Part 4 in a series of 5
Responding to Stress
The first and most important step in breaking free from a lifetime of stress reactivity is to be mindful of what is actually happening while you are experiencing it in any given moment. Being mindful and learning this via meditation is a powerful way of identifying these stressors as you build it up in yourself, this is also combined with a lot of other body effects as has been identified through research.
We have come to know that a combination of internal and external stressors can trigger many feelings and behaviors which we call stress reaction. Every human being has a different stress reaction, which is dependent on each individual as every individual’s system is different, as well as how he or she copes with stress on a mental level.
There is a better way to cope with stress which is known as “Healthy Coping Strategies” as opposed to the “reaction to stress” or “maladaptive attempts towards stress”.
Today we have the power of choice, whether we are going to react or respond. We now have control over the triggers e.g. we can prevent the fight or flight reaction from triggering automatically. We can also control our feelings such as feeling overwhelmed or helpless when we are stressed.
This can now all be done through the use of mindfulness and meditation. This is described as the moment to moment awareness which allows us to control our body and mental reactions. Stress reactions normally occur automatically and unconsciously via hypothalamus, pituitary and adrenal glands which leads to an acute hyperarousal. This can be detected through the increase in pulse or heart-beat. People who are body conscious e.g. athletes, yogis etc. usually are able to detect these changes quite easily. However there are many people who still don’t know that the cause of stress and its process started long before the effect is visible in the body.
Sports coaches trained in stress management have the responsibility of teaching athletes proper coping techniques to deal with stress. Similarly business, health and life coaches should have the necessary training in stress management, teaching their business and private clients’ effective techniques and coping mechanisms in dealing with stress and day to day situations. The goal is to find the ideal solution to day to day problems that will help reduce stress or even the effects of stress through the stimulation of their inner resources. Being unaware of the situation can lead to psychosomatic disorders such as insomnia, chronic headaches, backaches, anxiety, muscle pain, high blood pressure and many more disorders depending on the individual and level of stress.
People often end up with self-destructive behaviours while trying to manage daily life and its stressors. They compensate this lack of energy through hyperactivity during working hours and leisure time. They get into the habit of eating too much, especially carbohydrates because of biochemical changes in the brain. The stress causes the brain to force the individual to have a higher carbohydrate input to produce sugar for the brain. This in turn can lead to an over consumption of alcohol, caffeine and excessive smoking. In some cases people try to compensate this lack of energy by working longer hours. This leads to a risk of them becoming workaholics with a higher risk of a burnout.
Through awareness we can alter the stressful situation and instantly change that situation. Through the strengthening of the level of awareness we can create automatic responses where we are able to change the whole situation before it gets to negative or unmanageable levels.
There is a perfect example of this level of awareness in the movie “Dead Poets Society”. The famous actor Robin Williams demonstrates the inner observer in front of a group of students by standing on a chair telling them, “You must always be the master of your life and realize what is happening inside you.” “Whatever people try to do to you, what happens around you, you have to have an overhead view just like an eagle.” “You build this up from within by strengthening the inner observer through awareness.” “This is what will make you the master of your life.”
When you have the ability to recognize both the stressfulness of a situation and your impulses towards a reaction, while remaining calm and centered in that moment of stress, you introduce a new dimension into the situation. This means that you don’t have to suppress all your thoughts and feelings associated with heightened arousal to prevent yourself from losing control. You can actually allow yourself to feel threatened, fearful, angry or hurt, even being able to feel the tension in your body in those moments. This brings you into a conscious awareness of the present moment, where you can easily recognize these agitations for what they are, such as your thoughts, feelings and sensations.
Once you start to realise what kind of reactions you are having in your body, such as feelings, emotions or sensations, you start to build up that inner observer. You begin to feel that distance inside of you without being completely drawn into the emotions and feelings of stress due to recognizing that process of what is happening. A simple momentary shift from mindless reaction to mindful-recognition greatly reduces the power of the stress reaction. When the same old automatic reaction is not there when your buttons are pushed, you set yourself free with a higher sense of relief and freedom.
With a little effort, we can train our bodies and mind to achieve the state of balance we desire. Through exercising we have the chance to get balanced as well, including balancing the chemical reactions in the body and mind. Regular training of mindfulness, which is strong and reliable enough to assist us in responding in a balanced and imaginative way when we are stressed, will we attain relief from highly unhealthy situations. Training the mind and body to respond in this balanced way, while simultaneously developing and deepening these qualities, is usually done through formal meditations.
The subconscious mind has three levels viz. alpha, theta and delta:
Delta is the level we go to when we fall into deep sleep. During deep sleep our subconscious mind is still a little active however we are never aware of it. It is for this reason we have to regularly practice training the mind and body to be calm and respond to stress in a more positive way.
Theta is the level we go to when we feel drowsy, a level just before deep sleep.
The Alpha level is the level we go to when we are relaxed. It is also the level where we train the mind and body for behavioral changes, as well as the level most people go to during meditation.
These three levels of the subconscious mind make up 90% of the total mind.
The conscious mind has two levels, beta and gamma:
Beta is the state we are in when fully awake.
Gamma usually occurs during states of panic, consumption of too much caffeine and alcohol, as well as the area of mind we go to when stressed. It is the gamma state that causes us to react rather than respond. It can be very difficult to get to a calm state when at the gamma level, therefore it is for this reason we train our mind and body to get to alpha states as often as possible. The beta and gamma levels of the conscious mind make up 10% of the whole mind.
From my own experience of being a yoga teacher, it is the breathing exercises and short meditations which bring about the real effectiveness of change within the body and mind. However one should have patience as it does take some time for the body to regulate itself into this new state of being.
In part 5, I will share more on breathing, mindfulness and inner calm and responding to stress.
You can read Part 1 of this STRESS Series — ‘What happens when we get stuck in stress?’ here.
Resources:
Stuck in Stress Reactivity Chapter 19 by Jon Kabat –Zinn
Responding to stress instead of reacting, Chapter 20 by Jon Kabat Zinn
Emotional Memory, Mindfulness and Compassion Paul Gilbert and Dennis Tirch
Some reflections on the origins of MBSR , skilful means and the trouble with maps
Dr. Jutta Lenz is a Doctor of Philosophy, has a Masters Degree in Psychology and she also specialises in Sports Science, Educational Science, Business and health coaching and teaching yoga. She is a management consultant, facilitator, business and health coach in companies national and international in the US, Norway, Germany, Austria and Switzerland. She also spends time working with the governments of Germany and Austria. Jutta is a change management facilitator for individuals and organizations while they are going through a time of transformation to deal with life crises and conflicts. She offers participative coaching and counselling as well as health coaching that includes stress management, burnout, lifestyle and nutrition.
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