Stressed

If things are making you persistently tense and worried, it’s not just in your mind—your body’s getting in on the act too. Here are some ways to chill.

We hear a lot these days about stress. But the first thing to know is that it’s not all bad. “Stress has many wonderful attributes,” wrote Alia and Thomas Crum in the Harvard Business Review a few years ago. “It reminds us that we care; it connects us directly with the most challenging and important aspects of our lives.” Still, many of us would respond that we know we care; we’d actually like to stress a little less.

You’re not living in the wild anymore, with dangers around every bush, as your distant ancestors once did. But try telling that to the built-in responses in your own body. They seek to help you by putting your organ systems on high alert in reaction to any perceived threat. In our complicated modern world, however, too much of that, sustained for too long, can be a hazard to your health.

Acute (short-term) stress elicits our fightor-flight response to a dangerous situation. Your blood pressure, heart rate, breathing rate and levels of muscle tension may skyrocket for a short time. Chronic (long-term) stress occurs over time and can lead to insomnia, anxiety, depression, panic attacks, weight gain, memory problems and headaches. It also can increase inflammation in the body, contributing to metabolic disease, fatigue, brain fog and cardiovascular illness.

Though there’s no one-sizefits-all approach to dealing with stress, handling it is crucial to one’s wellbeing. “Poor stress management can lead to actual physiological changes in the body, through the release of hormones like cortisol and adrenaline,” says Dana Spada, Ph.D., LCSW, founder of the eponymous psychotherapy practice in Colts Neck and Little Silver. When patients come to Spada with health issues related to stress, she explains how they can use a variety of lifestyle tools to navigate stressful situations.

The first step to managing anxiety and stress is to identify your anxiety triggers, or the specific things that cause you to have an emotional or stress reaction,” she says. “Everyone deals with stress, but you have to figure out what is specifically making you upset. People can have habitual patterns and not even realize what they’re doing every day is causing stress.”

Once stress triggers are identified, life can be a bit more predictable and manageable, and actions can be taken to decrease the impact of the trigger itself. For instance, prioritize activities in your life that bring you joy and peace; they can be restorative and help you inoculate yourself against chronic stress. Another way to reduce stress is to reduce time spent in front of a screen (including computers, TVs, tablets and smartphones) and re-engage with nature, family and friends. And there’s also:

• Healthy eating. An old proverb states, “You are what you eat,” and if you eat well, you’ll feel well too. The body’s gut-brain axis, which directly connects the brain with your gut, can play an important role in helping to regulate mood, stress and cognition. Eating foods like yogurt with probiotics, leafy greens and prebiotics can help sustain a healthy gut-brain axis and have a positive impact on overall mood. On the other hand, foods high in sugar can negatively impact mood, as they cause rapid spikes and crashes in blood sugar levels. And highly processed foods made can cause inflammation, which also negatively impacts both physical and mental health.

• Getting enough sleep. Resetting your body with rest can have a positive impact on stress and mood. Adequate sleep is essential for overall well-being—it helps people cope with the stresses of everyday life, regulate emotions and maintain a healthy and positive outlook on life. Too little shut-eye can have the opposite effect. “Sleep is like fuel,” Spada says. “If you don’t get enough sleep, you won’t feel as well the next day.” In fact, there is a strong connection between the amount and quality of your sleep and your mental and cognitive health. Sleep deprivation can lead to the development of anxiety and depression, as well as causing deficits in attention, memory and decision making, our expert says. Less than adequate sleep can negatively impact the way hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol are regulated in the body.

• Meditating. Holistic approaches to stress such as breathwork and meditation also can reduce tension and anxiety. “People may not realize they’re not breathing, or not breathing properly,” Spada says. “For example, you may hold your breath when writing a work email— talk about stress! This can make you light-headed. Practice taking deep breaths, either at your desk or during meditation, throughout the day. It’s an absolute game-changer.” Practices like yoga also promote a good mind-body connection. “We lose touch with our bodies, so just sit down and take a minute to breathe and reset,” she says.

Spada reminds those who are battling excessive stress that help is always available. “Help is always available,” Spada says. “If you’re battling stress with breathing, proper nutrition and sleep and still not feeling better, seek professional help. Feeling good about yourself and feeling healthy is invaluable.”