What you need to know about stress …

Stress is so prevalent in modern day society, it’s something that most people suffer from and at times struggle with, myself included.
Although we can say that stress has always been a part of human existence, the reasons for and the ways in which we experience stress have changed dramatically in the past 50-70 years.
If you’re lucky enough to be part of the small percentage of people on this planet who have a regular income, a safe home over your head, with clean running water, electricity, a sewage system plus access to healthcare, then your stress is more than likely coming from the pressures of modern day life and/or some form of trauma rather than whether or not you can clothe, feed and keep yourself safe.
There is so much advice out there these days on how to manage and alleviate stress but one thing I find a little frustrating is that so much of that advice centres on mindset and what’s happening in your life.
There’s a missing piece in all this that I don’t see many people talking about and so over the course of the next couple of weeks, I want to share with you what I know about stress – so that you can check in with yourself and see where you are and ultimately understand yourself better …
Then I’m also going to share with you some really specific things that cause stress, some you’ve probably heard of but others you may not know of … Yet they really have an effect on your stress levels.
Today I’m going to give you a little background info on stress:  
Firstly let’s look at the different levels of stress; According to American Psychological Association (APA), there are 3 different types stress — Acute stress, Episodic acute stress, and Chronic stress.
Acute Stress – is usually brief and the most common form of stress. This mostly stems from ‘reactive thinking’ which is when you ruminate over negative thoughts about something that has recently happened or is about to happen – An argument, giving a presentation, taking an exam or an impending work deadline would be good examples of this kind of stress.
Acute stress will affect your body, brain and emotions but it does not cause damage because it is short lived and you will return to a more balanced state within a relatively short period of time.
Episodic Acute Stress – This is when a person frequently experiences acute stress. Therefore, life often feels chaotic with many moments crisis and there’s a constant feeling of life being rushed and pressured. Type A people and the ‘worrier’ type of personality are prone to acute stress.
This level of stress affects the person in much the same way as acute stress except due to the fact it is prolonged there is on going potential damage and suffering taking place in the body, mind and emotions. Examples of which might be high blood pressure, gut issues and heart disease.
Chronic Stress – This is the most harmful type of stress. If left untreated for a long period of time it can significantly and sometimes irreversibly affect a person’s physical and mental health.
This kind of stress is caused by extreme long-term situations such as poverty, abuse, war, violence, substance abuse, poor living/working/family environments and it can also be caused by traumatic experiences from either childhood or later in life.
If someone lives with chronic stress, over time their body, mind and emotions will become hardwired in the way that they react and cope. This changes the neurobiology of the brain and body and it can destroy lives, bodies and minds. However, on a positive note, psychological and trauma related therapy can be very effective in helping a person heal from this state.
Now that we’ve covered the different levels of stress in relation to our psychology and the effect those states have on our body and mind, I want to share with you the different types of stress in relation to the body…
These are the three types of stressors that we could say we have more control over, they are of course interrelated to the states above, but these are the types of stress I want to focus on…Because when these physical stressors are not present, the body and mind is in balance.
Physical Stress – This could be from lack of exercise, too much exercise, injury, illness, excess weight, too little weight, being seated for too long etc. There is a stress on your actual physical body.
Chemical Stress – This could be hormonal imbalances in the body, medication, substance abuse (- I’m including food in this and particularly stimulants), lack of proper nutrition, smoking, chemicals or toxins in the air, cosmetics, cleaning products.
Emotional Stress – This is partly covered above in the classifications of stress, but what I want to add here is that sometimes emotional stress is self-made, through the way in which we interpret situations. However, some is most definitely not self-made, which is where we refer back to the types of stress above.
Again, all of these stressors are interdependent…
For example, if you are experiencing physical stress through continual over exercise, then this is highly likely to cause chemical stress in the sense your hormones will become out of balance.
If you are ingesting too many chemicals that the body can’t fully cope with, or perhaps there’s a toxic chemical in your environment that is dangerous, then you’re likely to experience physical stress such as a skin issue or lung issue and possibly also mental stress.
If you are experiencing mental stress through constant worrying your body may reflect this stress with IBS, skin issues or muscle tension.
All of the above are hypothetical but you can see how everything is connected to the whole ‘vessel’ of the body and that they are all very much reliant on one another.
So in understanding the above, we can then also say that there are the very same types of balance:
Physical, chemical and emotional. 
Here’s where this interplay gets really interesting and in my mind exciting…
Usually if you can get two out of the three (mind, body, chemical) in balance, the third naturally comes into balance.
So that means if you can do what it takes to create more chemical and emotional balance in your body, then your body is more likely to return to physical balance … If you are more physically and chemically balanced then it makes sense that you would be more emotionally balanced … And if you can create physical and emotional balance, then you are more than likely to be more chemically balanced!
When all three – physical, chemical and emotional – are in balance, this is called homeostasis and it is the true meaning of health.
… And this is the work I do with my clients, in helping them change unhealthy ways of being, we are bringing the body back into balance. I look at five key areas in a client’s life – Nutrition, Movement, Mindset, Energy and Lifestyle – in order to make sure nothing gets missed, which might therefore potentially go towards maintaining some imbalance in one of these key areas.
Next week I’m going to continue this conversation, giving you specific ways in which you may unknowingly be causing imbalance either physically, chemically or emotionally and I will of course also share some key ways in which can create and maintain balance in these three areas.
So in the meantime, have a think to see if you identify with one of the levels of stress as shared above and then also do you have any idea or clues as to where you may be in imbalance with regards to your body – chemically, emotionally or physically?
Here’s to your best health,
Love,
Kate x