How does stress-reduction increase health and production?!

• 13 August 2017
• Jane Evans
• no comments

It’s all too easy to accept stress as part of daily life. Feeling stressed is normal, no big deal, just drink, eat/don’t eat, run, take more painkillers/cannabis/cocaine, spend more time on your phone, smoke/vape, shop, tattoo, Botox, work more, more, more, more and you won’t notice it as much.

It’s true that some stress is entirely normal and is what our body and brains are wired for, TEMPORARILY and OCCASSIONALLY. Ongoing stress with limited escape from it is literally a killer!

Why are we so blasé about stress?

Is it:

1. We don’t fully recognize the signs of TOO much stress
2. It’s a badge-of-honour “My stress levels are through the roof” = I work the hardest, I’m the most resilient, care the most, the busiest/best, THE most motivated…….??
3. We aren’t aware of how it makes diabetes, heart disease, cancer, mental illness, obesity and dementia more likely

It’s hard to say, but I wonder if we have unwittingly morphed into this permanently ‘ON’ way of living, whilst clutching our smartphones and believing we can manage it by using a ‘mindfulness app’ or two?

Why does stress damages the body and brain?

If you drive a car in the wrong gear, overworking the engine and gear box it will keep going temporarily making an awful noise, until something burns out. The body and brain are very similar. Humans are designed to handle small bursts of stress, “where’re my keys”, “Phew I made the bus”, “My boss liked my presentation after all!” In these moments our bodies and brains get filled with action and reaction chemicals and we become ready to fight or flight and are in a high state of alertness.

With stressful events, we get a burst of being up and on-it then chemically, physically and emotionally, after around 45 minutes we return to our baseline of calmness and wellness (if we have one!)Our bodies and brains like this and cope well with it. However, in the 21^st century, we are more stressed than ever before so we are getting burning our systems out from the inside. Over-revving the engine!

Contributing factors are:

• Being on screens and technology 24/7
• Isolation
• Lack of emotional processing
• Family breakdowns
• Looking ‘out there’ for happiness
• Consumerism

In addition, there’s:

In and out of work poverty, intergenerational trauma, domestic violence and childhood abuse, physical and mental ill health and more identifiable adversities.

Bring back the dinosaurs

When we lived in a simple environment in small tribes and had to dodge dinosaurs, hunt for food, keep warm and raise children together we did pretty well. After all, dinosaurs are extinct we are not! Our capacity to plan, develop communication and work together really made a difference. Sadly now the dinosaurs are in our heads – What if…..Why did I……It might mean…..I wish….I’ll be happy when…….

Michael Taft says,

“The complexity of our current environment requires a quantity and intricacy of planning that is likely far beyond anything ever needed in the past.”

Life doesn’t offer up much stillness now and when it does many of us panic!

Why – because then we feel EVERYTHING we have been trying not to feel. If life is full, full, full, there is no time to feel, feel, feel. Our bodies and brains can operate like this but only if we numb our feelings out. Eventually what will happen is that repeat illness and niggles will surface which there is then a pill for or some other way to mask the underlying problem. Generally, medical science supports the pill approach, followed by the cut it off or out one.

In reality, if we DON’T take stress seriously many repeat offenders like:

• Lower back pain
• IBS
• Tension headaches
• Poor quality sleep
• MigrainesConstipation
• Constipation
• Respiratory problems
• Skin reactions
• Allergies
• Food intolerances
• Repeat colds
• Exhaustion
• Neck & shoulder pain

…….would greatly reduce, possibly even fade away!

What can we do?

Use all the old stuff that’s been given a revamp and a fancy rebrand! Until 4 years ago I did yoga purely to tone my muscles, I’d never touched an essential oil and walked or ran to be fit and lose weight. Of course, I’d heard all those ‘other people’ talk about the benefits of meditation, body-mind healing, stillness, blah, blah, blah….

Then I discovered the research and the science. Some of it scared me as it made it abundantly clear I was likely to die earlier than a) I planned to b) from cancer, heart disease etc. rather than peacefully of old age in my own bed! A glance at the Adverse Childhood Experiences Research (Welsh Study) may also scare you but hopefully also be a useful WAKE-UP CALL to ACTION of the right kind!!

Simple is best when it comes to stress

The right amount of stress used well, and we perform brilliantly. When I did my TED Talk on anxiety, to around 2000 people, I was alert, alive but present and calm enough to not fret for one second when I was on the stage. I could deliver what I had practiced and remembered to look to all areas of the audience, to throw in one-liners’ and to have fun whilst staying on track.

What did I do for the 30 minutes before I took to the stage in the Colston Hall to fulfill one of my greatest dreams? Mostly I was in my dressing room intentionally standing on one leg, doing tree poses a few downward dogs, bringing awareness to my breathing, repeating “I am good enough and I am ready”, smiling and being absolutely bloody grateful for whatever I could think of….the cool water I had to drink, the kindness of the support staff, my family being there…..

I now use a range of simple body-based ways to manage my stress and periods of anxiety. It’s a combination of yoga, grounding techniques, therapeutic grade essential oils, body-tension release exercises, and ways of bringing my body and brain out of the stress response into the here and now. I do what I do because I discovered the science behind it all as I have to know WHY I would lay flat on the floor and breathe into my belly for it to work for me!

Simple, powerful and life-changing stuff I practice every morning and in subtle ways throughout the day means I’m more mentally alert, more compassionate, more productive, physically well, fit and the weight I had always dreamed off without controlling my eating!!! Small stress is good. Big stress makes us sick – you choose!

Jane has tried and tested everything she shares in her Coaching and Wellness & Resilience Team Workshops.  Everything uses the latest science and research so Jane is able to provide insight into WHY body-based strategies improve psychological, emotional and physical well-being in the short and the long-term.

To explore ways Jane can support you or your organization:

Email janeevans61@hotmail.co.uk

“I have spent most of my life worrying about things that have never happened.”

Mark Twain