STRESS: Awareness & Control

Stress has a bad rep… well really, more chronic stress. See there’s two types of stress: Acute (immediate) or Chronic (long term). What would happen if a bear was right in front of you? Would you flight, fight, freeze or fawn? In immediate situations like that, we would classify it as acute stress, when your brain tells you HEY! TIME TO MOVE BUDDY! Your brain will release epinephrine and norepinephrine into the bloodstream and then our heart rate increases, blood pressure increases, it slows digestion down, your hair on your skin shoots up. thats all because of cortisol levels drawn into the bloodstream, allowing you to fight back! But what happens when stress happens over a long period of time, such as working in a hostile work environment or living in an area that isn’t doesn’t have good quality air, enough resources to eat healthy, or nearby transportation for you to take. Then we shift into chronic stress, where our body begins to live with the stressors you hold onto, and overtime that could lead to a tight muscles, chronic health conditions that is the leading cause of death in the United States, unhealthy behaviors and coping mechanisms. If chronic stress is not dealt with, it could lead to a deeper rabbit hole of health issues.