How to De-Stress: Why You Need to Learn How to Complete the 'Stress Cycle'
Stressed? If so, know that you are far from alone. Persistent feelings of strain, tension and overwhelm are rife in the UK. According to recent government stats, in 2019/20 stress, depression or anxiety accounted for 51% of all work-related illnesses, and 55% of days off needed due to work-related health issues. The pandemic has not helped, as you can imagine.
According to 2020 research by the Mental Health Foundation. The number of people who said that they were 'coping well with the stress of the pandemic' fell by 73% in April to 62% in November of last year.
As such, it's time to talk about coping strategies that are accessible, free and truly have the power to help you to work through what has been, and continues to be, a hugely difficult time.
In a their book Burnout: The secret to solving the stress cycle (RRP £16.99), identical twins Dr Emily Nagoski and Dr Amelia Nagoski – who have a PhD in Health Behaviour and a Doctorate in Musical Arts between them – argue that we lead lives humming with stress, but we never complete the 'stress cycle.' Cracking this, they say, is the key to unlocking ourselves from our hyped up cages and into greater mental clarity.
So, what's a stress cycle? It's the moment at which our bodies learn that, after facing danger, we are now safe: the completion of the full circle of stress.
Let's illustrate this by taking it back to the old school. When our ancestors swerved some threat, say, being chased by a tiger, they might have achieved their survival by running away to their village. Here, the resident muscle maybe threw a few spears at the animal and slays it. Everyone jumps, cheers and celebrates. Woo! In this moment, for the runner away-er, the stress cycle is tied up.
Take a modern equivalent. You receive a 'breaking news' notification on your phone on Friday evening that cases of Covid-19 are going back up.
Your cortisol and adrenaline spike. Your body enters fight or flight. It chooses flight, and commands that you bolt to safety somewhere far away, where terrifying changes can't get you. Apart from, of course, you don't. You scroll your phone for whatever information you can find, panic eat half a pack of biscuits and try and distract yourself with Netflix.
The problem? You've not completed the stress cycle. As the Nagoskis note, when this happens on the daily, your stress response is in chronic activation.
This is not good. It means lit up blood pressure (AKA an increased chance of heart disease) as well as digestion that's been played with (the stress response slows your gut function down, so that you can put all of your energy into running or fighting).
Topline: completing the stress cycle – and thus taking yourself out of the stress response – is a serious imperative for your health.
Here, extracted from their book, is the sisters' suggestions of finishing the cycles off. As most of us experience a stressor at least once a day, they prescribe that you commit to doing at least one of these, ideally more, every 24 hours, too.
How to de-stress: 7 ways to complete the stress cycle
1.Move
Running, dancing, swimming, whatever: the Nagoskis note that exercise is 'your first line of attack in the battle against burnout.' Aim for 20 to 60 minutes a day.
2. Breathe
'Deep, slow breaths down-regulate the stress response—especially when the exhalation is long and slow and goes all the way to the end of the breath, so that your belly contracts,' write the Nagoskis.
'A simple, practical exercise is to breathe in to a slow count of five, hold that breath for five, then exhale for a slow count of ten, and pause for another count of five. Do that three times—just one minute and fifteen seconds of breathing— and see how you feel.'
3. Talk to people
'Casual but friendly social interaction is the first external sign that the world is a safe place,' say the Nagoskis.
'Just go buy a cup of coffee and say 'nice day' to the barista. Compliment [your colleagues] earrings [via Zoom.] Reassure your brain that the world is a safe, sane place, and not all people suck.' Read More…
