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Stress: Its impact on our physical and mental health and how we can manage it.

Stress. We can all say that we’ve experienced stress at some point in our lives, and probably more than once. Stress can be defined as ‘a state of mental or emotional strain resulting from adverse or very demanding situations’ or ‘a real or interpreted threat to an individual’s physiological or psychological integrity, resulting in physiological and/or behavioural responses’ (McEwen, 2000). Stress can often be a result of your external environment or also known as a ‘stressor’ (e.g. financial strain), which results in the imbalance of physiological systems.

Firstly, let’s go back to physiology.

As humans we have physiological systems within our bodies that react to stress differently. We have the Sympathetic pathway and the Parasympathetic pathway – these are both part of the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS).

Sympathetic Pathway

The sympathetic nervous system is often referred to as the “fight or flight” response, and is a short term response to stress. Essentially, the sympathetic pathway prepares the body for a physical challenge (‘fight’) or prepare to retreat (‘flight’). The fight-or-flight response is caused by the activation of the sympathetic nervous system and the adrenal medulla (inner part of an adrenal gland) which releases epinephrine and norepinephrine into our bloodstream. These hormones target our muscles and cause our body to speed up. This may make us feel alert, agitated and aggressive towards others (‘fight’). Or we may avoid the stressor completely (‘flight’). Alternatively, we may even ‘freeze’, where we may experience holding our breath or shallow breathing.

Parasympathetic Pathway

Compared to the Sympathetic pathway, the Parasympathetic pathway is much slower and regulates long term stress. Within the Parasympathetic pathway, the stressor activates the Hypothalamic Pituitary Axis (HPA), resulting in the adrenal glands producing cortisol. Cortisol can release stored glucose and can control swelling, however, the immune system is also suppressed whilst this happens.

What causes stress?

As mentioned previously, there any many situations that can cause stress, such as daily life, work or relationships. Significant life events can also be stressful, for example divorce, financial strain or death of a loved one. However, a ‘stressor’ may cause stress for one individual and won’t stress another, our experiences are individual and what we find stressful will also differ. Events that are deemed as positive can also be stressful, such as marriage or a job promotion.

The effects of stress

Stress can feel different to other people, but here’s some symptoms you may experience if you’re feeling stressed;

Cognitive

  • Loss of concentration
  • Memory problems
  • Unable to make decisions
  • ‘Brain Fog’
  • Self-doubt

Emotional

  • Moodiness
  • Irritability
  • Anxiety, panic and feeling overwhelmed
  • Frustration and anger
  • Depression and low motivation
  • Increased jealousy and insecurity.

Physical

  • Chest pain
  • Aches and pains
  • Frequent colds
  • Digestive complaints
  • High blood pressure. (Please contact your GP if you are worried about any of these symptoms).

Behavioural

  • Isolating yourself
  • Sleeping to much or too little
  • Over or under eating
  • Reduced work performance
  • Loss of sense of humour.

How can we cope with stress?

Talk to friends or family about how are you feeling – this may be difficult to do, it’s important that the people around you know what’s going on, they may also be able to provide you with more support.

Looking after your physical health – try and sleep between 7-9 hours a night, drink plenty of fluids (less caffeinated drinks), eat regular wholesome foods and try some light exercise. This can help with how you feel physically and mentally.

Other self-care – Try some mindfulness based activities, such as yoga, deep breathing or Tai chi. These activities may make you feel more relaxed.

Master your time – Break down big tasks into smaller parts. This may reduce your sense of being overwhelmed. Also setting smaller goals allows you to be able to achieve them. Make a timetable or list work or personal commitments.

Set time aside – Allow yourself some time each day/week to do something that you enjoy e.g. meeting friends or reading.  

  • Contact your GP if you are worried about your symptoms/experience of stress.

Useful Resources

http://stressawarenessmonth.com/

www.rcpsych.ac.uk/healthadvice/problemsdisorders/feelingstressed.aspx

References

Ogden, J. (2012). Health Psychology: A Textbook: A textbook. McGraw-Hill Education (UK). Pages 221-237.

McLeod, S. A. (2010). What is the stress response. Retrieved from https://www.simplypsychology.org/stress-biology.html

McEwen, B. S. (2000). The neurobiology of stress: from serendipity to clinical relevance. Brain Research, 172 – 189.  

