Understanding stress

What is stress?

Stress is the response of the body and mind to a situation that it deems to be challenging or very pressing. It triggers a cascade of psychophysiological changes that prepare us for a fight-or-flight response thus disturbing physical and mental homeostasis and well-being.

Stress - The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

At the outset, stress is a very useful mechanism for keeping us alert to danger of any kind, improves our motivation and focus, and makes us strive to achieve our goals. Acute stress has been shown to improve immune function in some cases by triggering inflammation to fight bacterial infections,
When stress persists unchecked and becomes chronic it can have many harmful effects. 75%-90% of human diseases are related to the long-term activation of stress systems. Chronic stress compromises immune function, gives rise to autoimmune diseases, causes digestive issues, and cardiovascular problems, interferes with appetite and sleep, and emotional dysregulation among a host of other problems. The overproduction of adrenaline and cortisol from ongoing stress cause elevated blood pressure and metabolic disorders.

Some possible causes of stress

Facing situations that we find difficult to understand and handle causes stress. Below are few reasons that cause stress:

Uncertainty - Most people often feel worried and vulnerable when facing adverse circumstances as to what may be the outcome of these circumstances in the immediate or near future. When people anticipate and fear an unfavourable outcome with no ability to control that outcome then they are likely to experience stress.
Conflict - When our ideas and opinions don't match or our understanding and vision clash with those of others be it at work, in our personal life, or socially then the inability to work through these differences can often cause conflict leading to negativity, and stress.
Threat -any perceived threat from an impending situation can cause stress. The inability to control the outcome of such situations can heighten one's threat perception which may pertain to physical, social, and financial threats.

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Is yoga the best antidote for stress?

There's a growing body of research supporting yoga's effectiveness in reducing stress. Numerous studies have investigated its impact on stress reduction, showing promising results:

Physiological Changes:

Cortisol Levels: Several studies have found that regular yoga practice can lower cortisol levels. For instance, a study published in the journal Psychiatry Research showed decreased cortisol levels in participants after a three-month yoga program.
Heart Rate Variability (HRV): Yoga has been linked to improvements in heart rate variability, indicating a more adaptive stress response. Research in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine demonstrated increased HRV in individuals practicing yoga regularly.
Inflammatory Markers: Some research suggests that yoga may reduce inflammation markers associated with stress. A study in the Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research found decreased levels of inflammatory markers in individuals practicing yoga.

Psychological Effects:

Anxiety and Depression: Various studies, including one published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology, have shown that yoga interventions can significantly reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression.
Perceived Stress: Research in the International Journal of Yoga demonstrated that regular yoga practice was associated with reduced perceived stress levels in participants.

Brain Changes:

Brain Structure and Function: Neuroimaging studies have indicated that yoga may impact brain structure and function. Research published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience suggested that yoga practice could modulate stress responses by affecting brain regions involved in stress regulation.

Yoga is the only scientific system that works on body-mind-brain

Symptoms of Stress

Stress-related symptoms can be seen in different areas of the human body depending on the individual person.

· Spine – Back problems in cervical, thoracic and lumbar regions

· Brain – headaches, depression, fatigue, anxiety, insomnia

· Skin – rashes, acne, psoriasis

· Gastrointestinal Tract – Constipation, irritable bowel syndrome, ulcers.

· Cardiovascular system – Increased heart-rate, cardiac arrhythemias, high blood pressure, and palpitations

· Immune system – being susceptible to infections and hence falling sick all the time

· Internal Organs – problems in liver, kidney, thyroid glands etc.

Difficulty breathing

Sleep disturbance and constant tiredness

Feelings we may experience when stressed

The feelings an individual may have when experiencing stress will depend on the source of their stress, their temperament, resilience, and life history. Some of the commonly experienced feelings are described below:

1) Feeling impatient, intolerant, and irritable - When stressed we wish the stressful situation to be over as soon as possible, and our time perception changes making us feel time is moving slower than it is giving rise to impatience. One may get so preoccupied that they may not be open to any suggestions or a different line of thought that may ease the pressure. Likewise, the person can also become irritable as they cannot cope with the situation causing the stress.

2) Feeling depressed or withdrawn - When one anticipates a likely negative outcome with no sense of control to influence that outcome it is likely to make the person feel dejected and or withdrawn giving up any fight for their best interest.

3) Fearing you are ill - depending on its intensity and duration stress can play havoc with our psycho-biological systems. Depending on our inherent vulnerabilities, stress can disrupt immune function, heart, digestion, sleep, appetite, and so on making us feel weak, fatigued, and ill.

How stress can affect us?

Stress is a subjective experience and will affect different people differently often targeting the weakest link in a person's biopsychological makeup. Stress affects a person's physiology, emotions, and behaviour.
Stress may initiate or aggravate -
Metabolic disorders such as diabetes.- The stress hormone cortisol breaks down glycogen increasing the availability of glucose in the bloodstream. but excess cortisol suppresses insulin production leading to less uptake of glucose by the muscles. This causes hyperglycemia raising the risk of diabetes.
Asthma, hay fever, eczema, and allergies - Chronic stress can put our immune function on high alert making it over-sensitive to even harmless antigens or the immune system may attack healthy body cells as in the case of autoimmune diseases.
Anxiety disorder - Frequent episodes of acute stress and long-term stress can both deplete someone's psychobiological defenses, break down coping mechanisms, and lead to anxiety disorder over some time in the absence of effective stress management.

Internal demands in life which may result in stress

Negative mindset - A negative mindset leads to negative self-talk and low self-esteem which can make a person feel incapable of facing a situation with confidence. This can lead to stress.

Physical and mental health - The state of physical and mental health significantly influences how we perform in life, our inherent resilience, and inbuilt biological mechanisms to cope with a degree of stress. Poor physical and or mental health can disrupt these mechanisms leading to stress

Unrealistic expectations - When a person has high expectations from themselves or others in their endeavours, the unfulfillment of such expectations can lead to frustration and disillusion that may cause them stress.

External demands in life which may result in stress

Financial issues: Financial issues may be caused by factors such as unemployment, debt, loss of investment, and problems repaying a loan or mortgage. All of these have adverse consequences which can become a source of stress.

Relationship problems - Relationship problems either with the significant other or with friends and colleagues at work can cause feelings of uncertainty, conflict, neglect, isolation, or simply not being good enough. Unresolved, such feelings may cause stress.

Work pressures and demands - Working against deadlines in a very competitive environment and trying to prove one's worth or please others can take a toll on an individual's ability to cope. It also destabilises work-life balance leading to burnout and stress.

Healthy strategies for reducing or managing stress in life

Improving Lifestyle - While lifestyle changes may not help to immediately reduce stress they go a long way in keeping stress at bay and effectively dealing with stressful situations that may come up. A proper routine of any exercise, physical activity, or sport that is enjoyable can boost our moods, morale, and functioning. Combined with eating a healthy diet and getting a sound sleep, it positively impacts our emotions, creativity, memory, decision-making, problem-solving ability, and resilience. Cut down on smoking and drinking if it is not possible to stop it totally.

Journaling - Some people find it useful to maintain a stress journal. This involves figuring out an individual's stress triggers (either by themselves or by working with a therapist), how they respond to and function under stress, and exploring ways to effectively deal with stress through better coping strategies.

Learning to relax - Research has shown that relaxation techniques such as yoga, deep breathing, and meditation are very useful in inducing a state of progressive muscle relaxation, body awareness, and restfulness. They reduce everyday stress and bring about feelings of joy and serenity.