What is chronic stress, and how do you find your way out of it?
We are on the brink of a global nervous breakdown. Suffering in modern life has been normalised, health and happiness are under threat, and the world is dripping in chronic stress.
The critical question now is, what can be done?
Societies, communities and workplaces must change, and individuals must play their part in taking responsibility.
This blog explains chronic stress, how it impacts health, and how to recognise and recover from it.
What is chronic stress?
Chronic stress is a consistent sense of feeling pressured over a prolonged period. It doesn’t wave a big red flag to let you know it is coming. It creeps up on you. Stress is sneaky like that. It results in a perpetual state of overwhelm, which is incredibly debilitating.
In the beginning, we may notice it more, but as a stressed state persists, it becomes a modus operandi. In other words, we get used to being in that state, and we notice it less until suddenly, we don’t notice how stressed we are at all. That’s how chronic stress creeps up and goes undetected.
But stress is normal, and a bit of it is a good thing. It can help us to perform better and give us added focus and strength when under pressure and in dangerous situations.
So, when does stress become unhealthy or chronic?
Stress becomes a problem when it negatively affects a person’s life, and they can see no way out of it. It happens when the body’s stress response system is permanently switched on. It has terrible consequences and can be devastating. It can even kill you.
How does stress affect the body?
To understand stress, we must consider what happens physiologically.
The body’s reaction to stress is known as the ‘fight or flight’ response.
Imagine you have just had to swerve your car to avoid an accident. Your heart starts racing, your breathing quickens, your muscles tighten, your blood pressure and blood sugar levels rise, and your focus and alertness heighten. Your body is responding to the incident at hand. All these physical symptoms are designed to help you react quickly to danger. The stress response enhances your performance and your problem-solving abilities. You were able to respond in a split-second and swerve the car.
The stress response is a natural process that helps us to survive; it’s an emergency reaction system if you like. It is mediated by a complex interplay of nervous, endocrine (hormone), and immune system mechanisms. While specific physiological processes get up-regulated, others get put on hold. The stress response suppresses digestive and immune functions, for example, while focusing on more critical tasks.
Then, when the body is no longer in perceived danger, the body’s nervous system functioning returns to normal. This is the relaxation response and is the opposite of your body’s stress response. Heart rate and blood pressure return to baseline, and other systems resume regular activities.
With chronic stress, the body exists in a persistent state of ‘fight or flight’. It means some systems in the body are over-firing, while others are suppressed. With this understanding, it is easy to see how chronic stress can impact health.
What causes chronic stress?
Daily life can cause stress, from a high-pressured job with looming deadlines, financial pressures, dysfunctional relationships, and illness or health concerns, to caring for a sick relative. Stress can also come from experiencing discrimination, hate or abuse, grief, infertility, the pressures of parenting, getting married, going through a divorce, or a traumatic event.
So many things can cause stress, and stress happens to everyone. Everyday experiences like organising family events, household chores or being stuck in traffic can trigger a stress response. That’s life. But when stress is prolonged or repeated without letting up, it becomes a problem – that’s when we call it chronic.
How do you recognise chronic stress?
Common tell-tale signs of chronic stress include:
Brain fog
Difficulty concentrating
Fatigued and decreased energy
Wired but tired
Snappy and irritable
Nervousness, anxiety or panic attacks
Feeling a loss of control
Muscle aches and pains
Headaches
Hair loss
Indigestion
Digestive problems
Diminished appetite or overeating
Sleep problems
Allergic reactions (hives, eczema or asthma)
Frequent acute illnesses, such as colds and flu
Using alcohol or drugs, such as marijuana, to unwind
Social isolation and withdrawal
Is chronic stress dangerous?
Chronic stress increases your risk of various health-related problems, such as high blood pressure, decreased immune function, or fertility issues. It also worsens existing conditions. For example, hypertension, heart disease, obesity and metabolic syndrome, Type II diabetes, and arthritis can be exacerbated by chronic stress.
