What is Stress

What is Stress? How does it work? And what are signs and consequences of Stress?

A 1960’s Tufts University experiment revealed that all people respond to a sudden and unexpected stressor (as in being ‘startled’) with the same collection of symptoms: holding their breath, muscles tightening and contracting (neck, shoulders, and back especially).

The image is of the body armoring itself, and aptly so, as the natural inclination in such a situation would be to protect oneself, wouldn’t it? We react with a defensive posture in all senses of the word, readying to defend ourselves from the perceived threat.

When our brain perceives stress (identifies a stressor) it kicks our sympathetic nervous system into high gear. This the notorious ‘Fight or Flight’ response. When this is triggered, the body mobilizes all its resources for action.

Automatically, involuntarily, and more often than not, completely without our awareness, our individual reactions to stress derive from the same set of symptoms: shortness of breath, body stiffens, palms sweaty, heartbeat racing.

It’s not without its purpose. This state of alert that results from a crisis moment also puts us in a state of heightened awareness, from which we can respond from an instinctual level. Immersed in moments of emergency, our confused and conflicted minds defer to our instincts which always has our survival as its prime imperative.

When our survival is not at stake, however (which is most of the time), this state is very literally overkill. As with any state or condition, repeated often enough, the stress-response becomes our regular “default” state of being; in the language of science and medicine, this is called ‘habituation’.

We habituate the stress-response. Worse, we self-identify with it, believing that it is us: easy to do with such pronounced physical manifestations of it: headaches, back pain, panic attacks, insomnia, depression, angry outbursts. Constant stress, as that caused by chronic worry, self-doubt, shame, guilt, and anxiety, keeps us locked in that involuntary stress-response state ongoingly.

Many people respond to stress through distraction and denial, covering up their stress and numbing themselves to its effects with a litany of equally-stressful behaviors, for example: overeating, oversleeping, alcohol and drugs, temper tantrums, violent outbursts, self-denial, self-abnegation, self-mutilation.

Other common symptoms of the stress-response?
• dilated pupils
• dry mouth (blocked saliva production)
• dilates bronchial passages
• impedes digestion – causes diarrhea and constipation
• stimulates the production of bile
• releases adrenaline
• stimulates the bladder and decreases bladder control
• chest pain
• heart pounding
• hot flashes
• nausea, vomiting,
• disorientation - dizziness, lightheadness, and blurry vision or “tunnel” vision, fainting
• blood diverts away from the heart, brain, and other organs, and towards the muscles and extremities

Over time, this can have a drastic negative impact on one’s overall health and well-being.  Stress unattended can adversely affect memory, mood, rational judgment and decision-making abilities, self-control,  and overall mental and emotional functioning. Stress can lead to problems in all areas of life: money and career, home and family, relationships.

The key to our salvation from all these potential fates is to recognize our stress, first and foremost – acknowledge and accept. Then take responsibility for finding and implementing ways to relieve it.