{"id":217,"date":"2018-02-14T11:07:54","date_gmt":"2018-02-14T11:07:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.boulden.net\/blog\/?p=217"},"modified":"2021-11-25T13:09:57","modified_gmt":"2021-11-25T13:09:57","slug":"stress-management-strategies-for-a-balanced-healthy-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.boulden.net\/blog\/stress-management-strategies-for-a-balanced-healthy-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Stress Management: strategies for a balanced, healthy life"},"content":{"rendered":"
\u201cThere is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.\u201d –\u00a0William Shakespeare,\u00a0Hamlet<\/h6>\n

<\/i><\/a>Welcome to the working week<\/h2>\n

Everyone has \u2018stuff\u2019 they need to get done and \u2018problems\u2019 that they need to solve. There are small things and minor problems, (like doing the ironing, or getting the kids off to school); bigger things (like completing a major work project, or taking care of an elderly relative.) Then there are things that are fun; things that are not so much fun; things we initiate and things that are thrust upon us by others or by circumstances. At one level these demands on us to get things done can be motivational. For example, athletes tend to break records in front of a large crowd and great satisfaction can be gained from striving to complete a worthwhile task. However, if the pressure to make things happen increases beyond a certain point, and we\u2019ve more on our plate that we feel we can handle, then a stress reaction can occur. In this situation a person can start to feel anxious (rather then energised), sometimes to the point of feeling completely overwhelmed.<\/p>\n

<\/i><\/a>Surviving on the savannah<\/h2>\n

So how does positive pressure to get things done, or handle life\u2019s problems and challenges turn into negative stress? The answer is found in evolutionary biology and the fight\/flight survival mechanism. Approached by a lion in the African savannah our ancestors would not survive long if they sat down and debated what action to take, so the brain triggers an instantaneous reaction to either (a) attack the lion or (b) run away.<\/p>\n

This \u2018fight\/flight\u2019 process involves hormones such as adrenaline, noradrenaline and cortisol being released to facilitate immediate physical action. The hormones generate a series of physical changes aimed at helping to react to a threat e.g. a heightened awareness, a reduction in sensitivity to pain, a quickening heart rate, etc.<\/p>\n

The response is triggered both by real threats (e.g. an actual lion) and the possibility of a threat (e.g. a noise in the bushes that might, or might not, be a lion). The way the system was intended to work is that the response \u2018switches on\u2019 and \u2018switches off\u2019 very quickly in answer to the physical events that unfold. So we run away from the lion, and once safe again we calm down, or, the noise in the bushes turns out to just be the wind blowing through the branches, and we relax.<\/p>\n

<\/i><\/a>Failing to flip the \u2018off switch\u2019<\/h2>\n

Problems arise when the physical threat is replaced by the \u2018psychological threat\u2019 such as: worry about tight deadlines; criticism from your boss; an argument with your partner; money troubles; or the long term, low level tension created by the daily grind of commuting etc. If the fight\/flight mechanism is triggered for these \u2018psychological threats\u2019 the adrenaline, noradrenaline and cortisol causes the body to go into overdrive, but the hormones are not naturally dissipated by action, so the blood pressure stays raised or the mind remains agitated. When this happens fighting or running often translates into unhelpful effects like irritable bowel, dry mouth, stomach ache, eczema, insomnia, angry outburst etc.<\/p>\n

<\/i><\/a>The joy of euphoric stress<\/h2>\n

The type, number and intensity of \u2018events\u2019 that it takes to create a \u2018stressful\u2019 situation where the fight\/flight response goes into over-drive varies enormously from individual to individual e.g. some people would be horrified at the thought of giving a presentation to three hundred people at a conference, while others would be excited by the prospect.<\/p>\n

The Canadian psychologist, Hans Seyle, famously identified four \u2018zones\u2019 of arousal or stress:<\/p>\n