Stress Buster

We all deal with certain amounts of stress in our daily lives, and to pretend we can resolve the “stress issue” here in a few brief paragraphs, could uh…stress me out. Ha! But in order to get a handle on stress, we need to understand what it is, and how it affects our health for good or bad. Not all stress is bad, certain stresses, called eustress, allow us to feel most of the euphoric events in our lives – like the thrill of a roller coaster or meeting a challenge - and has a positive effect on us both mentally and physically. But when stress remains unresolved, either through not coping or not adapting, it can turn into distress and cause emotional and physical consequences as well. One kind of stress can lead to growth and leaning while the other can make you ill.

In 1956, Hans Selye researched a model on stress called the General Adaptation Syndrome. This model attempts to define the different levels of stress, giving us a clearer understanding of them. The G.A.S. (add your joke here) has three levels:

1. Alarm:  This is our bodies’ natural response to stressful stimulus and is there to protect us. Often known as the “fight or flight” syndrome.
2. Resistance:  If the stress persists, it is necessary to find some way of coping with it. If coping does not happen, the bodies’ resources are slowly depleted.
3. Exhaustion:  The bodies’ resources are eventually depleted; the immune system is exhausted. The result can manifest itself in various ways such as ulcers, depression, cardiovascular problems, decreased digestion, even an increase in such diseases as diabetes or cancer.

Countless studies on stress have shown it's profound impact on our well-being. These studies also express the importance of finding coping mechanisms to deal with it.  One of the most effective ways of coping is – you guessed it – exercise.

During "stress response" around 1500 biochemical reactions occur in the body. Some of these reactions come from our prehistoric brothers and sisters, where stress was a necessary reaction for survival. Most stress in the modern world comes from psychosocial stimulus and our harmful physical reactions to it, have nothing to do with survival. We just think it does. The big problem is that the chemical byproducts from these reactions (to said stimuli) are still floating around inside of us, unresolved, and in concentrations our bodies can’t handle, leaving us vulnerable to sickness and disease. Regular exercise is shown to be useful in removing these chemicals by duplicating the “fight or flight” response. It allows the body to return to homeostasis (a stable and balanced physiological state) faster, and thus reducing the effects of stress on our systems.

Whether it's yoga, running skiing, swimming, Slim In Six or P90X, any form of physical activity, especially repetitive ones, seem to have a positive result. Exercise not only helps release damaging chemicals during stress, it actually releases dopamine and other brain goodies that make us feel euphoric and calm us down. Physical activity also releases endorphins, which has a similar chemical reaction in the body as some opiates (even though the research is still ongoing and somewhat controversial) 

Exercise can also help us with another component of stress; psychological or mental stress. It can foster feelings of self-confidence and self esteem. Many find the solitude of workout time to be a period for introspection and healthy escape. When we exercise with others, play soccer, softball or gather together in WOWY, we gain a sense of community and connect emotionally with others. Regular exercise helps us sleep better, it reduces muscular tension, decreases boredom, it builds our immune system to better fight off common everyday disease and illness. All these factors contribute to overall health and help us combat the effects of stress.  

It is up to each of us to do our own research in order to understand stress better and how we can best resolve it in our own lives. Through trial and error find out which combination of coping mechanisms work best for you, either mental, physical or both, to put you on the right path to live a healthier and happier life.