Understand & Overcome the Stages of Stress for Better Mind-body Health
There are 3 goals in this article intended for you, the reader.
- Understand how stress affects mind-body function.
- Understand the 3 stages of stress as a process.
- Understand how to action tools to overcome the stages of stress and restore health and wellbeing.
Education and awareness play an integral part in the therapeutic process. The Empowered Brain Program places education and training for both patient and caregiver as a central pillar of our 12-month clinical process. Cognitive decline and dementia as degenerative neurological conditions are the results of long-term failures in the body and brain to overcome stressors. Therefore, it is imperative that we understand together the factors involved so that we can methodically work together.
We invite you to leave your comments below and share your experience with our stress impact reversing methods.
The body-mind as an ecosystem
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) likens a fully balanced healthy body-mind system to a well tilled fertile garden. In this garden the soil quality, micronutrients, microbiome, fungi and drainage are in perfect balance.
The plants growing are properly spaced. Elements of sunlight and shade, water and dryness are all balanced. Together the balance of all the elements form vitality.
The integrity of this balance and vitality makes the garden largely impervious to foreign seeds and other environmental disruptors. The potential for disruption of equilibrium is always real, but the dynamic balance of the garden system is resilient.
The human body-mind system is the same. Viruses, bacteria, exogenous chemicals, relational difficulties, and life stress always exist, but a balanced body-mind can withstand the adversity. As humans we can take it a step further, we have the capacity to learn and grow from adversities faced as well as teach others.
Physical, mental and emotional stress affect both brain function, body function and cellular function. They affect posture and body mechanics, eating habits and lifestyle choices. The longer a stress persists, the deeper and more widespread the impact. Effective therapeutic strategies address both cause and effect factors while engaging in a reprogramming process.
The animal mind and human mind
Imagine a cheetah as it bounds forward to chase down a gazelle from the waterhole in the Serengeti. Both creatures are running for their lives; one to feed itself and the other to escape with its life. Both running to live another day. In this fight or flight situation, if the gazelle outruns the cheetah and makes it out alive, several predictable behavioral changes occur.
The gazelle’s breathing begins to slow down. It is out of danger for the moment and returns to a state of calm. The gazelle lowers its head to feed and in its new comfort lays down to have a nap. With two major needs met (safety and food) and no sign of danger on the horizon it searches out a mate. The life-threatening stress is now over.
We humans in our uniqueness process stress very differently, we ruminate on it. We think about, talk about it, or keep it to ourselves. Sometimes we bury it. Often it dominates our mindset. The event may be long over; however, its residues stick around and even form thought or behavioral patterns.
Much stress naturally resolves on its own, though much stress does not. To paraphrase the psychologist Dr. Edith Eger, “what we keep inside, what we don’t get out, makes us sick.”
Whether having just narrowly averted a car accident, are dealing with a breakup, or considering a tense work meeting tomorrow- even just thinking about a stressful event triggers a physiological fight or flight cascade. Physical, mental-emotional and biochemical stress are the cause of all chronic health problems. Their accumulation causes premature aging. It literally wears us down and we lose functions.
There are three physiological stages of stress and each one shapes the dis-ease process. Our discussion will now focus on understanding these stages and in turn how to address them.
Every stress leaves an indelible scar, and the organism pays for its survival after a stressful situation by becoming a little older. - Hans Selye
General Adaptation Syndrome – the stages of stress
Dr. Hans Selye, a Hungarian Canadian endocrinologist and researcher in the mid-20th century performed ground-breaking work as he studied the effects of chronic stress exposure on cell function. He observed that a cell’s physiological response to stress occurs in the same series of predictable stages as the cell attempts to overcome stress and return to homeostasis (normal function).
The longer stress physiology persists, the greater the dysfunction and genetic adaptation are hardwired to survive. Dr. Selye used the term General Adaptation Syndrome or GAS to describe these stages and their phenomena. It is important to note that the stresses discussed here and their stages affect both our physical / physiological, neurological and mental health states.
Alarm Stage
The Alarm Stage is the earliest phase of stress. A stressor activates the Sympathetic Nervous System Fight or Flight response and upsets the internal state of balance. Physiological effects include an immediate rise in blood pressure and blood glucose levels, higher body temperature and frequency of bowel movements.
