Just in case you hadn’t noticed, there are events in our world today that are making people feel chronic stress.
A worldwide pandemic, inflation, divided politics, and war in Ukraine have contributed to pushing stress to alarming levels in the United States, according to polls conducted for the American Psychological Association.
Some of the evidence that stress is wreaking havoc on our health;
- The APA’s 2022 Stress in America poll suggests the nation is in “survival mode.”
- 87% of US adults feel overwhelmed by constant crises over the past two years.
- More than 80% report negative emotions, like anxiety or anger, resulting from prolonged stress.
Stress Isn’t Bad
Stress isn’t inherently bad. It’s a survival mechanism. When you’re faced with a threat, the body releases hormones like cortisol and adrenaline.
Those responses will help you to either run or fight while trying to survive.
This is often called the “fight or flight” response.
But chronic stress—where we’re always on edge—is detrimental. It contributes to health issues like hypertension, a weakened immune system, and depression, among other ailments.
In 2019, the World Health Organization called stress the “health epidemic of the 21st Century.” So, even pre-pandemic this was a major health issue.
Many people have reached a breaking point after 2 years of global pandemic.
- Drinking more to cope with stress, in 2020, US alcohol-related deaths increased 25% from the prior year.
- As stress-eating skyrocketed, US candy and chocolate sales jumped 15.9% between 2019 and 2021.
- 67% of Americans said the pandemic negatively impacted their sleep habits, and 42% reported unwanted weight gain.
Combating Chronic Stress
You’re going to need strategies to manage chronic stress so you can live well and thrive. Strategically, you can choose to reduce the stress and/or increase your capacity to manage it.
Relax
One of the marks of a stress response is the state of your Autonomic Nervous System. The fight or flight response is dominated by your sympathetic nervous system.
The opposite of that is the rest & digest response. This is when your body in dominated by the parasympathetic nervous system. It is ready to help your body rest and recover.
Strategies that try to help you relax fall in the category of parasympathetic.
Breathing & Meditation. Breathing and meditation are well known and clinically proven to reduce your stress levels. They activate the parasympathetic nervous system.
One of the hardest parts of adopting an effective breathing or mediation practice is knowing if you’re doing it right. Getting a coach to help, or using a device like the Muse which we use at Vive are ways to learn.
Down-regulating Your Nervous System. If the sympathetic nervous system is the fight or flight response, then we need to be able to turn that off.
Remember, the response isn’t bad in itself, only when its always on that we experience the negative effects of chronic stress.
Recovery treatments or supplements that help us reduce the activity of the sympathetic nervous system are a viable strategy. CBD has shown great potential in clinical studies. In our experience with athletes and active individuals, the response has been positive.
Hands-on. Assisted stretching and tissue work aren’t just about tissue quality and mobility. Both of these involve touch. And touch has been shown in research to have significant benefits.
Physical touch increases levels of dopamine and serotonin. These two neurotransmitters help regulate your mood, and relieve stress and anxiety. Dopamine is regulates the part of your brain that can offset feelings of anxiety.
Revive
While relaxation is the most common suggestion to coping with stress, you can also seek to increase your capacity to handle it.
Sleep. There are so many health benefits to sleep that we can’t possibly overstate its importance. Research has shown that most Americans would be happier, healthier, and safer if they were to sleep an extra 60 to 90 minutes per night.
Improve Your Biochemistry. Good nutrition is a cornerstone of so many functions in the body that we have to consider it regarding stress. At Vive we recommend blood testing to determine if you have places you can improve your diet or supplementation to combat stress.
Refocus. Sometimes re-orienting our focus away from the stress can have a positive effect. We often find that athletes benefit from this strategy when they can’t “eliminate” the stress of competition.
Getting your brainwave state tuned to frequencies that are energized and focused with a device like the Apollo is a good option.
Fight Chronic Stress So You Can Thrive
Chronic stress is rampant in the US today and it has consequences for our health.
When our natural stress response stays in overdrive we can’t live the active and thriving life we deserve.
You cant control the world around you, but you can control what you do and how you react. Combat chronic stress by either increasing your ability to handle it , or down-regulating your nervous system so you can relax.