What Is Stress And How to Deal with It
When we talk about stress, we often refer to any physical, mental or emotional tension a person experiences when facing a change that will require adjustments and a period of adaptation. Even though stress can be a good thing, as it keeps us alert, excited and motivated, when not managed correctly it can become one of the worst enemies of success, health and happiness.
Stress is a physical and emotional response to any situation that we don’t have control over, and this often makes us feel insecure or fearful. So what exactly causes us to feel stressed?
In this post, I’ll go over the scientific definition of stress and its hormonal components (adrenaline, norepinephrine and cortisol). You will also discover the one key question that can help you reduce stress.
So let’s get to it…
The hormonal components of stress
Adrenaline, the first of the three hormones behind stress
When you feel impending danger, you become stressed. The adaptive response of our brains is to enter danger mode. That’s when adrenaline comes in.
Natural adrenaline is generally secreted because of a quick perception of danger. It increases your heart rate in an instant. You breathe faster and a cold sweat covers your body. It raises the availability of sugar in your muscles. It also makes that sugar-laden blood go from your skin to your muscles and your brain. It helps you focus and make your reflexes fast and powerful.
Norepinephrine and stress
Can you remember a time when you looked pale when you were scared or stressed? That’s norepinephrine helping your body. It protects you from small scratches and increases your strength. Norepinephrine redirects all your energy, both sugar and fatty acids, to the muscles that will help you fight or flee.
Norepinephrine is a vital part of the fight-or-flight response. Also known as noradrenaline, it’s a neurotransmitter hormone that’s produced and stored in the neurons of the sympathetic nervous system.
Cortisol, the stress hormone that gets the fame
Your adrenal glands secrete cortisol, which is a steroid hormone. You may have heard of its artificial cousins, corticosteroids, which are a common ingredient in medications.
Cortisol is the last to arrive at the party, but will also be the last one to leave. Or maybe even refuse to go home, which would be the cause of chronic stress, which has serious health ramifications.
So after reading the effect these hormones cause in your body, you might be thinking, if these are all positive and powerful reactions, why is stress bad for my health?
Stress (cortisol, adrenaline, noradrenaline) would help you if you were alone in the jungle, lost in a mountain or chased by some animal -- that is mortal danger ---. But most of the time you’re not. Most of your day-to-day problems cannot be solved by fighting something or running away (if only!).
How do I get rid of stress? Try the “afraid-vs- danger” test
Let’s think of a hypothetical situation. Your boss, coworker or client are under pressure and they are being more demanding than normal, plus you have an important deadline. How would you feel? Probably tense and anxious, right? But depending on your personality, maybe that tension can help you reach a peak of productivity (minutes, hours, even one day) and give you the final push to deliver. But what if it doesn’t? And what if this feeling doesn’t go away?
Stress is sometimes like the alarm on your car. It’s annoying and you want it to stop. So ask yourself: is someone stealing my car? Or did the alarm go off on its own? Ask yourself:
Are you afraid or are you in danger?
One of the most crucial skills in life is distinguishing the signs of danger from the signs of baseless fear. If the danger is real (a tiger, a car about to hit you, an impending flu) you must do something about it. Switching off the alarm when someone is stealing your car might be quite impractical!
Yet if we’re constantly hearing the alarm of a car that’s perfectly safe — when we stress about dangers that aren’t real — we’re wasting our mental, emotional and physical health. When a stressful situation goes on for a long time, it’s exhausting and a health issue.
In this case, instead of saving your life, it’s taking years away from it. That hormone-fueled adaptive response creates an extra problem. It's different from the one that stressed you in the first place. So it must go.
