A Comprehensive Study on Stress.

Stress is probably one of the most prolific mental ailments out there. Each and every one of us feels stressed at one point in life or another. It is important to realize that feeling stressed does not necessary mean that you have a mental illness or disorder, although depending upon the intensity and persistence it may be characterized as such.

My objective in this article is to unpack the phenomenon of stress, understand it from every perspective and try to master it. So, let’s start!

What is Stress?

Stress is the body’s natural response to any perceived threat. When your mind feels that something can cause you harm it goes into stress mode. This simply means that the mind readies the body to face the threat or flee it. Stress can manifest itself through a variety of physical, emotional, behavioral or cognitive symptoms.

The Neurobiology of Stress.

The group of neurons/nerve cells mainly responsible for stress are called the Sympathetic Chain Ganglia. The SCG is a chain of neurons that run from the neck to the navel. When exposed to a stressor (the stress-inducing stimulus) the SCG fires very quickly, like a domino chain. This causes them to release a neuromodulator called Acetylcholine. Acetylcholine readies the muscles of our body for rapid response to the stressor. It also triggers the release of epinephrine in the body, which activates some parts of the body while deactivating others. This allows the energy to be conserved and focused on the systems of the body which can help fight or flee from the threat.

The Stress Response.

The stress response is a very generic response to any stressful situation the mind or body faces. This occurs as soon as the Sympathetic Chain Ganglia are triggered. The release of epinephrine and norepinephrine cause some systems of the body to be activated and some to be deactivated.

For example, the cardiovascular system is sped up, causing the heart to beat faster and allow blood to be rushed to the muscles. The pulmonary system is activated which causes us to breath faster to allow more oxygen to enter the body. The pupils of the eyes are dilated to allow more light to be let in so that you can see the threat better. The field of vision is also narrowed to allow more focus.

Similarly, the digestive system is deactivated as it is not needed at the time of facing the threat. The salivary glands are shut down because of this, that is why we feel our throat go dry in a stressful scenario. The blood flow is shifted deeper from the skin to the muscles to allow more energy into the muscles. That is why we feel cold sometimes in stressful situations.

Also, a sense of agitation is induced in the body which prompts us to move or perform an action or say something when we feel stressed.

Types of Stress.

On the basis of their scope, there are three types of stress: short-term, medium-term and long-term.

1. Short-term Stress

Short-term stress is acute and occurs from happenstance. The immediate, but temporary, shock you feel to your body in any potentially nerve-wrecking situation can be categorized as short-term stress. The body gets activated and becomes alert. Adrenaline rushes through the blood, the heart starts beating faster and feelings of anxiety ensue. Although uncomfortable, this state has its benefits as well. Your focus is sharpened and you achieve better cognition. Also, the adrenaline pumping in your blood shocks the immune system and releases warrior cells from the spleen. This category of stress usually lasts from a few hours to a few days.

2. Medium-term Stress

Medium-term stress can last anything from several days to weeks. This is where things start to go wrong. If an individual’s stress threshold (the ability to cope with stress effectively) is low, the body starts to show signs of exhaustion. That can be manifested through anything from irritability to low mood to headaches to digestive issues. This is the point that the body starts giving signs that it has had enough.

3. Long-term Stress

Long-term stress or chronic stress is extremely dangerous. It can lead to heart disease, withering of synaptic connections (neural connections), depression, anxiety etc. This is the point where stress becomes a seriously fatal hazard.

Tools to Mitigate Stress.

The last component to unravelling stress is to know the tools to control it, fight it and extinguish it. I will mention three tools to mitigate short, medium and long-term stress respectively. However, you can use them in any order you want. The goal here is to understand the underlying science in order to use them effectively.

1. The Physiological Sigh.

The Physiological Sigh or the Double-inhale Exhale is a breathing technique used to immediately lower the heart rate and subdue the jittery feeling felt during anxiety or a stressful situation. This is most effective in cases of short-term stress or high anxiety, where you want to take control of yourself quickly.

This is done in the following way: take a long inhale, followed by a short inhale and then a lengthy and vigorous exhale. You can either inhale and exhale through the nose or mouth. However, it is preferable that you inhale through the nose and exhale through the mouth. Also, focus on the exhalation and make sure it is long and vigorous. Repeat the physiological sigh for 3-5 minutes to slow the heartrate down.

Firstly, the long inhale followed by the short one ensures the proper expansion of your lungs. This allows as much oxygen as possible to enter the lungs and then the bloodstream. The exhale, on the other hand, ensures effective expulsion of carbon dioxide from the body. This CO2 is what makes you jittery (e.g., trembling of hands etc.)

Secondly, you need to make sure that your exhales are long and vigorous. This type of exhalation moves the diaphragm up which sort of constricts the space in your chest area. That means the heart also gets constricted and literally lessens in volume resulting in increased blood flow/heartrate. This causes the sinoatrial node, the group of neurons responsible to monitor heart rate, to send the brain a message that the blood flow has increased and needs to be maintained. The brain then responds by ordering the slowing down of the heart and decreasing the blood flow.

This, as a result, calms us down and makes our condition more stable.

2. Stress Inoculation.

We have established that there is a connection between our cognition and the autonomic nervous system. Stress is not only a result of an external factor but is, in fact, largely based on our internal perception. How we perceive things determines whether a situation will be stressful or not for us.

So, stress inoculation is the cognitive dissociation of mind and body in situations of high stress or high activation of the autonomic nervous system. In simple terms, it is convincing our body that we do not feel threatened by a situation and it is not stressful for us. This is usually preferred for medium-term stress and is directed at increasing our stress threshold.

It is simply done by being comfortable in that state of high stress or high activation. This gradually takes the bite out of it and increases your stress threshold. For example, you have a fear of public speaking. Gather a group of friends and tell them you would deliver a speech for them. When you face them, your stress response kicks in and your body goes into a state of high activation i.e., panic, anxiety, stress etc. It is this feeling that you have to get comfortable with. Ask yourself why you are so afraid? What is the worst that can happen? Is this feeling really that bad? Can you not channel this nervous energy into something positive like bringing intensity in your delivery of the speech? Do whatever you want. Just try to convince yourself that you will not succumb to this thing that stresses you out. Tell yourself that you are not fazed by the situation but are rather comfortable in it.

3. Social Connection.

We are all aware that being surrounded by people you love does seem to alleviate stress to a certain degree. However, usually people suffering from chronic or long-term stress have a propensity to cut off all social connections and isolate themselves. They think that somehow interacting with people would be more stressful. My aim here is to explain the neurochemistry that proves that this behavior actually is counterproductive in the pursuit to alleviate stress.

Firstly, any kind of pleasant social connection, like going out to dinner with friends or playing games with your family or even exchanging a pleasant smile with a friendly stranger, releases serotonin in the brain. This neuromodulator is associated with feelings of well-being and bliss and comfort, all of which a patient of chronic stress desperately needs. It can also create an internal state of being contented and having enough. The lack of such feelings is what induces stress in the first place. Overall, the release of serotonin in the blood produces feelings of delight which can be very beneficial for a stressed mind.

Secondly, social connection suppresses the release of tachykinin in the brain. Tachykinin is a neurotransmitter that makes us fearful, paranoid, irritable, impairs the immune system etc. Studies have shown that tachykinin is released in large amounts in the brain when we become too isolated or are not socially connected enough.

Now the benefits of socialization would be much more potent if we are socially connected in the real world rather than offline.

We have reached the end of our comprehensive study of stress. I have tried to cover as many aspects as I could in order to provide my readers with a better understanding of the phenomenon of stress and how to deal with it. Hope it helps!