Stress is an adaptation system that all mammals have in situations that could pose a threat to our survival. Although we cannot live without stress, an activation response that is too high or too low can be negative for our health.
The type of life we lead in Western societies tends to make us place ourselves in a very habitual way in our thinking, ignoring the responses that our body constantly offers us as symptoms of adaptation to our circumstances.
Although most people will not survive in welfare societies, the perception of being in a constant state of survival is a common trend that harms our health and we need effective tools that allow us to deactivate our alert response.
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Below, we offer some important keys that you can use to keep your stress response in an appropriate tone:
Perceived Control
When faced with stressors, the management tendency is exercised in the face of what we call Control locus, which can be internal or external. The fact that we perceive some internal control over our circumstances must be weighed above the position that external issues determine our responses. Above all, we must exercise a balanced position in the face of what happens to us.
There are certain circumstances, such as the so-called major stressors which refer to major unexpected situations such as earthquakes, floods, fires, violence, etc., in the face of which our adaptive response will inevitably be compromised and a stress response will appear in all people, since our ability to control them It is completely limited.
However, in the face of other more specific circumstances of change such as minor or everyday stressors, we can exercise better management by improving our perceived control. Our life experience in this regard offers us the possibility of anticipating them and reinforcing ourselves with a certain control in the face of the changes that we can exert.
Although it is important to understand that control over stress can be relative, so we need to discriminate those aspects that may be under our control and those that are not, to achieve adaptive positions.
Meditation
A constant practice for periods between 15 and 30 minutes a day is useful to reduce glucocorticoid levels and the tone of the sympathetic nervous system. However, certain reservations must be taken into account, as with physical exercise, since not all practices are appropriate.
It is important to carry out practices that increase body awareness and disidentification with thoughts, in order to develop better emotional regulation. To do this, it is advisable to resort to practices with scientific support such as vipassana meditation developed in Mindfulness.
Physical exercise
Exercise improves mood because it causes the secretion of beta-endorphins. By exercising we reduce the stress response to prepare ourselves for threats and psychological stressors, while reducing our risk of suffering from cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, which prevents stress from aggravating these health conditions.
It is important to highlight that the recommended exercise is aerobic, that is, the one that maintains constant levels of effort, which must be practiced regularly and for a moderate amount of time, since too high doses of effort could be counterproductive. On the other hand, we must highlight the aspect of willpower, since if we force ourselves to exercise and do it reluctantly, it can generate effects contrary to those desired.
Social support
Taking into account that our brain is social, having support from our environment in different situations can help us better control stress. However, we must consider that not all types of support are valid, since the degree of relationship we have will determine the feeling of trust, intimacy and cohesion with each person.
Developing trust in our relationships is something that requires time and effort on both sides and we do not always feel it, despite having close and even family relationships. Therefore, we must be honest in our relationships, trying to resolve gaps in trust and improving our communication in the face of emotional discomfort.
In this way, it is not about having a multitude of relationships, as can happen with social networks, but rather having quality relationships and this entails development.
Therefore, it is better to be selective looking for relationship quality instead of sticking to quantity. A good way to develop good relationships is by offering generosity in our affections, honesty in the face of our problems, and constructive suggestions for improvement that allow us to achieve the feeling of feeling well surrounded and less alone when bearing our burdens.
Psychological flexibility
It is necessary to know how to choose the right strategy at the right time. The different models of coping with stress go through cognitive positions, that is, spheres of thought that allow us to discern whether we are interested in modifying the stressful agent or just our perception of it, or through emotional positions, since in unrelated things, we only accept the emotional pain that certain circumstances bring us (such as losses), we can reduce our stress level. It is important to embrace our relationships, taking advantage of the social support of our environment instead of facing problems alone.
Having versatility in our adaptive responses entails having flexibility of thinking to be able to change strategies. If we act in ways that are too automated, we can become too rigid and frustrated when a situation is not resolved, reiterating our initial response with greater effort and even less success. If, on the contrary, we learn to recognize our mistakes and thereby develop our experience, it will be easier to manage stress. Since if we consider finding resources in a moment of stress without self-observing our strategies, we can make repeated mistakes.
Religion and Spirituality
We must distinguish between religion and spirituality, since the first is formal practice with specific instructions and the second is the experience lived from within the person.
Numerous studies affirm that religious practice, belief, spirituality and being prayed for can promote good health, meaning they help reduce the incidence of diseases and mortality rates (which together can prolong life). and sometimes accelerates recovery from illnesses.
However, there is a lot of controversy in these studies since researchers can start from specific beliefs and try to reaffirm them. Therefore, we must take into account the possible causality of research, in which, by isolating the specific aspects of religious practice, the specific effects that benefit health are investigated.
Practicing a religion in community can offer the benefit of social support, just as its norms can provide a way of behaving in society that facilitates perceived control over situations in people with religious beliefs.
Finally, it is important to highlight the fact that religion is only recommended for those people who truly have faith, since those people who lack it could enter into a contradiction that leads them to resist the dictates of the given religion. Therefore, for those non-believers, religion can be an inconvenience.
The 80/20 rule
If we manage to apply 20% of effort to find alternative strategies, this can mean managing 80% of stress. There are situations in which no matter how much we try the same solution, putting more and more effort into it, our well-being will not be improved but aggravated by wear and tear and lack of achievement. If we do not recognize our lack or lack of flexibility, no matter how hard we try, we will not change anything.
Delighting in thinking about why we are not able to solve things only leads us to fail in the attempt and wear ourselves out by drawing fateful scenarios in our minds for which we will feel guilty. If instead of thinking so much, we exercise the movement of trying to resolve the stressors with alternatives and acceptance, we can be much more effective.
The change in attitude towards facing the problem is much more relevant if we exercise it really. If we feel confident in accepting our circumstances and changing our approach, many strategies may be valid since we will have our willpower at our disposal.
Conclusions
- Those who successfully cope with stress tend to exercise control over stressful agents, but not by trying to control uncontrollable things in the future or in the present, events that have already occurred. Faced with the great wall of a stressor, one should not assume that there is a special solution that will break down the wall; What we have to assume is that often by controlling a series of footholds, small but capable of supporting us, we can scale it.
- Faced with events that are beyond our control, that are impossible to solve, those who are able to accept them as such deal with them best. We need to try to find the balance between our responsibility and the effect of stressors. We must hope for the best and let this hope dominate most of our emotions, but at the same time, a small part of us has to be prepared for the worst.
- It is usually useful to look for precise and predictive information, without falling into excess or doing it too soon.
- Let’s find an outlet for our frustrations and do it regularly.
- It is important to seek sources of support and partnership.
Based on the book by Robert M. Sapolsky “Why zebras don’t have ulcers”