How to deal with stress

Unexpected

You were not ready for such a turn of events and now you cannot calm down and again join the usual rhythm of life.

What’s going on

The body beats the alarm, the signal goes to the hypothalamus (part of the brain, one of the tasks of which is to provide emotions), and from there to the adrenal glands, so that they urgently produce additional adrenaline. It, in turn, is necessary for the production of glucose in the muscles, which ultimately gives you the strength to cope with difficulties. If these emotional outbursts recur frequently and you do nothing to reduce adrenaline level, the latter keeps your muscles in constant tension. The consequence of this can be pinching of the nerves, a decrease in the supply of oxygen to the heart muscle, hyperglycemia (excess sugar in the blood).

What to do?

When a stressful situation arises, take three steps.

1. If possible, leave the stressful area. This will help you calm down. Relax your shoulders, lift your head up, close your eyes and take 10-12 deep, slow breaths for a minute. Think of a simple mechanical activity for yourself. For example, shake all the contents out of your purse and fold back. Or do squats, it will help get rid of the excess adrenaline.

2. Take a good look around. Try to remember all the details of the interior. Close your eyes and mentally visualize the space around you in detail. Open your eyes and test yourself. This process will distract you and give you time to calm down.

3. Take a calculator and count how many days you live. To do this, you need to multiply the age by 365, add the number of days that have passed since the last birthday, and add one day for each leap year you have lived. Now remember the joyful days in your life (meeting your loved one, passing exams at the traffic police, getting a diploma at the institute, etc.). After (if calmness has not yet come), calculate at what period of life they occurred.

Expected

In recent years, the term “office syndrome” has been used by doctors. It is based on the expectation of trouble, additional stress, or fear of failure.

What’s going on

With prolonged stress, instead of adrenaline, another stress hormone begins to be produced – cortisol, designed to withstand danger for a long time. To do this, it mobilizes all the body’s resources: it accelerates protein metabolism, uses fat reserves to generate energy, and reduces the level of lymphocytes in the blood (thereby weakening the immune system). Over time, such loads lead to psychosomatic illnesses.

What to do?

There are two ways to solve the problem.

1. If you are experiencing unpleasant moments on a daily basis, try to develop the most indifferent attitude towards them. Discuss the situation with colleagues, find all the pluses and minuses of the current situation. Try to be humorous about everything that happens to you. If you succeed, it will be much easier for you!

2. If you are concerned about the uncertainty of the future, look at it from a positive point of view. And try the time that you spend thinking to use for your own good, for example, sign up for yoga, do breathing exercises or go for a massage – all of these activities increase the levels of the “happiness” hormones dopamine and serotonin and reduce the amount of cortisol.

Predictable

Any event triggers a surge of emotions in you. Perhaps you are overly impressionable, or you have taken on too many worries and have become like a stretched string that responds to the slightest touch.

What’s going on

Perhaps your adrenal glands have ceased to adequately respond to stress.

What to do?

Preparations with extracts of soothing herbs – motherwort, valerian, mint, etc. will help. But the best recommendation is a healthy lifestyle. Set yourself a daily routine: fall asleep and wake up at the same time, distribute loads at work and be sure to find a hobby in life. For example, take up painting or learn another language. It will distract you from worries and add joy to your life!