Simple Techniques for Stress Management

April is Stress Awareness Month. I’m guessing most of us are quite aware of the stress in our lives. But what exactly is stress and how can we manage it better?

I’ll start with a somewhat unexpected statement: Stress isn’t always a bad thing. We are so used to hearing that stress is terrible for us and we should do all we can to eliminate it from our lives – and it’s true, but only to a point. Stress, in and of itself, is simply a physiological response of our organism to a stressor (i.e., a situation or occurrence that causes a state of strain or tension). The changes that happen in your body when encountering a stressor are designed to protect you and ensure your survival. Your brain and your body are trying to save your life in a situation your brain interprets as dangerous. This is of course a good thing. Problems start when you experience chronic stress, in situations that have nothing to do with your survival (more on this later).

Here is what happens (in general and somewhat simplified terms) in your body in a situation your brain perceives as threatening your safety:

The amygdala gets activated. The amygdala is located in front of the hippocampus and is part of the limbic system, which is the part of the brain we share with other mammals. The amygdala is generally thought of as the brain’s threat response system, which gets activated when an active threat is present. It is also the integrative center for emotions, emotional behavior and motivation, and it’s responsible for notifying us of all important events that are connected to our survival.

When the amygdala is activated, it triggers a cascade of hormones of epinephrine (also known as adrenaline), norepinephrine, and cortisol to be released. The hormones flood the system. The heart rate goes up, blood gets redirected to the muscles (so we can run faster or fight better), digestion slows down. All our resources get directed toward addressing the stressful situation to increase our chances of survival.

When our ancestors were out and about and suddenly heard the prowling saber-toothed tiger, the activation of the stress response helped them to either fight the tiger or flee the tiger. Either way, the stressful situation soon ended, one way or another – either we managed to escape the dangerous animal, or we were eaten. If we managed to escape, all our systems returned to homeostasis – the natural, balanced state, where all bodily systems function at optimal levels.

I hope you can see that stress in a truly dangerous situation is actually a good thing. However, in modern times we are consistently barraged with stressful situations, and frequently we even create our own. Of course most of these stressors are not truly dangerous and don’t put our lives at risk, but (a) our brains are not evolving quickly enough to catch up with the times, and (b) our brains constantly scan our surroundings for danger and, if we let them, can find it in almost any situation. To make matters worse, we don’t have a chance to return to homeostasis because there is the next stressor and the next one and yet another one – that work meeting we’re anxious about, wondering how to handle online schooling for the kids, worrying that money is tight right now, and so on, and so forth. And the more of these stressors we have, the more sensitized we are to them – which means we become stressed more quickly and more frequently. And before we know it, we suffer from chronic stress, and its consequences are severe. Our bodies keep going through the same physiological processes described above, with the amygdala activation and release of stress hormones. If we don’t have well developed ways of returning to baseline after dealing with a stressor, all these changes in our system can really damage our bodies, including our brains.

Here are just some of the negative effects of chronic stress on our minds and bodies:

Prolonged stress can cause cardiovascular system issues, including hypertension, heart attack and stroke; it may cause digestive system issues and weight gain (cortisol plays a role in that); and it often results in sleep problems.

One of the lesser talked about negative effects of chronic stress on our system is the deterioration of the brain, and memory problems. When cortisol gets released as part of the stress response, and then stays in our body for too long, the hormone weakens and gradually kills neurons in the hippocampus. The hippocampus serves a few important functions, including calming down the amygdala and telling the hypothalamus (another important part of the brain) that we already have enough stress hormones in the system. So when we damage the hippocampus, it can’t tell the hypothalamus to lower production of hormones including cortisol, which then damages the hippocampus even more, and we are caught in a vicious cycle.

The hippocampus is also responsible for learning, for putting things in context, and helping us understand, and it also plays an important role in storing and consolidating information from the short-term into long-term memory. It’s really scary when it gets compromised.

