Post pandemic, stress, anxiety and depression has risen significantly. The pandemic has been a traumatic experience we collectively endured. Stress reducing tips have flooded the internet.
But the question is : Is stress really bad for us? Well, the answer is not quite so simple. Most of us perceive stress to be harmful for us, and that fear perhaps is what actually decides our fate.
In a study done in the University of Wisconsin, USA, 30000 participants were followed up for 8 years, who were asked the question wether they experienced a lot of stress, a moderate amount of stress, relatively little stress or almost no stress at all. It was found that those who faced little stress in their lives had a lower risk of premature deaths. Those who faced a lot of stress had a 43% higher risk of premature deaths and these people also perceived stress as being harmful for their health. Basically they took stress as their enemy. Interestingly there were a third group of people who faced a lot of stress but did not perceive stress to have poor outcomes on health and this group had the lowest risk of premature deaths amongst all the three groups. This means the perception of stress has a greater impact on our health than stress itself and can be a key factor in future outcomes. Basically stressing about stress is more harmful than the stressful situation itself.
Stress involves activation of the sympathetic-adreno-medullar (SAM)axis that results in increased heart rate, cardiac output and blood pressure and increased oxygen consumption. In addition SAM activation causes enhanced alertness, cognition and focussed attention which can actually improve our performance.
“Can changing how you think about stress make you healthier? Here the science says yes,” says health psychologist Kelly McGonigal. “Your heart might be pounding, you may be breathing faster… but what if you viewed them as signs that your body was energized and it’s preparing you to meet this challenge.” When we perceive stress as a challenge it can actually help us become more alert and improve our performance.
During stress oxytocin is produced by pituitary gland, also known as the cuddle hormone, that motivates us to seek support to make us feel better and be around people who makes us feel comfortable and with whom we can share our problems.
Oxytocin has anti stress effects such as reducing blood pressure and cortisol levels. It is cardioprotective because it reduces the inflammatory response and improves cardiovascular and metabolic functions. In addition, oxytocin release is associated with reduced anxiety, depression, pain, inflammation and a reduction in cardiovascular disease and diabetes. it can improve healing and promote growth. Further more oxytocin actually drives us to be more compassionate and caring which increases our resilience to subsequent stressful events.
In a study done at the University of Buffalo it was found that every major stress event increased an individual’s risk of death by 30%. But, overall, this increase was erased for those who reported high rates of helping others, even if they additionally dealt with a lot of stress. The evidence suggests that giving to others significantly reduces stress-induced mortality.
Perhaps its time to rethink our response to stress. Our body knows how to handle stress. “Stress is enhancing” could be the mindset we need to adopt to give us better protection against it.
References:
Does the Perception that Stress Affects Health Matter? The Association with Health and Mortality Abiola Keller, Kristin Litzelman, Lauren E. Wisk, Torsheika Maddox, Erika Rose Cheng, Paul D. Creswell, and Whitney P. Witt University of Wisconsin – Madison. Published in final edited form as: Health Psychol. 2012 September ; 31(5): 677–684. doi:10.1037/a0026743..
Uvnas-Moberg K, Petersson M. Oxytocin, ein Vermittler von Antistress, Wohlbefinden, sozialer Interaktion, Wachstum und Heilung [Oxytocin, a mediator of anti-stress, well-being, social interaction, growth and healing]. Z Psychosom Med Psychother. 2005;51(1):57-80. German. doi: 10.13109/zptm.2005.51.1.57. PMID: 15834840.
Jankowski M, Broderick TL, Gutkowska J. The Role of Oxytocin in Cardiovascular Protection. Front Psychol. 2020 Aug 25;11:2139. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.02139. PMID: 32982875; PMCID: PMC7477297.
Sharma SR, Gonda X, Dome P, Tarazi FI. What's Love Got to do with it: Role of oxytocin in trauma, attachment and resilience. Pharmacol Ther. 2020 Oct;214:107602. doi: 10.1016/j.pharmthera.2020.107602. Epub 2020 Jun 6. PMID: 32512017.
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