Living with modern stress
There’s this feeling that overcomes your body when a deadline is approaching. Then it shows up when you can’t decide on an outfit. Maybe it appears when you are going on vacation. It’s called stress and it’s more prevalent than you think.
Up to 90% of healthcare visits in the USA are connected to stress related conditions, while 66% of employees in Europe have lost sleep over work related stress. It’s safe to say that stress is contagious.
So when is stress good or bad?
Stress is a normal reaction to events but it is also used by your body for protection. There are two types of stress: eustress and distress (namely positive and negative stress). The problem is that the body cannot differentiate between them. Your body’s stress response is warranted when there’s an emergency at bay - think grizzly bear - but if your body is constantly getting stressed about everyday issues, then it’s time to evaluate. A burnout could be on the way.
Our mind has the power to create hundreds of stressors in one single day. If these aren’t addressed, diseases and discomfort can manifest, resulting in chronic stress. The problem is that we tend to wait for these unfortunate events to happen before having a wake up call and shifting our perspective.
Stress and the body
Stress is accumulative and becomes a concern when the fight or flight response is activated for prolonged periods of time. It can affect the body in many different ways, impacting our physiology, sleep and digestion. Symptoms can vary from aches and pains to inflammation, skin issues and digestive problems.
Chronic stress restricts the blood flow through our body and weakens the immune system. As we hold onto stress, it creates a greater tension in the body resulting in more stress. It becomes a vicious circle as we end up stressing about stress!
What is modern stress?
Stress looks a lot different nowadays than what it used to; what remains the same is the stress response. Holistic Life Coach and Mind-Body Practitioner Johanna Melchiorre refers to modern stress as the fusion of cultural and societal pressure with beliefs from our education and upbringing.
As we navigate through life, the pressures of modern society mean we put a lot of judgement, expectation and pressure on ourselves. The distress this causes is an added barrier to our wellbeing, be it emotional, mental or physical. Our definition of success pushes us to go harder, faster and stronger while social media affects our self confidence and perception of ourselves. In our search for perfection, we become disconnected with who we really are and end up overwhelmed, frustrated and undervalued as we take on too much.
In today’s society, stress is normalised. We are aware of it but don’t know what it means emotionally or physically. We don’t know how to cope with it. By changing how we respond to these factors, we can be more in tune with who we are. This in turn enables us to help ourselves and others, become more accepting and embrace vulnerabilities. It requires a holistic approach.
Enter stress management
Panic mode seems to be our default response to many situations. Learning how to respond consciously to situations instead of reacting impulsively or instinctively is the first step in building resilience towards stress. All of this starts with self-awareness and self-compassion; a fundamental theme of Ora Collective’s Stress Fundamentals course taught by Johanna Melchiorre.
By building self-compassion, Johanna explains how we learn to accept ourselves for who we are. We can reconnect with ourselves and become more tolerant of one another. It fosters a positive mindset.
Navigate your stress
Knowing that stress is disrupting our quest towards optimal health, speeding up the aging process and making us more prone to illness is stressful in itself. Finding ways to relax are therefore key for stress management. It doesn’t stop there, we have to understand different stressors and how to cope with stress. ‘‘Our mind and body have a healing power beyond our understanding’’, says Johanna Melchiorre. With self-compassion, dedication and mindfulness, you can reconnect with yourself in order to navigate the various stresses of life.
Watch the Stress Fundamentals course with Johanna Melchiorre.