What is Stress?

We have seen in previous articles that prolonged acute stress and anxiety can cause the body to become over-stimulated and symptomatic, and that one of the things we need to do to counter that is take steps to reduce underlying anxiety stress levels and in particular, stop triggering the bodies stress response. But what exactly is ‘stress’?

Researchers define stress as a physical, mental or emotional factor that cause bodily or mental tension. Prior to getting unwell, I certainly had a large burden of obvious underlying external stress in my life – my wife was pregnant, I was building a business, I had been caring for a sick relative for over two months, we had recently moved home, and I had lost contact with my middle brother. All these things were stressful in and of themselves.

However what I didn’t realize was that there is such a thing as positive stress. These are things that we think and perceive of as being positive but are actually stressful to our bodies. One example of this was that I had recently gotten married. This was a positive day, but had been a big worry for a number of reasons and over a number of months. I had also been in a big panic most of the day because of the speech I had to do!

Another example of positive stress for me was the way that I used to train in the gym. I had, since the age of 15, been a fitness fanatic. Prior to getting ill I had trained religiously in the gym at least 3 times a week sometimes for up to two hours at a time. And I trained HARD! I pushed myself to life heavier and heavier weights and was relentless in my pursuit. What I did not realize was that whilst I was becoming physically stronger, I was actually putting a lot of stress on my bodies nervous system.

Linked with this was my attitude to things I did, and the internal stress that I inflicted on myself For me things were black or white, and I always took things to extreme. For example, if I trained at the gym I had to train hard, and if I didn’t perceive I performed well enough, I tended to get very down and upset with myself. I set myself ridiculously high standards, and just didn’t know how to go easy on myself. I have learned since that many people who develop anxiety disorders tend to have a tendency to set high standards and/or be perfectionists towards things they do.

So stress can take many forms, and be the result of positive or negative experiences and external or internal factors. Bringing your stress level down means you have to begin to identify what some of these factors are for you, and then take proactive action to mitigate for them or remove them. For me, having an understanding therapist as my coach was invaluable in this process, and I would highly recommend you embark on your recovery with the help of a supportive individual who can help ‘hold your hand’ through the process.