Stressed Out — What It’s About

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Generally, I doubt that any particular group can lay claim to living a more stressful life than another. Babyboomers are reeling from a sort of time compression, feeling like they have no control over their time—no free time, demands from parents and children, expanding job pressures and an ever-expanding connection to their jobs through email, cell phones and internet. Our children face their own stresses of increasing scholastic competition, overscheduled days, junk food, and safety issues like gang violence and bullying. And Generations X and Y are facing a slumping economy as they graduate and begin looking for work.

Before we go any further down the pathways to stress, let’s discuss the physiological reactions of this “fight or flight” syndrome. The adrenal glands, walnut-sized glands on top of the kidney, control many of the body’s hormones. When you are in “fight or flight” mode, they increase the production of adrenaline, corticosterone and epinephrine, which increases your heart rate, releases urgently needed energy, slows your digestion and sharpens your senses. Meanwhile, you feel sweaty palms, a pounding heart, and tense muscles. Even your blood clots more easily, which is helpful when faced with an attacking bear, but not so great when you are in an office and the computers go down.

The main problem with stress is that today it is often prolonged, leading to adrenal burnout and an impaired thyroid gland. This causes a further decline in energy level and mood, and an increasing likelihood of heart disease, cancer, lung disease, accidents, cirrhosis of the liver, and suicide, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Warning signs of too much stress might be fatigue, insomnia, irritability, weight gain or depression. The cortisol released to convert proteins into energy under stress is essential in the short-term, but destructive long-term. It gradually wears down your body by destroying healthy bones and muscles, weakening your immune system, slowing down cell regeneration and healing, and interfering with metabolism and mental functioning.

When stress becomes an every day event, the brain loses its ability to evaluate whether a stress response is warranted and it becomes less able to regulate the response, according to Bruce McEwen, PhD, of the Rockefeller Institute. You may experience anxiety, stomachaches, headaches, diarrhea, unexplained crying spells or angry outbursts, and nightmares or insomnia.

Fortunately, you can take measures to alleviate stress before it does irreparable damage to your body. Some simple, but effective ways to reduce stress include eating breakfast every morning to make sure you have the energy you need to function throughout the day. Breakfast should be your best meal, made up of steel-cut oats and berries, eggs and wheat toast, or a smoothie filled with protein powder, berries, yogurt and a small amount of organic unsweetened fruit juice.
If you exercise on a daily basis, you will relieve a great deal of stress. Any routine will do—walking for 30 minutes, aerobics, yoga—the key is to enjoy it! Another important stress reliever is meditation. Just find some quiet time each day for 15 to 20 minutes and you will begin to feel more relaxed and in sync with the flow of life.

Getting the proper nutrients can also affect your stress response. Most of us don’t get enough magnesium, for example. Magnesium helps us feel relaxed and strengthens our bones. We can increase our magnesium by eating more green leafy vegetables, whole grains, nuts and avocadoes.

A last remedy is to treat yourself well. That means saying “no” when you are tired; taking a hot bath when you feel drained; scheduling some free time just for you and finding a hobby that can take you away from it all. Whether you make just one change or several, it can have an impact on how long and how well you live.

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