With 2020 occurring the way it did, one could say a discussion that informs everyone about stress comes at no greater time then now. So, what else is there to know about stress besides the fact that it never seems to end and is constantly annoying? If you keep reading, you’ll find the topic of stress broken down into what stress is, what causes stress, and steps to take to help stress. Hopefully, when you have finished reading, you will have gained the knowledge to take on any stress that 2021 might throw at you!

To start, what is stress? Stress is a physiological and/or behavioral response caused by something that is either threatening or that you believe is uncontrollable or unpredictable. With that being said, it’s easy to see how 2020 became so stressful. There were many things that happened that couldn’t be controlled or predicted. These “things” that may be the cause of stress could be different for everyone, but you now know the criteria to determine if should have been causing you stress. If you do identify something that is causing you stress, although it may be unpredictable or out of your control, you can begin asking yourself questions and preparing so you are best equipped to assure the stress is minor and short-lived.

Now that you know what stress is and how to identify stress, we can begin looking at what stress might be doing to your emotional state and your body. Behavioral response, which includes your emotional response to stress, can consist of frustration, irritation, the feeling of being overwhelmed, or other feelings that are common results from the things that can’t be controlled or predicted as mentioned earlier. However, the physiological response to stress is a complex chain reaction that includes biochemicals, hormones, and nerve tracks that cause the body to be in a heightened state. This response comes with increased inflammatory activity and causes an altered physiological state that presents differently for people; this even consists of tight muscles and altered pain which brings up the common phrase, “I carry my stress”. Research has also shown that in healthy men, stress causes negative changes in pain modulation meaning that any pain that might be felt, may feel more intense because their body struggles to inhibit the pain. These physiological and behavioral responses to stress are variable in presentation and intensity, but this should give you a good idea of what may result from stress.

So, by now you know what defines stress, how to identify causes of stress, and what stress can do to the body. The last topic you should know is how to reduce stress! With there being many different ways to reduce stress, it’s strongly encouraged to find what works best for you. However, here are a few methods that research has shown to be effective! The first is collaboration. A recent research article revealed collaboration to be effective amongst a team of ambulances nurses who experience high occurrences of stress daily. Another effective stress reducer backed my research, is interventions of diaphragmatic breathing which can lower blood pressure and decrease not only psychological stress, but also physiological stress as well. Lastly, another effective method for managing stress is yoga sessions. Yoga correlates with the breathing, so the two work as an awesome team to help battle your stress.

To summarize all that has been discussed, you now have the information of what stress is and what causes it. You have been informed of possible physiological and behavioral responses that might occur during stress. You even have a few methods that have been proven by research to be effective in reducing stress. All of this should equip you for taking on stress this year and making sure 2021 is not as stressful as 2020!

Sources:

Bohström, D., Carlström, E., & Sjöström, N. (2017). Managing stress in prehospital care: Strategies used by ambulance nurses. International emergency nursing, 32, 28–33. https:// doi.org/10.1016/j.ienj.2016.08.004

Geva, N., Pruessner, J., & Defrin, R. (2014). Acute psychosocial stress reduces pain modulation capabilities in healthy men. Pain, 155(11), 2418–2425. https://doi.org/10.1016/ j.pain.2014.09.023

Hopper, S. I., Murray, S. L., Ferrara, L. R., & Singleton, J. K. (2019). Effectiveness of diaphragmatic breathing for reducing physiological and psychological stress in adults: a quantitative systematic review. JBI database of systematic reviews and implementation reports, 17(9), 1855–1876. https://doi.org/10.11124/JBISRIR-2017-003848