Are you caught in a trap?

Wellbeing Facts

1 in 4 people in the UK will experience a mental health problem each year.

We know that some stress and positive pressure in our lives can be good for us as moderate levels of stress can make us perform better, be more alert and help to perform better in some situations.

On the other hand, the long term effects of stress are not good for us. It can increase the probability of; high blood pressure, weight gain, anxiety, heart attack, stroke and diabetes. This is even allowing for hereditary factors.

But do you know why?

 From an evolutionary perspective, our bodies are designed that if we saw a bear, our fight or flight response would kick in, to give us a rush of energy to enable our emergency response.  This is helpful because otherwise you would be eaten by the bear!

However, today we trigger fight or flight on a regular basis, but the only difference is there is no bear!  Our daily life events, stresses, anxiety, fears, sadness etc., all can create the same response.

What about Cortisol?

We know that when the fight or flight response is triggered, we produce Adrenaline but we also produce another stress hormone called Cortisol.  These hormones prepare our body for the fight or flight response. Cortisol makes sure that all energy from anywhere in the body is available and the other part of the response is to partly switch on and off certain physiological responses; turning off any non essential organs (e.g. immune system and digestion) to prioritise essentials only (e.g. heart and lungs). Indeed, research is beginning to understand that sustained high levels of Cortisol results in high levels of glucose circulating in our bodies as a result of fight or flight. This can wreak havoc on our mind and body.

Does this matter?

Yes. Imagine driving a car in second gear, get to 20 mph, keep accelerating (pumping in the fuel), stay in second and keep going until you get to 30 – 40 – 70! What happens?  Your engine blows up!  This is what we are doing to our bodies on a repetitive fight / flight cycle (Start:Stop).

And, this means that unless we use up the energy (running away from the bear), all that energy remains locked in the body and unable to escape. It deposits itself were it can – that is – in all the wrong places! Even worse, the after effects send a message to stock up on energy / replenish for the next time.  Oh….another bar of chocolate calls or maybe some nice salty peanuts!!!!

What can we do? 

Stress is a normal part of life but we need to try to learn to manage it better.  One activity we can undertake is jogging or aerobic activity to burn off the effects of all that extra energy. This also can also have the positive effect of increasing our endorphins and reducing our stress levels or anxieties.

Consider applying ACT – to escape being caught in a trap!

In addition, you might also consider applying the principles of an evidence based approach called ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Training):

• Recognise your thoughts: Lean into your emotions, thoughts, feelings and accept them for what they are; they are just thoughts.

• Focus on the present: By focusing on the present moment, you can create room to move out of ‘autopilot’ to begin to notice and enjoy the here and now.

• Act on what matters most: Be clear on what matters to you most and take conscious actions towards these and not away from them to reduce your impulse responses.

ACT is an evidenced based approach that has been demonstrated to be effective when used personally or in the workplace to enable you to proactively learn new habits to manage stress and wellbeing.