Stress 101
(and Some Immediate Stress Diffusers!)
Stress is a real or perceived threat to homeostasis and the body’s efforts to return to a balanced state of homeostasis is the stress response.
Stress has been around since humans have been around, and we have stress to thank for keeping our species alive despite the many dangers along the way in our evolution.
Today, stress remains an important topic but for different reasons. A few statistics highlight the gravity of stress in American’s lives:
An estimated 60-80% of primary care visits have a stress related component1
In 2024, 43% of adults reported feeling more anxious than the previous year and attribute that to increased stress, citing current events, the economy, violence, and safety as top stressors2
Stress is the common risk factor of 75-90% of diseases, including the diseases which cause the foremost morbidity and mortality3
Reading those statistics might make you feel stressed, but stick with me. Stress is part of life. It is inevitable, but the impact does not have to be catastrophic. The more we understand what’s happening in our bodies and why, the more we can be aware of what to look for and build our arsenal of stress-diffusing tools. We might not be in control of the economy or state of the world, or the number of emails flooding in, but we can build stronger resilience to stress. That will benefit our minds and bodies.
In this 101 post, we’ll break down stress & the stress response at a high level, then what leads to chronic stress and its signs and dangers. I’ll leave you with several ways you can diffuse stress in the moment and shift your state in a just few minutes.
Stress and The Stress Response Cycle
Stress happens when we perceive the presence of a threat. The threat could be physical, emotional, mental or social. We are also subject to stress from threats we can’t necessarily see - for example, we could experience environmental stress from toxin exposure or nutritional stress from insufficient caloric intake or nutritional deficiencies.
When our nervous system perceives the threat, the sympathetic nervous system is activated. This is the “fight or flight” state of being. A combination of complex responses from the nervous system, endocrine system, and immune system begins to help us deal with the threat. Adrenaline and cortisol are released into the bloodstream, eyes widen, digestion is suppressed, perception of pain is blunted, heart rate and energy go up. In “emergency mode”, we are prepared to fight off the tiger, as the common example goes.
When the threat passes, our bodies relax and return to the parasympathetic nervous system functioning, also known as “rest and digest.”
If stress is so important and serves a critical function, then why is so bad for us?
Sometimes, the alert flags don’t fully get resolved and a state of continuous or constant stress can become our new baseline. That’s called chronic stress.
Chronic stress lasts weeks, months, or even years.
Think of chronic stress as a prolonged period of mismanaged energy in the body. With less downtime between instances of stress, our bodies are in a near constant fight-or-flight state. Using energy for those functions diverts energy away from other critical, regular functions that support long term health - like immune system functionality, reproductive function, and cell and tissue repair. The longer this goes on, the more serious the effects.
Some Common Signs of (Chronic) Stress
aches and pains, chest pains
hypertension
insomnia
chronic fatigue, low energy, exhaustion
changes in social behavior like feeling less social
unfocused or cloudy thinking, brain fog
teeth clenching
indigestion
constipation
trouble making decisions
blurred eyesight
headaches
aggressive reactions to others
not enjoying or not wanting sex
shallow breathing
nail biting, skin picking
mental health impacts such as depression or anxiety
For a while I was getting daily migraines I could have sworn were splitting my skull in two and I was clenching my teeth so badly at night that the dentist told me I had a stress line fracture on my tooth (not cute)! I include this anecdote because usually my mind didn’t consider things to be “that bad” but clearly, my body disagreed. This is more under control now, but when these symptoms creep up again, I know it’s a major signal that I need to readdress my habits and daily life to reduce stress.
Taking cues from our bodies is a language it takes time to learn and respond to. Friends and clients have described different symptoms that they experience as their own warning signs of an overloaded stress response. Have you come to recognize your own?
The Impact of Chronic Stress
If cracking your own teeth in your sleep isn’t enough, the impact of longtime, chronic stress affects all systems of the body and the risks are serious.
