Ditch Stress

We’ve all heard the term stress, but what does it mean exactly? What is stress? This alone can be difficult to answer, because there are quite a few different definitions!

For instance the World Health Organization defines stress as: “a state of worry or mental tension caused by a difficult situation.”  

The American Institute of Stress defines stress as: “physical, mental, or emotional strain or tension.” or “a condition or feeling experienced when a person perceives that demands exceed the personal and social resources the individual is able to mobilize.”

Here at Ditch Stress, we like to define stress as our psychological and physiological reaction to any event or situation that is perceived as challenging, or even threatening. These situations are often ones in which the demands of the situation threaten to exceed our resources, which can lead to feelings of overwhelm.

It is important to remember that stress is a natural human response, and that everyone experiences stress to some degree. It prompts us to address challenges and threats in our lives, which is essential for our survival. We need a system to alert us when we are faced with those situations.

You can’t really escape stress, nor do you always want to. We require our stress response for our survival and sometimes, as you’ll learn, it is beneficial for us! However, there are many health benefits to learning to better manage stress, so that we can be resilient.

Stress can take many forms, but these feelings generally fall into one of three categories:

Acute stress – Acute stress is classified as short-term. Typically, emotions and the body return to their normal state relatively quickly. This type of stress occurs in moments of panic or dread, like when you realized you missed a deadline, lost your keys, or a close call when driving. Your heart rate and blood pressure rise quickly, and then come back down quickly.

Episodic acute stress – Episodic acute stress is when acute stresses happen on a recurring and frequent basis. . With this type of stress, we don’t get time to return to a calm and relaxed state. The effects of these high-frequency acute stresses accumulate, which can leave us feeling like we are just moving from one disaster to another. This type of stress commonly affects people with “Type A” personality.

Chronic stress – Chronic stress is the result of stressors that continue over a long period of time. Examples include conflict at work or home,  living in a high-crime neighborhood, or an unmanageable schedule. This type of stress feels all consuming and never-ending. It can create a situation where we have difficulty even seeing any way to change or improve the situation that is causing the chronic stress. This can lead to despair and hopelessness.

So on the bright side, in the short term, acute stress can actually help boost our energy, improve our memory, and boost our motivation to meet difficult challenges. This is crucial to our survival, and it helps us to overcome the obstacles we will face in life. Almost everyone has experienced these dramatic psychological physiological or physiological reactions to a specific event, such as realizing you’re super late to a very important meeting!

On the other hand, chronic, long-term stress builds up over time, and it can last months to even years. Eventually, this type of stress can take a toll on both your mental and physical health. Chronic stress is a consistent sense of feeling overwhelmed and pressured over a long period of time. 

Similar to chronic pain or illness, chronic stress is ongoing. It can increase or decrease in severity over time, but it is present relatively consistently. This type of stress can be due to many things, from financial worries, an unhealthy relationship, to a job that leaves you overworked daily.

Eustress and Distress

On the plus side, not all stress is the same! While some of the stress that you face in life can be detrimental to your well-being, some types can actually be healthy and even bring you greater life satisfaction. Not bad!

Stress that is defined as negative is referred to as distress. Some examples of negative stressors are financial problems, relationship problems, injury, and unemployment. When an event or situation distressed you, it is perceived negatively. This can lead to feelings of hopelessness about the distressing situation. Your mind can become filled with catastrophizing thoughts about what could happen, instead of taking action towards the problem.

Beneficial stress, on the other hand,  is known as eustress. It generally tends to be short-term and often feels quite exciting! This type of stress is perceived as managed and sometimes even motivating. Some examples of positive stressors are starting a new job, taking a vacation and even learning a new hobby. When you feel eustress, you feel motivated to perform well in the situation. You see the stressor in a positive light, more like an opportunity than a threat, and you are motivated to work to get the best result out of it. 

A good rule of them is that eustress feels like a challenge that you can manage and even leads to growth, while distress is viewed as difficult and has a negative impact on you. However, whether the situation is viewed as distress or eustress will largely depend largely on individual factors. An event that one person experiences as stressful but ultimately rewarding, might be extremely upsetting to another person. A key component to how this plays out is whether the person has the right resources to manage the challenge.

