Stress seems to be fast becoming one of the defining health issues of our times. One would think that with all our economic wealth and convenience methods, life would have been rolled back into a 20 hour week by now. Unfortunately, the truth is quite different and the pitfall of our developed societies is that we have to continually run faster to keep up. The speed, pressure and competitiveness of our society is bound to impact us all, no matter how much we try to maintain our wellbeing in the midst of it.
Long-term stress has a progressively damaging effect on the body. The hormones associated with our ‘fight or flight’ response, adrenaline and cortisol, are responsible for a number of serious wellness issues including high blood pressure, decreased bone density and impaired cognition. Tension in the mind always translates to tension in the body, and many complementary heath theorists hold stress and tension responsible for the development of later chronic conditions, such as arthritis. For some of us, the effect of stress is immediate and incapacitating, as in the case of mental health issues.
Research into the topic of stress is abundant and there is now a great amount of scientific theory backing up more esoteric claims that stress is the cause of disease. American research has recently shown that stress can actually cause brain shrinkage. It is believed that stress inhibits the formation of new nerve connections and disrupts normal mental and emotional functioning. In other words, it keeps your mind and reactions in such a tense, unnatural state that the normal adaptive capability of the brain ceases to function. This is more than just an emotional response, or being ‘too weak to cope’. It actually contributes to a growing amount of evidence that we are asking our bodies to do more than they are actually able to do.
What can we do about stress, besides asking the world to slow down? Well, the first thing is to cultivate strong mental habits that refuse to fall in with the frantic need to get everything done. Sometimes, the time when you feel most pressure is the time you need to just stop and take a stroll. It is important to keep a standard of wellbeing for yourself within the workplace. Don’t be a doormat to others, and don’t think that you have to say ‘yes’ to everything in order to advance in life. The truth is that assertiveness is the skill that will take you the furthest. So, alongside your basic wellness programme, make sure that you engage with outside pressure in an assertive way. Be aware of your employment rights and consider joining a good employment union in order to protect your rights to a healthy, low-stress lifestyle.
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