Changes to certain brain areas such as volume variations and changes to neuronal networks, linked to chronic stress, can be visible to the naked eye.4
Chronic stress affects immune system functionality and inflammation. It has been linked to increased risk of heart disease, digestive problems, negative effects on mental health, cognitive decline, and perhaps autoimmune disorders5.
All that, and the unpleasant experience of living in this state of overwhelm is plenty reason to cultivate resilience to stress.
What Are We To Do?
That’s obviously a joke, but I do believe we have some control here. Let’s try to think of stress not as something to eradicate and avoid completely (impossible), but as something we can learn to navigate and even harness. Personally, for me, this evokes a vision of Paul Atreides learning to ride the sandworm in Dune but you are free to do with that what you will.
Let’s break this down into short term and long term stress reduction techniques.
Short Term, In The Moment
Quick ways to intentionally activate your parasympathetic nervous system and turn off the stress response.
I suggest keeping a little list of things that work for you, and when you feel stress rising up into overwhelm levels in the moment, pick one to do. It might feel counterproductive to shift focus away from your to-do list when that is what’s stressing you out, but remember that you will be able to think more clearly, make better decisions, and have more focus and energy when you are operating from the parasympathetic nervous system.
Phone a friend - feelings of safety and connection that you get from people you trust signal to the nervous system that you are not in imminent danger, according to Polyvagal Theory
Move - exercise is a proven method for dealing with stress, try a walk or a 15 min yoga flow when you have a break
Breathe - try the box breath (inhale for 4 count, hold for 4, exhale for 4, hold for 4, repeat) or deep belly breaths - both techniques you can use while at your desk or in public without drawing attention
Read a book - studies show that reading for just six minutes can decrease stress levels by as much as 68% - this is more effective than listening to music or going for a walk! 6
Hum or sing - stimulate the vagus nerve by humming or singing along to your favorite song
Try a reframe - Have you ever performed better under pressure, or been motivated by a closely looming deadline? That’s because stress can be a force for good too. Research actually shows that our perception and anticipation of how stress is going to affect us impacts our biological response.7 Can you try to see your body as aiding you by activating the stress response to deal with a short-term situation, as if you were a Superhero?
Building Resilience Long Term
Long term stress management is about building resilience via a strong nervous system to carry you through times of stress, respond appropriately, and then deactivate appropriately too.
Yale’s chronic stress management recommendations all combine treatment of specific symptoms with lifestyle adjustment - getting exercise, eating healthy food, time management techniques, setting realistic goals, getting more sleep, making time for leisure, building stress reduction/resilience skills, and practicing mindfulness.8
All of the above are fantastic areas of focus to collaborate with your health coach on, since coaches are behavior change and lifestyle adjustment experts.
Sources:
Nerurkar, Aditi et al. “When physicians counsel about stress: results of a national study.” JAMA internal medicine vol. 173,1 (2013): 76-7. doi:10.1001/2013.jamainternmed.480
American Psychological Association (2024). Stress in America™ 2024: A Nation in Political Turmoil.
Liu, Yun-Zi, et al. “Inflammation: The common pathway of stress-related diseases.” Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, vol. 11, 20 June 2017, https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2017.00316.
Mariotti, Agnese. “The effects of chronic stress on health: new insights into the molecular mechanisms of brain-body communication.” Future science OA vol. 1,3 FSO23. 1 Nov. 2015, doi:10.4155/fso.15.21
Alotiby, Amna. “Immunology of Stress: A Review Article.” Journal of clinical medicine vol. 13,21 6394. 25 Oct. 2024, doi:10.3390/jcm13216394
Reading Reduces Stress. Fact. – Medicine in Literature. 19 Jan. 2023, blogs.ncl.ac.uk/medlit/2023/01/19/reading-reduces-stress-fact.
“Embracing stress is more important than reducing stress, Stanford psychologist says.” Stanford University, news.stanford.edu/stories/2015/05/embracing-stress-is-more-important-than-reducing-stress,-stanford-psychologist-says.
“Chronic Stress.” Yale Medicine, 25 Apr. 2024, www.yalemedicine.org/conditions/stress-disorder.
Additional Sources: mindbodygreen health coaching certification program materials
