When we experience stress we describe it with phrases like “keyed up” or “wound up”. Stress is definitely an “up” experience, at least in the sense that our muscles are pumped up, our senses are heightened and our awareness is more acute. Although a certain amount of stress can be beneficial, constant stress can deplete your body of health and take a toll on your mind and emotions.

Environmental and Physiological Stressors

Environmental stressors are elements of the environment that stress your physical body. Things like air pollution, noise pollution and allergens would fall into this category. Physiological stressors, on the other hand, are stressors that occur within your body. Hormonal change is one example of a physiological stressor that we have little or no control over. Some processes that cause stress physiologically can be managed or eliminated altogether, like bad eating habits, smoking, or drinking too much.

Fight or Flight

When confronted with stress, our brains begin to cue our bodies for a “fight or flight” response –either run, or stay and confront the danger. This is a natural outlet for stress. The problem with this primordial reaction to danger is that in our modern day society sometimes neither response is appropriate. For example, in a traffic jam you may start to experience stress. Your cerebral cortex initiates an alarm signal which releases a stress response–“fight or flight”. Frustration sets in because neither can you jump the median and access a free flowing avenue by which to get home nor can you release your aggression by exiting your vehicle and confronting the person or persons responsible for the traffic jam. The result is that you begin to manifest stress in other ways such as heightened anxiety levels or increased blood pressure. You may even react physically by honking your horn or cursing people that can’t even hear you.

Stress Management Strategies

There are many ways that we can manage our stress effectively.

• Exercise is a wonderful stress reducer in that it mimics the “flight” response by expending excess energy and presenting an avenue of release which benefits the body in countless ways. Exercise does not have to be particularly strenuous to yield beneficial results. Simply taking a walk will go a long way toward releasing excess stress from the body, and many studies have indicated that any type of exercise also positively affects brain functioning and emotional well-being.

• Learning how to breathe correctly also reduces stress. Just the act of deep breathing itself invokes an immediate relaxation response. In stressful situations, our breathing becomes shallow and without knowing it we are depriving our bodies of oxygen which can lead to unwanted symptoms like headaches or tension, among others. Breathing deeply from the diaphragm replenishes our oxygen starved bodies so that they operate more efficiently. Deep breathing also calms the mind so that we naturally and automatically relax.

• Employing our Imagination is probably the most under-used tool in our stress-reduction toolbox, and may be the most effective. In Western society, we are conditioned to value critical thinking above creative thinking--which has proven to be rather detrimental to our physical and mental health. Our brains are wired so that the experiences created through our imagination are perceived as real even though they are the product of visualization. Have you ever dreamed that you were trying to get away from danger and woke up with a racing heart? What about the dream where you woke yourself up laughing. These are examples of our imagination at work. The experiences were not real; however, our bodies and minds reacted emotionally and physically as if they were. We can create a similar response while we are awake through simple meditation. By closing our eyes and relaxing we can exercise our imagination and “daydream” our way to a place that we would most like to be, thus engaging all of our senses in an interactive way that will minimize the effects of stress.

“It is not stress that kills us; it is our reaction to it.”--Hans Selve

While the harmful byproducts of stress can be devastating to the mind and body, our reaction to stressful situations is well within our control most of the time. Indeed stress can be toxic if not disposed of or managed properly. Take the time to take care of your physical, mental and emotional faculties by becoming aware of stressors in your life and dealing with them effectively.