Morrison, V., & Bennett, P. (2009). An introduction to health psychology. Pearson Education. Pages 305-335

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Mindfulness – what is it? And how can we use it in everyday life?

As ‘The Mindful Blogger’ I have found it fitting to write my first blog post about mindfulness; what it is all about, the benefits of mindfulness and how mindfulness techniques can be used to relieve us from our everyday chaotic lives.

What is mindfulness?

Imagine you’re driving your car from one location to the next and during this journey you forget where you have been driving and all of a sudden your attention comes back to driving. This is also known as being on ‘automatic pilot’. Your thoughts may be elsewhere, other than the task at hand. Well, mindfulness is the ability to be fully present, to focus your attention on the task at hand or the ‘here and now’.

Mindfulness is said to have originated 2,600 years ago from the Eastern part of the world. Specifically, Buddha asked how he could free himself “from the pain of the world?” – A question that many of us ask throughout our lives. Buddha found mindfulness to be the answer. But don’t worry you don’t have to be spiritual or a Buddhist to practice mindfulness.

But why should I try mindfulness?

Reduce suffering

Overtime mindfulness can reduce unhelpful and negative automatic thinking habits, pain, tension and stress. Mindfulness has been shown to physically change the structure of our brains and can increase happiness and general well-being. Similarly, mindfulness teaches us to pay attention to our thoughts, but in a non-judgemental way. So mindfulness can actually foster self-care and teaches us to be kinder to ourselves.

Increase control

As mindfulness is a ‘grounding’ technique (enables us to focus on the present), we are less occupied with the past or the future. There is evidence to suggest that mindfulness can enable us to notice signs of stress and anxiety. We can therefore stop letting our minds control us.

Experience reality as it is.

“An important part of mindfulness is reconnecting with our bodies and the sensations they experience. This means waking up to the sights, sounds, smells and tastes of the present moment.” – Professor Mark Williams (former director of the Oxford Mindfulness Centre).

Mindfulness has also been integrated into many evidence based psychological therapies;

  • Jon Kabat-Zinn developed Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) which is an evidence based programme to reduce stress.
  • Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (Marsha M. Linehan), a treatment for individuals diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder, suicidal ideation and self-harm.
  • Also, the NIC has also recommended mindfulness as a way to prevent a relapse of depression in people who have had more than three depressive episodes.

Core Mindfulness Techniques

Observing – Simply observe thoughts, feelings and bodily sensations. Observe the whole experience.

Describing – Notice the fine details of what you’re observing. What are the facts?

Participating – Consider the whole experience with full care and attention. Let go of self-consciousness.

Non-Judgementally – Accepting stance towards your experience, no attempt to evaluate experiences as “good, bad, right or wrong”. This takes time and is a challenging aspect of mindfulness – be kind to yourself.

One-Mindfully – Do one thing at a time. It is normal to become distracted from time to time. Acknowledge that this has happened and gently nudge yourself to your observing experience.

How to practice mindfulness

There are many mindfulness practices, but here is just an example;

Mindful breathing

  • Ensure you’re seated comfortably (you could even lay down), in a quiet and comfortable room. Your eyes can be closed or remain open.
  • First, use the muscles of your abdomen and chest to empty all of the air out of your lungs, then allow them to fill naturally. Notice what it feels like to breath like this.
  • After these few breaths, allow your breathing to return to normal, allow your breathing to find its own rhythm. Let your breathing be as deep or shallow.
  • Notice the rise and fall of your shoulders, the expansion and contraction of your abdomen and the sensation of the air entering and leaving through your nose or mouth
  • Continue to notice how it feels to breathe. Notice the gaps between breaths.
  • Do this for as long as you wish.

Remember, if you practice mindfulness there is no right or wrong way to do so, be non-judgmental in your practice and enjoy reconnecting with the here and now!

Resources

Doyle, O. (2014). Mindfulness Plain & Simple: A Practical Guide to Inner Peace. Orion Publishing Group, London.

Linehan, M. M. (2015). Dialectical Behaviour Therapy.

The Psychology of Mindfulness, Digested

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/mindfulness/

http://oxfordmindfulness.org/