There are secondary impacts of chronic stress too. For example, how a stressed person behaves with friends, colleagues, and family also affects them. And in certain professions, actions have the potential to be harmful to others.
Consider a doctor who suffers from chronic stress because of persistently working too long hours in an intense environment like Accident & Emergency; a small mistake could cost someone their life. The same applies to many other work situations, such as construction.
Worryingly, many people don’t seem to make the connection that chronic stress is the root cause of health problems. Many people deal with individual symptoms, such as high blood pressure, simply by taking blood pressure medication, but the underlying lifestyle contributors go unaddressed.
The most dangerous thing about chronic stress is that it doesn’t get resolved. It is destructive because we let health conditions worsen. We become accustomed to existing in a certain way without awareness of what is happening to our bodies and minds.
Can you reverse years of chronic stress?
Yes, you can. But it requires more than a holiday or two. A sticking-plaster approach to dealing with stress kicks the can down the road. Years of chronic stress requires a colossal reset and a change in the behaviours that led you there.
Chronic stress can’t just be switched off. There’s no magic button, and life and its stressors go on. For some, it is impossible to change the situation that is causing stress, like a job or caring responsibilities. So we must learn to have a healthier relationship with stress, become more in tune with the causes, and adopt lifestyle changes to mitigate potential damage.
How to find your way out of a chronic stress state and recover
Stress doesn’t have to rule your life, but it can easily creep up on you. By the time you reach a state of chronic stress, you will likely need some extra help, so the first step is…
1. Seek help: get a mentor or see a therapist
Recovering from chronic stress is more than resetting. A two-week holiday won’t cut it. After your break, you’ll be straight back into bad habits.
Psychotherapy helps a person understand the pattern of behaviours that led to a state of chronic stress so that new boundaries can be established to prevent it from happening again. If your work is the problem, a mentor might be a good idea to help you reposition boundaries, understand workaholism or perfectionist behaviours, and manage your time better.
Seeking help to uncover your blind spots is imperative and will help you find a place to value yourself and your health.
2. Learn breathing meditation
Stress is inevitable, so building a toolbox of stress-busting techniques is invaluable. Breath meditation is simple and is one of the easiest ways to reduce stress.
It involves sitting quietly for as little as a few minutes daily and focusing on your breath. You will quickly find it becomes a go-to de-stress tool to pick up as and when you need it. There are lots of Apps to help you get started, such as Headspace or InsightTimer.
3. Get active
Physical activity positively affects your mood and reduces stress. Walking in nature is a great way to start, as exercise and the natural environment bring positive health benefits. More invigorating workouts can also be beneficial but be mindful that over-exercising can add to stress. It may be better to start with a more relaxing routine. Try yoga, Qigong and Tai Chi. These types of exercises will bring you insights into your body.
4. Focus on nutrition
The more stressed you become, the more your healthy eating habits will likely fall by the wayside. But good nutrition is vital for energy and physical and mental health. Unhealthy food is full of nasties, is carb and sugar-heavy, and plays havoc with blood sugar levels. A poor diet won’t give you energy. It will deplete it.
This is such an easy bad habit to crack. I promise that once you have switched back to eating healthily, you will wonder why it took so long. Healthy food can be delicious as well as nutritious. Avoid caffeine, alcohol, processed foods, and foods high in sugars. A diet rich in colourful vegetables (especially greens), lean protein, and a small amount of complex carbs and good fats is ideal. And hydration – drinking plenty of water – is essential too.
5. Reset: go on retreat
Find The Place where you can step back and begin to change.
At The Place Retreats, our guests undertake a transformational process by combining intensive Psychotherapy with one of Europe’s most highly regarded therapists, Jean-Claude Chalmet, and daily Kundalini Yoga sessions.
We are experts in helping people reset and recover from chronic stress.
Come to beautiful Bali to recover, revive, and renew. Contact our friendly team to find out more. We are waiting to help you.
