Stress — The Usual Suspect

In our day-to-day language, the word “stress” is used very narrowly. For the most part, I’ve heard people use it only in the context of major life events or work.

But there’s important nuance to stress. It’s more dangerous than you think and needs to be taken seriously. There’s a reason why it is the leading cause of most mental and physical illnesses.

A lot of your problems can be traced back to stress. You’ll make the connections as we dive deeper.

The Stress Response

The stress response, also known as the “fight-or-flight” response, evolved as a survival mechanism. It enabled our ancestors to react quickly to life-threatening situations.

But cultural evolution happens much more rapidly than genetic evolution. So while the world has dramatically changed over the last few thousand years, our hardware is pretty much still the same. And now, unfortunately, the body also overreacts to stressors that are not life-threatening, such as traffic jams, work pressure, or even imagined scenarios.

Let’s look at what happens inside our bodies when we’re stressed.

The stress response is orchestrated by the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS). The ANS controls the hundreds of automatic processes going on in your body — digestion, breathing, heartbeat, blood pressure, arousal, etc. It can be divided into two components — the Parasympathetic Nervous System and the Sympathetic Nervous System.

The parasympathetic nervous system is responsible for slowing things down. It triggers the release of acetylcholine to put a brake on arousal, slowing the heart down, relaxing muscles, and returning breathing to normal (rest-and-digest mode). On the other hand, the sympathetic nervous system is responsible for turning the volume up.

When your mind perceives a threat — either existentially or psychologically — the sympathetic nervous system functions as an accelerator pedal and turns on the fight-or-flight response. It triggers the release of stress hormones (adrenaline and cortisol), providing the body with a burst of energy to “fight-off” the threat (which can manifest as anxiety).

The body gets this burst by redirecting energy away from processes that are non-essential to survival which, among other things, includes higher-order thinking.

Here’s an example that demonstrates this: Children living in neglected or abusive environments often exhibit learning disorders. Their focus is on getting through each day — finding enough to eat, not getting beaten, or yelled at. When the focus is on survival, the thinking brain shuts down. So things like reading, writing, and arithmetic go out the window.

In such situations, your reptilian brain takes over and you switch to an autopilot mode where you behave irrationally and become susceptible to temptations.

Stress, therefore, is inherently incompatible with willpower and self-control. You might have noticed that when you’re stressed or anxious, you are more likely to indulge and procrastinate. (That’s why stress eating is a thing)

Bringing Stress to Awareness

The important thing to note is that the stress response is not binary. As you might have experienced, some things stress you out more than others. But we usually notice we’re stressed only when it’s somewhat intense.

So stress often builds up beneath the surface — disrupting your mental and physical health, productivity, creativity, and intelligence. Even mild levels of stress can impair your ability to control your emotions.

It’s important to be mindful of your internal state and notice any signs of stress. Here are a few common ones:

• Anxiety, racing thoughts, or constant worry.
• Feeling overwhelmed, unmotivated, or unfocused.
• Mental fatigue
• Trouble sleeping or sleeping too much
• Anger, irritability, or restlessness
• Bad decisions
• Procrastination

Managing Stress

Of course, stress is not all bad. The right amount of stress can be hormetic — meaning it triggers your mind/body to adapt and become stronger (if supported by proper recovery).

But, today, we are all exposed to numerous physiological and psychological stressors — heavy workloads, poor sleep, isolation, toxic air and water, processed foods, artificial lighting, tech addictions, sedentary lifestyle, smoking, alcohol, etc. It’s a big list.

(The human stress response is consistent for all types of stressors. While the intensity and duration vary, the internal biochemistry is the same.)

Many such small stressors can add up to create a continuous feeling of emotional distress. If you allow the stressors to exist, you’ll be playing the game of life from a position of weakness. Proactively identify and cut them out. Don’t wait for the tipping point.

I’m sure you already know what you need to do when it comes to managing stress. It’s the usual stuff:

• Cutting out toxic habits
• Learning to modulate the stress response through controlled breathing (or even singing and dancing)
• Getting your fundamentals — exercise, mindfulness, sleep, nutrition — on point.

The important thing is to have that epiphanic realization on why this stuff is so important.

Apart from this, your mindset plays a big role in your stress reactivity. Two people (with similar genetics and abilities) can experience the same situation and have different stress reactions — one might perceive a threat where the other does not. Remember that your perception is under your control.

Here’s a reminder to not take life too seriously: How the Universe is Way Bigger Than You Think  (This is not to make life seem meaningless or invalidate your feelings, but to disrupt your egocentric perspective)

Thank you for reading. Most of the content on this website has emerged from conversations with readers like you. Every Sunday, I send out an email dissecting some aspect of the human mind.

If you can take out a few minutes every week, I’ll help you develop a strong understanding of how your mind works. So that you can have more control over your thoughts, behavior, and life.

You can sign-up below.

Or you can sign-up after reading my story and the core idea behind this website:  We Should Be Getting More Out of Our Lives (would recommend)