the brain of each person has very little to do with the situation they find themselves in. It really is a consequence of each person’s interpretation of the situation; how they therefore feel about that particular situation.” To change your life’s narrative, see Life > Methods > Life Stories.
- Get plants and go to nature. People who spend more time in greenery are found to have lower heart rate, blood pressure, cholesterol, and stress hormone cortisol, reports journalist Alice G. Walton. They also have reduced risk of coronary heart disease, type II diabetes, and heart disease, according to a new meta-analysis in the journal Environmental Research. House plants would also do the trick of making you happy.
- Bring zen into your life. Mindfulness should not be limited to the time and space you carve out to meditate. To intermix mindfulness into your everyday activities, check out zen master Thich Nhat Hanh’s How to Sit, Walk, Eat, Love, Fight, and Relax 📖.
- Rest sufficiently. Lack of sleep causes stress and vice versa. In fact, sleep deprivation gives us so much pressure that it has been used as an unethical technique to get suspects to admit to crimes they didn’t commit. For tips about how to rest well, see Self > Body Hacking > Sleeping.
- Get moving. Exercise releases feel-good hormones such as endorphin and is a great way to improve our mood, the Mayo Clinic says. For tips about staying active, see Self > Body Hacking > Exercising.
- Eat well. Eating poorly can make us lethargic and cause health problems, creating stress. On the other hand, some of us overeat to cope with stress. Having a positive association with food ▶️ will help with our anxiety. See tips about eating well in Self > Body Hacking > Eating.
- Hang out with people who can give you emotional support such as family, friends or communities.
- Protect yourself from harm. Being sick is nerve-wrecking. Protect yourself by avoiding pollution, minimizing smoking, drinking and other drugs, and staying away from toxic environments as well as people.
- Notice when negative emotions turn into prolonged moods. “Emotions tend to be intense, depending on the situation you find yourself in and, for the most part, last only a short time… Moods are a little different. To start, they last longer,” writes author Kayt Sukel. When negative sentiments seem to turn into permanent depression or anxiety, seek medical help.
- Tackle root causes of stress. Ultimately, if there are tensions in your life, such as poverty, loneliness, being bullied, or struggle in self-actualization, it’s hard for us to relax. Deal with the root causes that are stressing you out to release the pressure. For more about anti-bullying, see Groups > Group Conflicts > Bullying.
- Heal your trauma. If unfortunately you have gone through traumatic experiences such as losing a loved one or having financial strife, seek help to get healed. For example, psychiatrist Bessel van der Kolk suggests ▶️ 6 ways of healing trauma without medication: psychotherapy, EMDR, yoga, theater and movement, neural feedback, and psychedelics.
Sukel summarizes how to have a stress-free life very well: “… regular cardiovascular exercise, ample sleep… nutritious foods… and even meditation can help lower stress, regulate hormone and neurotransmitter levels, and improve your mood. Spending some time out in the outdoors, getting out into the sunshine, and spending time with others also has been shown to help. And for those who struggle with mood disorders, there are medicines and therapy methods that can…improve your mood over the long term.”
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