What Exactly Is Stress?

Stress is any real or perceived threat to our mental, emotional or physical well-being that disrupts the natural equilibrium our bodies work very hard to maintain.

When your mind perceives a threat it triggers the sympathetic nervous system which is responsible for the fight or flight response. This results in a cascade of stress hormones (hello adrenaline and cortisol) and physiological shifts in the body (i.e. Increased heart rate, increased blood pressure, dilated pupils, dry mouth, slowed digestion, increased sweating etc.). While this stress response is meant to “turn off” once the threat has passed, if stress is chronic it may not switch off, or it may just occur too frequently. Constantly having elevated stress hormones negatively impacts your health and can disrupt your menstrual cycle & fertility, blood pressure, blood sugar, sleep cycles, weight, digestion, mood, memory, mental health, cause headaches or migraines and eventually lead to disease. Emotional stress is something I am particularly passionate about, because it played such a large role in my healing journey, and I had no idea it was a factor. I have always been an anxious and emotional person, I worried, overthought and bullied myself. My inner dialogue was straight up mean. I had limiting beliefs and fears programmed so deeply they were slowly eating away at my mental health. I felt inadequate, incapable, unworthy. I always had my guard up and I rarely showed my true self, and I certainly never told anyone I was feeling this way. Emotional stress caused by thoughts and feelings is very real, it affected my hormones, digestion, cycles, sleep, mood and caused physical pain.

Did you know that emotions are not just abstract feelings constructed by the mind? They actually have a physical impact, creating a cascade of biochemical changes in the body. Dr. Candace Pert explains this in her book Molecules of Emotion: “As our feelings change, this mixture of peptides travels throughout your body and your brain. And they’re literally changing the chemistry of every cell in your body.”

I invite you to start noticing your thoughts. Start a journal, and take note of your inner dialogue. Are there any patterns? Are you worried, anxious, feel like there never enough time, money or resources? If you’re looking for further guidance take my free quiz to help you identify the mindset block holding you back from healing (link at the top of my Free Resources page).

Stress is not only mental, emotional or spiritual, it can also be physical or chemical. Physical stressors put strain on the body and include injury, illness, extreme temperatures (hot or cold), repetitive tasks, sleep deprivation and chronic pain. Chemical stressors can come from our diet, smoking, medication use, pollution and exposure to harmful chemicals. We are exposed to toxic chemicals every day from plastics, pesticides, chlorinated water, conventional cleaning, personal care and beauty products and synthetic fragrances to name a few. In simple terms, these disrupt our hormone regulation and cell function and can affect how our body builds tissues.

The good news is, there is a lot we can do to alleviate stress and create resilience so we can adapt to life’s ups & downs. Check out my previous posts on building resilience to learn more!