April is Stress Awareness Month

Did you know that April is Stress Awareness Month?

Sometimes it feels as though stress has had quite a bad press, and we all assume that anything and everything to do with stress, and being stressed, is in and of itself a bad thing.

Let’s step back from there for a moment.

Stress is the body’s natural response to anything which requires action or attention.  It is a normal reaction which happens to everyone. We are designed to experience stress and to react to it.  It helps the body to adjust to new situations, keeping us alert, motivated and ready for action.  Simply put – without stress we wouldn’t get out of bed in the mornings.

When we exercise – even when we practice yoga – we deliberately stress the body so that it becomes stronger.

We have three major stress hormones (although other hormones also have a part to play).  They are:

• Adrenaline – which gives us a surge of energy and is responsible for the immediate reaction we have to stress.  You know, the leap in the pit of your stomach when you see that email

• Norepinephrine – responsible for arousal, readiness (for action).  It shifts the blood supply away from the periphery to the muscles – so that we can run if we need to

• Cortisol – known as the stress hormone and our built-in alarm system.  It takes a little longer for the body to respond to signals from the brain to produce cortisol and release it into the blood.  Again, cortisol is responsible for regulating bodily functions away from what isn’t crucial for survival (in an emergency).   Things like our immune system, the digestive system and even growth.

So, it seems that stress per se, and cortisol, are not all bad.

So far so good.  What could possibly go wrong?

There is no doubt about it.  Our 21st century 24/7 always on lifestyle exposes us to levels of stress which have never been experienced before.

And, one of the things about stress, is that it is a subjective experience.  Only the person who is experiencing stress knows what it feels like, how much is acceptable, and how much is too much.  It varies from person to person, and part of the reason for that is the result of our overall state of health and our past experiences, even down to how we were nurtured as children.

Anything that continually creates stress in your daily existence can cause illness in the body and the brain.  So, living in stressful and abusive relationships, coping on a daily basis with emotional stress, and working in a toxic environment, can all, over time, cause tangible harm to your body and your brain.

If we are stressed over and over again - a constant drip, drip, drip of stressful situations – without the opportunity to recover in between times, we can go on to develop chronic stress.  Evidence demonstrates that the effects of chronic stress can be long lasting and life changing.

And, worryingly, it is all too easy for living with chronic stress to become our new normal, so that we don’t even notice anymore. This is how life is, and we are completely occupied with managing the impact of life being like this.

When we are struggling with stress every day, we can go on to develop unhealthy coping mechanisms.  Coming home after a bad day at work, we reach for a beer, a glass of wine.  Which becomes two – or three, and every day.  Before we know it, what we’re dealing with is a hangover or other effects of drinking too much.  Not having the time or the energy to eat well, we fuel our bodies with unhealthy food, and then the problem is being unfit and overweight.  Buying stuff we don’t need to validate who we are and racking up debt to pay for it, so the problem becomes servicing the debt. 

It may feel as though these maladaptive and ultimately addictive behaviours buy us some time and give us temporary respite, but the clue is in the name.  They are maladaptive and they are addictive.  And they keep us feeling trapped, helpless, out of control, joyless and without a sense of self-worth.

Over time, living like this, dealing with the impact of chronic stress on a daily basis, becomes overwhelming. 

Overwhelm directly impacts the cognitive functioning of the brain, causing brain fog, mental slowness and/or a racing mind, difficulty in thinking logically, concentrating or focussing, poor decision making, and loss of self confidence and self-esteem.  It impacts on our ability to function well socially, so we become increasingly moody, distant, and isolated.   And it takes its toll on our physical wellbeing, leaving us with headaches, gastrointestinal and digestive problems, muscle tension and pain, high blood pressure, a weakened immune system, and fatigue.

Scientific research is increasingly suggesting that Yoga and Yoga Therapy have a part to play in the alleviation of chronic stress and overwhelm.

In the opening lines of the Yoga Sutras, Patanjali sets out the purpose of yoga.  He writes that ‘Yoga stills the whirlpools of the mind’ (Yoga Sutras 1.2).

Working with the breath, the brain and the body, evidence indicates that a regular practice of Yoga can help to alleviate the symptoms and effects of stress, chronic stress and overwhelm.  Whatever style of Yoga works well for you, the basic techniques of making different shapes with the body, holding different postures, focusing on your breath, and suggesting to the brain that it learns new sequences of finely tuned movements, are all demonstrably beneficial for relieving stress and its associated conditions.  This was certainly my experience as I made my way back from being burnt out and overwhelmed. 

But don’t just take my word for it.  This article in Medical News Today from September 2019 says that:

‘research has shown that people who practice yoga regularly have low cortisol levels.  Studies have also found that practicing yoga for at least 3 months may lower cortisol and perceived stress, and reduce pro-inflammatory cytokines that cause inflammation.’

and this is from an article in Psychology Today:

• Research has found that yoga reduces stress perception and stress reactivity

• A new study suggests yoga reduces stress by changing one’s psychosocial resources such as by increasing interoceptive exposure

• Those receiving conventional treatments for stress, anxiety or depression may also benefit from doing yoga.  (A. Emamzadeh, April 2021).

It seems that the most ancient of practices is super effective for improving the most modern of conditions.

Please do get in touch to find out more about how Yoga Therapy can help with stress and overwhelm.  You can contact me here:  gail@dancingwarriors.com. I would love to hear from you.