Merely living in the 21st century can be stressful, and without available coping strategies, stress often increases with the demands of life. Stress alone is not as widely discussed as other conditions within the mental health community. However chronic stress can negatively impact both our physical and mental health. According to the American Psychological Association’s latest survey on stress, 66% of people experience regular physical symptoms from stress and 63% experience regular psychological symptoms. Stress is actually an organic human response evolutionarily designed to assist us; it was past down as the fight-or-flight response in order to encourage survival. However the human stress response was not intended to be continuously engaged and therefore without certain mechanisms to regulate it, excess stress can take its toll on the mind and body. On a daily basis people encounter stress from numerous sources, including work, money, health, relationships, and media/technology excess.
Chronic stress has been linked to health problems such as high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, obesity, cancer, and a lowered immune system. There have also been numerous studies showing a correlation between stress and mental health problems, especially mood disorders such as anxiety and depression. Stress can even shrink the brain and alter its white matter according to a new study out of UC Berkeley.
Completely eradicating stress from one’s life may never be an attainable goal. However, a plethora of useful stress management skills have emerged over the last decade. These coping skills have included things such as deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, guided imagery, regular exercise, regular self-care activities, a healthy diet, making daily check-lists, and learning to identify and monitor stressors.
Interestingly, psychologist Kelly McGonigal is proposing a novel conception of stress, urging us to question and redefine our relationship with it. She has been challenging the conventional opinion that stress is bad, arguing that rather than only an enemy, stress can also be an ally when you learn to master it. McGonigal puts forth some steps to help redefine your relationship with stress:
- Greet your stress without negativity
A host of physical responses usually accompany the onset of stress, including sweatiness, increased heart rate, and mild anxiety. Identifying and acknowledging this natural response without judgment is a good first step. We usually ascribe negative judgment to this initial stress response and in turn magnify it. By simply acknowledging the natural response you begin to severe the negative thought pattern that usually accompanies it.
- Don’t let your mind think the worst
Many symptoms of stress develop prematurely when you allow your mind to ruminate about what might happen. This sort of thinking is often referred to as “catastrophizing”—thinking your spouse is going to leave you because your paycheck is delayed. Attempt to not fuel or give your stress more power by refraining from drawing unnecessary conclusions.
- Journal your triumphs
It can be helpful to keep a journal and write on past experiences of overcoming obstacles. McGonigal says, “You can deal with stressful life experiences with strength from past ones.” The more you remember previous successes with stress, the more resilient you will be with future ones.
- Focus on progress, not perfection
Perfectionism can often be paralyzing and a huge source of stress. While striving for excellence is worthy, it can also stunt productivity and generate impossible ideals. It is helpful to focus on growth and progression.
- Redefine stress for success
A Rochester University study looked at individuals with social anxiety who had to perform in front of a crowd and found that those who were primed to reframe their physical stress responses as “preparing for battle” subsequently performed much better. Thus, our experience of stress is often shaped by how the physical sensations are interpreted and what stories we add to them. It is helpful to mentally prepare and visualize success, priming yourself to perceive stress and its physical responses as aids in gearing the body up for optimal performance.