Stress is something that everyone deals with. It is the sweaty palms, sick feeling in the stomach, heart beating out of your chest, might pass out, complicated feeling that comes from an internal or external provocation. The Cleveland Clinic (n.d.) states that stress is the mental and physical response that occurs when a challenge or change occurs. While there is good stress, the stress that can make people feel ill is bad.
Good stress is called Eustress. For example, this is what we feel when: we are playing in the rec softball league, bases are loaded and the batter hits it right into your center fielders mitt; suddenly, the runner on third starts racing towards home plate and there you are standing there hoping you do not miss when your center hurls the ball at you... Eustress challenges us, and while it can sometimes feel overwhelming it does not feel overwhelming in a bad way. Distress (bad stress) on the other hand is the sweaty hands, heart beating out of your chest, feeling when you feel like the whole world is closing on you and you cannot breathe because of it... At least that is how I feel when I experience it.
Over the years researchers have been very interested in stress, and how to cope with stress. The belief that daily life can be filled with stressors goes back centuries, researchers have found discussions on it in many different works. In the nineteenth century, Charles Darwin and Claude Bernard were the first to state that to survive one must adapt to new circumstances (Slavich, 2016). During the twentieth century, theorist Walter Cannon discussed the commonality between emotions and “specific physiologic consequences that help the body maintain homeostasis during different situations (Weiner, 1992). Hans Selye was the first to systematically investigate how different types of social-environmental provocation affect the body” (Slavich, 2016, para. 6). All of those mentioned above helped aid in what is known about stress today. Now scientists can associate the importance of outside life stressors and the internal (biological) effects it has on the body.
The thing with stress is that it affects the body as a whole. It can lead to depression, anxiety, weight gain, loss of sleep, physical pains (body aches, headaches, etc.), and increase the risk for chronic ailments.
So, what are we supposed to do about it? For starters, you MUST take care of your body! Eating a balanced diet and participating in physical activity is very important to take care of yourself. Whole fruits, fresh vegetables, grains, proteins, and dairy are all part of having a balanced diet, check out the MyPlate | U.S. Department of Agriculture to learn more about it!
When it comes to staying active, walking is a great low-impact activity that can be done solo or with others. The Center for Disease Control has great suggestions for different stages of life for physical activity, you can check that out here: Physical Activity Basics | Physical Activity | DNPAO | CDC.
Making sure you get a full night’s sleep, stretching, avoiding excessive substance use (tobacco, alcohol, etc.), are also ways you can help to take care of your body.
Another thing you need to be aware of is spending an excessive amount of time watching, reading, or listening to high-stress news stories including what we see on social media; too much of this can also increase our stress levels. Most people in today's society have some sort of social media or news outlets that they watch. While it is not bad to stay up to date with current events, limiting how much time you spend and not looking at it right before bed will help you to sleep better.
Unwinding, whether it is alone soaking in your tub or with friends eating a delicious meal is also important when you are trying to keep your stress in check. Connecting with people is very important to humans because we are social by nature, try getting involved with different groups in the community, whether is sports or faith based.
Daily life can make it difficult sometimes to keep stress levels in check. Just know that you are not alone! Many go through stress, depression, and anxiety. Personally, knowing that I am not alone in this helps. When life feels like it is all too much, remember that there are people out there who specialize in mental health. Mental health has become much more prominent and accepted in society today. You no longer have to “suck it up buttercup”, speak up, speak out, and stay healthy!
Remember to take the time to enjoy the little things in life!
-Kris
P.S.... I caught the ball and got the runner out ;)
References:
Cleveland Clinic. (2021). Stress. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/11874-stress
Slavich G. M. (2016). Life Stress and Health: A Review of Conceptual Issues and Recent Findings. Teaching of psychology (Columbia, Mo.), 43(4), 346–355. https://doi.org/10.1177/0098628316662768
This post was written by Kristin Armistead and published by Mandevilla Mental Health Counseling, PLLC