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There are two types of stress: positive and negative.
Stress is a normal reaction to exciting events like falling in love, getting a new job, or buying a home. Stress is also a hardwired survival technique built into your body as a means of protection. When triggers arise, the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) signals the “fight or flight response,” which mobilizes you to take action and avoid danger.
The issue is that your body doesn’t know the difference between a bear chasing you and work-related anxiety.
Your body’s stress response is perfectly healthy when there’s a real emergency (like a bear chase), but if your body is constantly getting stress signals for everyday issues (such as work-related anxiety), you’ll burn out over time.
There are 3 main stages to the Fight-or-Flight Response:
1. The Alarm Stage
When your body goes into panic mode, your SNS is activated to protect you from stress and your brain triggers the adrenal glands to secrete glucocorticoid hormones, like cortisol and epinephrine (adrenaline). The rest of your body is then alerted to these symptoms, equipping you with emergency fuel and energy in reaction to your panic.
2. The Adaptive/ Resistance Stage
After the initial stress response, your body attempts to return to homeostasis (its stable state). But when your stress reactions are too strong or triggered too often, your body will remain on high alert. As a result of this constant stress, your body builds up a resistance and tolerance to coexist with continuous stressors. This extended release of stress hormones has adverse effects on your body, lowering your immunity defenses and making you more susceptible to illness.
3. The Exhaustion Stage
When the body continues to function in this wired state (never fully returning to the rest state), your emergency resources are depleted and your body starts to shut down. This final burnout stage represents your body’s inability to cope with continuously high demands. After all, it’s not natural to constantly feel like you’re being chased by a bear.
Breaking the Destructive Cycle of Stress
Just as the sympathetic nervous system turns on the “fight or flight response,” the parasympathetic nervous system turns it off. The parasympathetic nervous system helps the body conserve energy and rest. The ability to go from “fight or flight” to “rest and digest” is critical for your well-being.
Unfortunately, a return to relaxation doesn’t occur promptly for most people in today’s fast-paced society. While we’re all running around in panic mode from our everyday worries, chronic stress is disrupting the natural balance required for optimal health, speeding up the aging process, and increasing the body’s susceptibility to illness. Finding ways to activate the relaxation response is vital.
4 Ways to Switch off the Fight or Flight Response
Know that you're safe
Once your fight-or-flight response is triggered its often difficult to recognize it until you're in the Exhaustion Stage. It takes time and practice to catch yourself once you're feeling triggered by something. As you keep practicing this it will become easier to catch it so you don't burn out after each moment of stress you have during your day.
Trigger the Relaxation Response
Once you realize you're in fight-or-flight you need to trigger the relaxation response. Remember, during the stress response it is very hard for you to “just snap out of it”. Your brain has had thousands of years to develop its own effective way to keep you safe, it is not just going to allow you to overcome this system. This means you need to practice switching off the response when calm, over and over so that it becomes second nature and possible to effectively use when stressed. This is where breathing techniques and meditation will come into play. Please look back at our email we sent on July 24 for more information.
Prioritize your tasks and focus on one thing at a time
An overworked mind will only add to your stress. Try not to focus on all the things you need to do at the same time. Prioritize your work day with a list of the things you need to get done and list everything in order of importance. Having a check-list will help keep you calm and clearly show you what needs to be done. Once its on paper in front of you-you don't need to stress about what you need to do for the day.
Plan your schedule using a daily or weekly planner
Using a planner or schedule is one of the most effective tools you can use. If you have everything you need to do clearly written out you won't need to stress about what is coming next or stress that you forgot to do something. This will help you tremendously and it's free- you can put your schedule right into your calendar on your phone and set alerts so nothing will surprise you.
If you have any questions or want to learn more about how to reduce stress, please email us at heal@smithtownacupuncture.com
Thank you,
Smithtown Acupuncture
This week of SummerTime Self-Care we will be discussing the importance of movement and exercise!
Does this sound familiar?
You get to work early in the morning, and spend the next 7 hours sitting at your desk answering emails and phone calls. Arriving home, you're exhausted but still have to make dinner for the family- exercise is the last thing on your mind- you simply just don't have the time or energy to do it. After dinner, you see your comfort zone- the couch.
What if I told you that in a recent study, it was said that adults spend 50-70% of their time sitting. This is something we need to try and improve in our daily lives. Did you know spending even 10 minutes a day doing a body weight exercise routine can lower your risk of heart disease. Only 10 minutes!
One of the biggest benefits of more movement- Putting an End to the Dreadful Brain Fog
What is Brain Fog?
It's a symptom that affects your ability to think- you feel forgetful, disorganized and can find it hard to focus. Physical Exercise enhances cognitive health which will help decrease your feelings of Brain Fog. Each time you exercise you create new brain cells that play an important role in learning information, storing long-term memories and regulating emotions. More movement is also shown to stabilize your mood and ease depression symptoms. Studies have also shown that regular exercise helps people control stress and regulate their emotions.
Exercise isn't a one size fits all.
Exercising isn't defined by lifting weights, running, or even yoga- it's simply just moving your body everyday. It's parking your car further from the store so you have to walk an extra few minutes, its taking the stairs instead of the elevator. These small tasks will add up to big milestones throughout your day.
Not everyone has time in their schedule to make it to the gym 4 or 5 days a week. You might even look at exercise as a chore- we need to break that mindset.
How to break the mindset that exercising is a chore:
1) Find something you actually enjoy doing
You don't need a gym membership to increase your movement- lifting weights is not for everyone
Try a few different types of exercise and see which one resonates with you the most
2) Have an accountability partner
Have your kids, spouse or friends join you in your daily movement- going for a walk or bike ride after dinner with your family or friends will make this activity fun and enojyable
3) Remind yourself why you started
You'll be able to keep up with your kids more
You'll be healthier and able to do more activities than you used to
You are not being forced to exercise- you are doing this as a form of self-care. You are doing this for YOU- not because anyone told you to, whether it be social media or even your family. This is time well spent bettering yourself- each day that passes you will be filled with more energy and happiness.
So what are some things you can try if you don't have time to make it to the gym everyday?
1) Youtube
There are a TON of free workout videos online that range from 5 minute yoga stretches to 45 minute intense exercises. With one click of a button you can have a free workout right in the comfort of your own home
2) Wake up Earlier
Wake up 20 minutes earlier in the morning and go for a walk around the block- bring your dog- they'll love you even more for it!
3) Take advantage of local studios that offer online classes
COVID-19 unfortunately shut down a lot of local businesses- however, a lot of them now offer online classes for a discounted rate
Check in with your local gym or yoga studio and see what kind of classes they have
4) Don't start tomorrow- start today!
Don't let this scare you- you can start small- any movement is something for you to celebrate
Start with 5 minutes a day then work your way up- your body will thank you
5) Don't let work stop you
Get up and stretch every hour
Park your car further in the parking lot
Take the stairs instead of the elevator
Any kind of movement you do reduces mortality from all causes, reduces cognitive decline, improves sleep, and reduces anxiety. This year has caused a lot of anxiety in us and simply moving your body a bit more everyday will help to keep your immune system in good health.
If you have any questions or want to learn how to get into a better exercise routine please feel free to reach out to us at heal@smithtownacupuncture.com
Thank you,
Smithtown Acupuncture