Are you feeling the stress?
April is Stress Awareness Month and as such I wanted to share a little about the negative impacts of stress and some tangible tips to cope in a healthy way.
Emotional stress is a major contributing factor to the six leading causes of death in the US including cancer, coronary heart disease, accidental injuries, respiratory disorder, liver disease, and suicide. Unfortunately, many of us tend to live day to day in survival mode. This means we have a consistent fight or flight response resulting in the release of cortisol and epinephrine which are being pumped throughout the body. This creates an increased heart rate to pump blood to the muscles, heart, and vital organs; our senses are sharpened, and glucose and fats are also released into our bloodstream for a quick source of energy. This is particularly helpful when we are in a life-or-death situation. Or back when we lived on the Savanah and literally had to run for our lives from predators. However, these days our bodies seem to be hypersensitive and over-responsive so what was once a physiological response to help us survive is now ultimately leading to an early death or significant health implications.
Persistent epinephrine can damage our blood vessels and arteries, raising our blood pressure and increasing our risk for heart attack and stroke. Additionally, persistent elevated cortisol contributes to the buildup of fat tissue and weight gain. This in turn increases our appetite and increases the storage of unused nutrients as fat.
Symptoms of stress include
- Headaches
- Digestive issues
- Low energy
- Aches and Pains
- Insomnia
- Illness
- Difficulty concentrating
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Irritability
- And other mood changes
The World Health Organization (WHO) has officially declared Burnout as a medical diagnosis. Furthermore, burnout has been identified as a chronic workplace crisis. Burnout is defined as “a state of physical or emotional exhaustion that also involves a sense of reduced accomplishment and a loss of personal identity.” Burnout is often attributed to work-related stress, but it can also include the accumulation of responsibilities in addition to work as well. Burnout results from feeling depleted; the idea that the work is too much, there is too little time, and the stress is too great.
Symptoms of work-related burnout include:
- A cynical or critical mindset
- Irritable or impatient with co-workers, clients and customers
- Mental and physical Exhaustion
- Mental fog
- Lacking satisfaction
- Inability to cope and turning to food, drugs or alcohol for soothing
- Change in sleep habits
- A sense of hopelessness
What puts us at risk for burnout?
- Your identity is wrapped up in your work or your performance
- You are always busy
- You try to be everything o everyone
- You work in a helping profession
- You feel a lack of control
- You don’t have variety in your day-to-day life
Consequences of burnout:
- Excessive stress
- Fatigue
- Insomnia
- Sadness, anger, irritability
- Alcohol or substance abuse/misuse
- Heart Disease
- High Blood Pressure
- Type 2 Diabetes
- Vulnerability to illness
If you feel as though you are experiencing burnout or on the verge of burnout, take some time to assess your current situation.
Ask yourself the following questions:
- What can be changed?
- Where can you let go?
- What is most important or the highest priority?
Once you have the answers to these questions, create a plan.
- Change that which can easily be changed.
- Delegate tasks that you do not need to do yourself.
- Be willing to accept good enough instead of seeking perfection.
- Prioritize those tasks which are most important. And either save the others for another time or again, delegate those tasks.
Additionally, when it comes to stress management, I follow a 5-part process.
First incorporate movement and/or exercise. Try to avoid really intense and extreme workouts because this can cause an additional release of cortisol. That being said, running, walking, kickboxing, etc. can be really beneficial outlets.
Second, I emphasize eating nourishing and nutrient dense whole foods. I often recommend eating anti-inflammatory foods and looking to the Mediterranean diet for guidance, again to combat the inflammatory hormones that have been released into the bloodstream during high stress situations.
Third, take time for mindfulness activities such as meditation, yoga, deep breathing, and self-care. It can be really challenging to calm your mind when you are stressed which is another reason this work is so important. Guided meditations may be easier than silent meditation. You may also find that you can do and enjoy certain types of yoga or breath work over others. It is beneficial to allow time for trial and error to figure out what works for you at this time.
Sleep is often underrated and yet it is critical for brain function and physical health. Sleep is a time for repair and growth. It also improves our cognitive functions as well as our ability to cope and appropriately handle any stressful situation that may arise during the day.
Lastly, I like to focus on connection with others. Healthy and positive relationships increase our ability to cope, enhances our self-esteem, decreases the effects of stress, decreases the risk of cardiovascular disease, and increases our mental health.
Here are some practical tips I use myself to cope with stress:
- I have a gratitude practice every morning
- I take multiple walks each day with one being 30 minutes or longer
- I say ‘No’ to the things that don’t excite me (when I am able, of course)
- I prepare ahead of time
- I shut down my work no later than 8pm (close computers, turn off phones, no longer read or respond to emails)
- I have the tough conversations as soon as possible
- And I declutter as often as I can. For me a decluttered space allows for ease and clarity.
Obviously as these are tips, I teach and utilize myself, I think they are beneficial when it comes to reducing stress and the overall negative impact on our health. Additionally, I think it is important to learn to tune into your body and recognize when it is time to rest and practice self-care. Not only is rest okay, but it is also necessary, and we need to honor our needs in that respect.
Burnout and excessive stress aren’t something we can bounce back from after a week away on vacation. It builds up over time but through taking these measures we can not only reduce the compounding effects of stress, but we can also build our resilience so that we are better able to cope with stress that arises in the future.