While it is true that stress can cause significant problems if you don’t have an accurate understanding of what stress is and how it operates in your life….

Stress is actually designed to help you!

Sounds crazy doesn’t it? But the truth is that many of the problems we typically associate with stress are brought about because of the way react to our misconceptions about stress.

Our goal should not simply be to reduce or eliminate stress but rather to learn how to use it to our advantage…. In order to do this, it’s necessary to examine what stress actually is!

Stress Defined
Stress is the physiological and psychological alarm-response of the body to challenging situations.

In simpler terms, stress is how your body responds to your challenges. That response is a physical change in your body and it occurs automatically whenever you are in a challenging situation.

How exactly does your body respond?

Your digestive system slows down so that more of your blood gets directed to the muscles and the brain (which you need more than you need your digestive system when you're in a bind).

Your breathing gets faster (which gets more oxygen for the needed muscles).

The heart speeds up, and blood pressure soars (forcing blood to parts of the body that need it).

Perspiration increases to cool the body (allowing the body to burn more energy).

Muscles tense in preparation for important action.

Perspiration increases to cool the body (allowing the body to burn more energy).

Chemicals are released to make the blood clot more rapidly (that way, if there is injury, there's less blood loss).

Sugars and fats pour into the blood to provide fuel for quick energy.

The problem is, nobody told the body that not all stressors in today's modern world are physical challenges, so you are often left with these body changes and no physical challenge on which to exert your new stress-induced energy burst.  Although our brain is capable of knowing the difference between a challenge that is physically threatening or one that is simply intellectually or emotionally distressing, it isn’t always able to convey that to the rest of the body. The body simply recognizes DANGER!

So, what you actually experience is...feeling butterflies in your stomach, difficulty, breathing, your heart pounding, sweating a lot more, your muscles beginning to stiffen, and extra energy or maybe greater strength!

So, now that you know a little more about what stress is, what happens in your body, and what you actually feel in your body, now it's time to take a look at ways to respond to stressors (things that cause us to have the stress reaction).

This brings about what is known as the FIGHT OR FLIGHT response.

The body prepares to either combat the challenge

or

To evade the challenge and take flight.

Either way, it takes more energy to get you ready to deal with the challenge. And, thus, stress is actually designed to HELP you!

Unless....
unless the stress is constant!

If we don’t realize all these physical reactions are taking place, we have little reason to give our body needed rest from these reactions.  It is the failure to recognize that stress is occurring that leads to the problems we associate with stress.  And that is when we begin to experience the long term effects of stress.

Long-term negative Effects Include

Ulcers and stomach disorders

Migraine and tension headaches

High blood pressure

Rapid and irregular heartbeats

Back pain and muscle aches

Insomnia

(that's probably not the best thing to do)

So, it becomes important to learn to manage your life in such a way that stress doesn't wear you out. 

Managing Stress

Since stress is a natural physical reaction, it's probably a good idea to try to manage the stressors if at possible.  In other words, effective stress management is actually effective ways of trying to manage the situations that bring about the stress.

So what causes stress?

Overload: When demands are too numerous or too difficult, stress occurs.

Being Evaluated: When you are being evaluated, whether being graded by a faculty member or "checked out" by a new romantic interest on a date, stress occurs.

Unclear Roles: When you’re not sure who you’re supposed to be or how you should be acting in your current situation, stress occurs.
    Student vs. Fraternity or Sorority Member
    Young adult vs. Older teenager
    Son or Daughter vs. Independent student
    Friend vs. Roommate

Fighting Roles : When any combination of these roles pulls you in different directions, stress occurs.

Unclear Demands: When expectations are placed on you from school or work, but they aren’t clear, and you’re not sure whether you are on the verge of doing very well or very poorly, stress occurs.

Being Blindsighted: When your situation changes abruptly, with no warning (unannounced exams, a roommate who will throw parties periodically without warning, living with someone who's mood changes rapidly and often, etc), stress occurs.

 

Which are your stressors?

Fighting Stress:
Can You Change the Situation?

Few things are more stressful than large demands that are due somewhere down the road.  Not only the demand is stressful, but it stays on you the whole time.  One way to change that situation is transforming long-term demands into more manageable short-term accomplishments. What can be done immediately or soon? What can wait a little while? What can wait indefinitely?

Sometimes, you cannot change the situation itself, but you can change how you look at it.  For example, if you have this stressful experience of "I CAN'T KEEP UP WITH EVERYTHING" often, then perhaps you need to prioritize your challenges so that they are not ALL demanding of you at the same time.