Physically, eustress can often resemble distress in many ways. You might feel nervous, your heart might pound, your thoughts race. The key difference here is how these sensations are perceived. With distress, they may feel overwhelmed and uncomfortable. With eustress, you might feel anticipation or excitement. Think excited to get on a stage, versus dread when your boss calls you into the office.

It is important to note that while small amounts of positive stress can help us perform better, it is key that this stress be short-lived. Acute and prolonged stress may lead to long-term health consequences and can also exacerbate existing conditions. Too much stress can cause physical and mental health problems. 

The way we respond to stress, however, makes a big difference to our overall well-being. Everyone reacts differently to stressful situations, with diverse coping styles. Symptoms of stress can also vary from person to person. Learning how to cope with stress can help us feel less overwhelmed and support our mental and physical well-being. 

So why is this important? Medical research estimates as much as 90 percent of illness and disease is stress-related. Yes, let that sink in for a second… 90 percent! This makes for a very compelling reason to both understand stress and how to manage it.

Stress can interfere with your physical functioning and bodily processes. High blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, and heart disease have been linked to stress factors. Other stress-related ailments include ulcers, allergies, asthma, and migraine headaches. Most health professionals agree stress can be a contributing factor in making existing medical problems worse.

Excessive stress in your life can interfere with your relationships at home, on the job, and socially. It can make you become easily agitated and frustrated, feeling overwhelmed and moody. It can make it hard to relax and quiet your mind. It can deplete your energy, leaving you fatigued and too exhausted to find things that bring you enjoyment. It can negatively influence your attitudes and your feelings about yourself, as well as feeling lonely.

Stress is both physical and psychological. You can think of stress in two parts, the psychological perception of pressure, on the one hand, and the body’s response to it, on the other. The body’s response involves multiple systems, from memory to muscles to metabolism. 

A stressful situation, whether psychological or environmental, can activate a cascade of stress hormones that produce physiological changes. Activation of the sympathetic nervous system in this way triggers an acute stress response called the “fight or flight” response.

When this process occurs in the short term, it can help us respond effectively to situations in our environment, but when it occurs chronically it wreaks havoc with both our mental and physical health.

Given the mental and physical toll stress can take, it is vital that we invest in creating systems and habits that support us well to tackle stress. We can thrive when we have a toolbox from which to call upon that has a variety of tools that can combat stress and bring us back to homeostasis.

There’s no quick-fix cure for stress, and no single approach will work for everyone. However, there are simple things you can do to change the everyday life problems that can cause stress or make stress a problem. 

We have likely all heard that activities like exercise, healthy eating, stretching and breathwork are positive coping methods, and that’s very true! However there are many different ways that we can relieve stress and we need to have systems in place so that we actually remember to do those things when stress arises.

Without systems, we can fall prey to unhealthy coping mechanisms. You’ll probably recognize a few of these: overeating, overspending, consuming too much alcohol, smoking, overworking, isolation, even being harshly critical of oneself.

These coping mechanisms can cause even more stress, as they can cause disruption in our lives and we can end up spreading ourselves out even further. There can also be shame involved in continuing these activities when we know they are harming us. It is then crucial that we have a way to get ourselves out of the negative coping skills cycle, and into a tool box of skills that supports us. 

We may need to have several tools, as different types of stress might be best served by different activities to relieve stress. If we are angry and whipped up, it might be hard to sit on the meditation pillow, but a brisk walk or run outside and we feel rejuvenated. We need the right tool at the right time.

Here at Ditch Stress, we delve deep into various aspects of handling stress, offering you a comprehensive guide to maintaining a balanced and vibrant life. Our blog covers a wide range of topics, from mindfulness practices and relaxation techniques to healthy eating habits and exercise routines. We provide healthy lifestyle tips, valuable insights, and practical tips to help you understand and combat stress effectively.

Whether you’re looking for ways to improve your mental health, enhance your emotional resilience, or simply find moments of peace in your busy life, our blog is here to support and inspire you on your journey. We aim to be the ultimate resource for all things stress management.

If you have an suggestions for topics you’d love to know more about, shoot us a line! You can reach us at: ditchstress@gmail.com