The body needs a rapid release of energy to deal with the stressful situation, so the adrenal glands (stress organs) respond by releasing high levels of hormones like cortisol. Endorphins are released so we can react faster and be less pain sensitive. In the Alarm Stage, the body has adequate resources and energy to fight back against the stressor and return to normal.
The Alarm Stage is our survival mechanism; it gets us out of danger. It is normal and healthy. Just like the gazelle perceiving danger and running from the cheetah, the human system is designed to activate and then calm down. It then returns to balance once the stress factor is overcome. The issue arises when the stressor persists, and we remain in the Alarm Stage.
Resistance Stage
The Resistance Stage is the second of Selye’s GAS stages. It occurs as the body’s initial response to stress is prolonged, unable to fully overcome the initial impact of the Alarm Stage. In this situation, the Alarm Stage battle continues without timely resolution. The body’s physiology must adapt to this new reality and maintain the Alarm Stage functions longer term. The human body-mind is designed to endure this survival mode situation, but it comes at a cost.
The initial body changes persist - higher blood pressure and heart rate, high blood glucose levels, elevated adrenal function. Digestive and immune function remain at reduced levels as does reproductive hormone synthesis. The body-mind finds itself in a normalized state of hypervigilance and hypersensitivity. Fatigue, memory, cognitive declines and sleep dysfunction kick in and the abovementioned health dysfunctions become pathological.
Exhaustion Stage
In the Exhaustion Stage, the final of GAS stages, the body has exhausted its energy levels and nutrient reserves in its failure to successfully overcome the stressor. Vital and secondary functions have adapted to this new reality and “less-vital” functions fail as health deteriorates. Heart disease, diabetes, chronic fatigue, muscle wasting, arthritis, autoimmunity and may cancer occur. Recovery at this stage is often lengthy and complicated in comparison to the Alarm and Resistance stages.
The body is like a garden. The longer the Exhaustion Phase, the greater the nutrient depletion. Restoring the garden and its flora requires multiple layers of methodical cultivation. Especially in the case of cognitive decline, dementia and Alzheimer's, many different levels and aspects of health / life need to be addressed and nurtured.
5 daily practices to restore optimal mental, physical and neurological health
Rule Number One – do not stress out about reducing stress. It is a learning process and takes weeks to months to rewire the nervous system.
1. Get outdoors
Start taking long walks. Being in nature, especially in the forest, has a deep calming effect on our physiology.
2. Practice rhythmic breathing.
One such breathing exercise is called Box Breathing. Box breathing helps to lower Bloor Pressure, improve Heart Rate Variability HRV and Autonomic Function Regulation.
- This directly promotes mental calm and cognitive functions including Executive Functioning, Sustained Attention, Working Memory, Situational Awareness, Cognitive Flexibility and Reaction Speed.
- To perform Box Breathing- breath in for a count of 4, lightly hold your breath for a count of 4, breath out for a count of 4 and then lightly hold your breath for a count of 4. The rhythm is 4 – 4 – 4 – 4. As this becomes easier, increase the timing 5-5-5-5, 6-6-6-6 etc. Designate a quiet time twice a day to perform Box Breathing and do it for a minimum of 5 minutes.
3. Gratitude
As Box Breathing becomes easier, perform it while focusing on a feeling of gratitude. What is something you are thankful for? A person, an event, an accomplishment, a belief… Gratitude has been scientifically proven to raise our state of health and reduce stress.
4. Feed your health, not stressor’s appetites.
Plan one healthy plant-based meal every day – a big salad, a soup, steamed veggies etc. Reduce the consumption of alcohol, sugary and fatty foods- they are inflammatory and perpetuate cellular decay.
5. To Do Lists
Keep your head organized by writing out a to do list every day for the day ahead. Itemize your list by priority. This easy technique is a simple and effective way to shift mental focus and reduce mental load. It reduces stress and frees up cognitive space to be more present and attentive throughout the day.
Disclaimer. The information represented in this article is meant to provide concepts from evidence based research. It is not intended to treat or diagnose any health condition. For appropriate treatment methods please contact your healthcare provider.
