All organic living systems seek to be in balance, and we are no different. When our human system is in balance, in mind and body, then we think, feel and act our best.

In the process of seeking balance, we are in a constant flux, adapting to the ever-changing environment that we live in. When our environment becomes too demanding or challenging, along with reduced resources to deal with the challenges and changes (especially a lack in self-belief), then our balance is disrupted and we feel stressed.

graphic showing scale: demands vs resources

Two types of stress

Sources of stress are many and include work, relationships, discrimination, illness, study, marriage, divorce, becoming a parent, and then add the juggle of daily life-roles or tasks.

A certain amount of stress on our system is motivating, and encourages us to dig deeper, adapt accordingly and find the resources and strengths that we didn’t know we had. This includes learning new things about oneself and growing from our experiences. When stress enhances function it is called eustress and we feel good.

stress graphic showing relationship between level of performance and pressure level + duration

But if the pressure is persistent and unrelenting, when our demands outweigh the resources we have to cope, then stress worsens our function, and we can no longer adapt. This results in distress and anxiety, often followed by fatigue and depression. If this level of stress continues then eventually burnout happens; this is a combination of exhaustion, disengagement and detachment, or even feelings of numbness.

Try this: Do you believe stress is harming your health?

Stress isn’t actually bad for your health per se, but believing that stress is bad for your health, is bad for your health!

How you think about stress matters. This is important in accepting how normal and universal it is for our bodies to respond automatically to particular situations.

Take a look at the illustration here and try to distinguish the difference between good stress and bad stress in relation to your own life.

Reflect on how long and how frequent stressful moments are for you. Ask yourself these questions:

Does stress inspire or demotivate you?
How is your self-esteem at present and is there any relation to stress levels?
What type of impact do you think stress is having on your life overall?

How the stress response affects your body

The threats, or stressors, we come across in modern life (bills, extra work, or a disgruntled partner) don’t require physical action. Yet, this is what our body is programmed to do when our brain perceives a problem; it revs up producing energy that has nowhere to go, because we are not actually needing to move.

Quite often our brain ramps up and responds to worry, our heart-rate increases and breathing rates too, to fuel our muscles. The adrenaline we produce demands more oxygen, but because we don’t use the oxygen appropriately (we are not actually fleeing or fighting!) then this gives rise to dizziness, tingling and sometimes disorientation.

Next week, we’ll take a closer look at the symptoms of stress in more detail and offer some tips to manage it.