First, identify different areas of your life that may include demands on you. Academic experiences? Relationships (friendships, family, romances)?   Financial matters? Work experiences (current employment, future career decision making, etc)? Then, assess how you can prioritize demands, and re-distribute your time and energy to keep a balance between life areas as much as possible.

But what if you can’t change the situation?

Often, stressors are inevitable and situations cannot be changed without severe consequences (like dropping out of college or losing your job). So, you’re stuck with the stress. Which is another way of saying, your body has this extra energy and preparedness to fight...Since your stressors are not likely to be physically demanding (like an actual fight for survival), your body wears you down in this constant higher paced mode!  

Relax or Release

If there is TOO much stress, rather too much energy that is not being expended directly on the stressful situation, you have two options to leaving it all in your body where it wears you down...

Reduce the stress through relaxation
(essentially tricking your body into thinking the demanding situation is gone)

or

Release the stress through activity
(essentially giving your body an actual physical demand since that is what the body has prepared for to begin with).

Relaxing...

Relaxing is a way of placing aside the stressor in order to get some rest from the effects on your body.  In other words, relaxing can be thought of as resting from stress.  In order to do so effectively, keep a few things in mind:

Maintain a distance from the stressor

clear your mind of obligations and challenges

commit to taking temporary flight from the stressors

Assess your emotional awareness

Are you restless, exhausted, pre-occupied?

       Visualize these sensations subsiding, as if they're going to sleep

Maintain physical awareness

What is your breathing like?

Where are you experiencing tension?

What parts of your body feel the most heavy? 

Select an activity that involves low or no physical energy

listening to soft music...reading a book for pleasure....staring at a soothing image.....the sky and clouds...flowers or other objects of nature...painting or other artistic items...do structured activities facilitated or demonstrated by a professional counselor

Releasing

Sometimes, there is simply too much stress (in other words, your body is loaded with too much energy to deal with stressful situations) and the best thing to do is let some of that energy out of your body.   There are various ways of releasing stress.  The important thing to keep in mind is that you want to let some of it go to energize yourself.  So, the following suggestions, when taken to excess, can leave you feeling just as swamped.  Also, it may not feel logical to you to do some of the RELEASING activities because stress makes you FEEL too tired to do these things.  However, you'll find a paradoxical outcome in that expending energy will actually GIVE you more energy.  Here are some suggestions:

Aerobic Exercising

Anything that gets your heart pumping is a good idea.  Running, walking, rollerblading or biking are all good examples.  These are especially good ideas because it gets you OUTSIDE where you can get a better sense of how much more to life there is than the stressors that seem to be dictating your life now. 

If you can't get outdoors, just making use of the floor to do some basic exercises can also help. Jumping jacks, sit ups, push ups, running in place, swinging your arms, or anything like these are good.  Try it now.  Even if it's just for a few minutes, you'll feel a little more energy just after you finish.  

 

High Pressure Exercising

Once in a while, you hear of these amazing feats in which people lift large objects off loved ones in crisis situations.  When under stress, our bodies are often stronger than usual.  However, you don't need an emergency to release some of the stress your body is under. 

    Exercising by lifting weights, going for more strenuous hikes, and climbing are good examples of high pressure exercising that helps to release stress... and it keeps you in good shape while making you stronger if you develop a routine.

 

Doing Physical Work

Of course, exercise is a good thing.   However, exercise that also gets work done has added benefits.  Often, part of the system of stressors that threaten people are the many things they have to do.   These range from work challenges, school challenges, and other emotional or relationship circumstances that are difficult and cause stress.  On top of these are the everyday chores of life that also place demands on you.   One way to release stress and reduce the number of stressors in your life is to do some physical work...  yard work, cleaning up the apartment, organizing stuff that has remained cluttered in your living space, doing dishes...

when it remains in your body without any target to make it useful

when you fail to recognize that it’s there, leaving it to wear you down....

This is why it’s so important to Relax, and reduce the stress that’s wearing you down

or Release, and expend the stress energy that has no where to go but spin inside you.

And also keep in mind that, sometimes, when you're under too much stress it is difficult to handle it alone.  You don't have to struggle alone.  We're here to help.  We at the Counseling Center can help you get started in reducing the unnecessary stress in your life and help you make better use of the energy your stress gives you.  Call our office or stop by to make an appointment to see a staff member. 

The Counseling Center
106 Courtland Street
Monday - Friday Open From 9am - 5:pm
(Evening Hours Available on Tuesdays When Classes are in Session)
(404) 413-1640

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