In order to understand how to reduce our stress response we need to understand how our stress response works. This will help us identify when our stress response is “starting up” and give us an earlier opportunity to stop it and prevent it from remaining active. Below is a step-by-step look at how the stress response works.
- Perceived Threat
- When we perceive something as a threat, it does not need to be an actual threat for it to start up our stress response. For example, if I see a dark parking garage, I may start to feel a little worried or my heart may start to beat a bit faster even though there is not any current danger. I am perceiving a threat, which is why the stress response is activating.
- Anything can be perceived as a threat, it is subjective to the person.
- Muscle(s) Tighten
- This occurs unconsciously, meaning you are not aware it is occurring. Similar to how your brain has you continue to breath even if you are not thinking about it.
- When some of your muscles tighten they will “pinch” a nerve that runs through your body to your brain called the vagus nerve.
- Relaxation techniques normally target relaxing our muscles to reduce this tightening.
- Vagus Nerve is Pinched
- The sympathetic nervous system is your stress response and helps prepare your body to survive whatever threat is being perceived. To remember this, think sympathetic equals stress.
- The parasympathetic nervous system is active when we are relaxed, so think parasympathetic and peace.
- This nerve is what separates your sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system.
- Sympathetic Nervous System
- With this activated your brain will release a cocktail of chemicals into your blood stream that will increase your heart rate, increase breathing, increase blood pressure, and dilate pupils.
- On the brain side, higher cognitive functions get “cut off” meaning more complex task like problem solving, communication, and abstract thinking become more difficult.
- When we get upset and our stress response activates, it becomes more difficult to process emotions, communicate to others, and understand cause and effect relationships. This is the reason arguments are rarely productive.
- The sympathetic nervous system is responsible for the “fight, flight, or freeze” response to a threat.
- Parasympathetic Nervous System
- After the threat has passed and the perceived threat is gone your muscles will relax and start to bring you back into a parasympathetic nervous system.
- Higher brain functioning will return.
- More likely to be able to sleep/rest.
- Functions like food digestion, waste removal, breathing, heart rate, and blood pressure will return to normal levels.
- It takes longer to return to a parasympathetic nervous system than you are to activate your sympathetic nervous system.
- Many times substance use, anxiety, and anger disorders are related to a person having difficulty getting back to their parasympathetic nervous system after their stress response activates.
Now that we understand how our stress response works, it is easier to see how anxiety and stress go hand-in-hand. Our body will react to our brain and vice versa. This also means if we change the state of the body that we can impact the brain. For information on how to do this, please visit the Stop Your Stress and Anxiety in their Tracks blog post.