Another result of a continued stress response is that when the amygdala is activated, the prefrontal cortex is not. The prefrontal cortex is the executive function center of the brain, responsible for complex thinking, decision making, impulse control, predicting consequences of our actions, focusing our attention, and problem solving. It’s involved in thinking and planning, influences the regions of the brain that process emotions, and works with them on emotion regulation. As you can see, the prefrontal cortex is involved in – and needed for – numerous higher-level functions. And amygdala activation turns off or limits the activity of the prefrontal cortex. That’s why when we’re stressed, we’re not good at making decisions. We don’t see things clearly. We frequently get angry or impatient and can’t control our reactions. We say or do things that we frequently regret later, after we’ve had a chance to calm down and actually use the prefrontal cortex to evaluate the situation. Not good for anyone.

What’s the solution to our modern chronic stress problem?

One of them is mindfulness. To be clear, mindfulness is not the panacea, it’s not a cure-all, and it might not be the right choice for everyone. But it has a ton of beneficial effects on our bodies and minds, and this positive impact has been demonstrated time and time again in numerous scientific studies.

Mindfulness has many definitions, all of which touch upon various aspects of the practice. Most of them include the elements of non-judgment (i.e., letting go of automatic judgments that attach to experiences) and curiosity (i.e., being open to what is, and having a beginner’s mind). A simple definition I like to use describes mindfulness as the process of paying attention to the present moment with an attitude of curiosity and kindness. Mindfulness is frequently practiced by intentionally placing our focus on an object of attention called an anchor – most often, your breath is your anchor, although you can also use sounds or sensations in the body as the object of attention.

The impact of mindfulness on our stress response can be explained by looking to neurological activity in different parts of the brain. As demonstrated by functional MRI (fMRI) studies, when we intentionally focus our attention on whatever is happening right here, right now (i.e., the essence of mindfulness), we engage our prefrontal cortex. And, in direct opposition to what happens during a stress response, activation of the prefrontal cortex decreases activity in the amygdala (which is involved in the stress, “fight or flight” response). As such, mindfulness can be used to activate and strengthen the prefrontal cortex, and in time, regular practice can actually make the amygdala smaller, less active, and less sensitized to stressors (i.e., we will not get stressed as much, as often, or by as many things). This may result in increased resilience. Because of the prefrontal cortex activation (rather than the amygdala activation), mindfulness can also help us make better decisions – which in turn may additionally decrease our stress level.

Physical activity is another wonderful method of coping with stress. The benefits of exercise on our stress response are based in biochemical reactions in our organism and hormone production. Exercise lowers the levels of stress hormones of adrenaline and cortisol; at the same time, it also stimulates the production of endorphins, i.e., the “feel good” chemicals in the brain that reduce pain and elevate our mood. The stress reducing impact of physical activity could also be tied to the simple act of taking care of ourselves. Aerobic exercise is usually recommended to combat stress, but this could be because most studies have been done with respect to this type of exercise. Almost any type of exercise or physical activity, as simple as taking a walk, will likely have similar impact and stress busting qualities.

Another great way to manage stress is spending time in nature. Humans evolved in the great outdoors, surrounded by trees, plants and animals. Living in cities is a relatively recent change in the way we live, and our brains and bodies still need that close connection with nature. Spending between 10 and 50 minutes in natural environments has been shown to reduce stress and anxiety, and to improve mood and focus. The benefits don’t decline after 50 minutes, they simply plateau. Getting outside and being in nature for as long as possible and as often as possible has a tremendous effect on our well-being.

There are of course other ways to manage stress – spending time with loved ones is a big one, and benefits of social connection are not only known anecdotally but have also been proven scientifically. Dedicating some time to self-care every day, even if it’s just a few minutes, will also help you to de-stress – this could be as simple as taking a relaxing bath, reading a book that puts you in a good mood, or listening to calming music. It’s important to find what works for you and to do it consistently.

I will leave you with this quick tip – taking a few deep breaths is an amazing tool you can use to manage your stress response. It’s always available to you and takes just a couple of minutes. Science shows that taking just three long, deep breaths slows down our heart rate, shuts down the alarm system in our brain (the amygdala and the limbic system) and activates our parasympathetic nervous system, which calms us down. Taking a few slow breaths also allows blood to flow to the prefrontal cortex (i.e., the executive center of the brain) and the insular cortex (i.e., the part of the brain responsible for a lot of our social and emotional intelligence). The result? A quicker return to homeostasis of your mind and body.

Stress is unavoidable. However, we can learn to manage it better. I hope you will use some of these techniques to keep your stress level in check. And try not to stress about feeling stressed 😊