There are many aspects of Stress and we must understand that Stress is not bad for us if we are conscious of closing the stress cycle.
Busy Professionals, Stress is not bad for you. However, whenever you have a stressful situation, you might have a nagging voice that says-“You are stressed again. You are just not good at staying calm, and it will affect your health.”
Stress has gotten a bad name but is it that bad? As it turns out – our body and mind are made to respond to a stressor with the sympathetic nervous system. And when the stressor goes away, the parasympathetic nervous system takes over, and we calm down – physiologically and psychologically.
The above is a normal response, but the problem arises when we are chronically stressed. Worrying can compromise our body’s immune system even when no real stressor exists [Chatterjee et al. 2019.]
There are many aspects of Stress and how it affects us. Let’s understand Stress a bit more so that we worry less and normalize how we feel. That could be our first step to managing stress effectively.
1. Stress is not always bad.
‘Eustress,’ for example, is the term for ‘beneficial stress’ coined by an Endocrinologist, Hans Selye. Stress helps us build muscle to overcome challenges and thrive.
This awareness can normalize the response that we have to any stressor. So, let’s differentiate between acute, short lived, stress and chronic stress which lingers on, despite the absence of stressors.
2. Short Stressful Bursts are Normal.
Anthropologically, our bodies have evolved to manage stress spikes – for example, running from a predator [Sapiens, 2015]. These stressful instances cause acute Stress and ideally go when the stressor passes. It is absolutely normal to have physiological signs, e.g. sweating, during acute stressful situations.
Once the stressor passes, it can be beneficial to acknowledge it and take steps towards calm. Breathing exercises, and awareness of this stress cycle can help one manage stress effectively!
3. Chronic Stress can hurt us
It is the unmanaged Stress which lingers on that affects our health. The good news is that managing Stress doesn’t take much expertise. Small steps go a long way to signal to our brain (parasympathetic nervous system) that we are okay.
In our wellness program, we follow a stress closing routine, which participants design for themselves. It doesn’t have to be a lot – Some kind of physical activity, breathing exercises, massaging one’s feet for example, can all signal to your brain that you are fine and the stressor is passed.
4. Worrying about Stress can be worse than stress
“Oh no! I am stressed – now I am going to fall sick.” Avoid such beliefs, especially for acute Stress. Worrying about being stressed can affect us more than Stress itself. Once we accept that being stressed is our body’s normal response to a stressor, we can start staying calm.
So, my friend, if you feel stressed, there is nothing wrong with you. Let this acceptance be the first step for not letting Stress stay on and being calm.
If you are ready to be confident to face the situations and manage Stress gracefully, apply for our wellness program and reach out for a discovery call – here . We discuss and practice tools for closing the stress cycle in great detail.
About me: After graduating with a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University, I worked for leading companies like TI and Apple, where I loved my work. However, I gave more than 100% to both work and family. As a result, I experienced cycles of intense hard work, burnout, and Autoimmune health issues.
Hence, I dived deeper into understanding health and rebuilding it. Now, I am dedicated to supporting people to manage their well-being and transform them into healthier selves.
Because I worked in Silicon Valley for years together, I am mindful of the challenges people in tech can face in caring for their health.
