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Managing your stress: Your life is depending on it

Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2006

Estimates suggest that 75-90 percent of all visits to primary care physicians are for stress-related problems, and medical opinion is that 90 percent of illnesses are directly related to stress or greatly aggravated by it. But do we truly believe in the damaging effects that stress can have on our bodies? Research shows that chronic stress may impact the body in extremely detrimental ways including an increased risk of obesity, disease, cardiovascular decline and depression. But there’s good news: Research also indicates that we control our conditions much more than we realize. Stress may endanger our health, but we have the power to control it, through a mind-body connection.

The history of stress

In its primitive form, stress wasn’t so harmful. Forty thousand years ago it helped our ancestors ward off predators or at least run away from them. When this happened, a series of physiological reactions followed. First he heart pumped blood faster to supply extra oxygen and glucose (sugar) to the brain and muscles, then blood sugar levels rose as the liver dumped stored glucose into the bloodstream for extra energy and finally cortisol, the fight-or-flight hormone, was released to stimulate the conversion of protein into energy and to reduce inflammation. In today’s modern form, however, stress is usually less physical and more a result of the anxiety we create by thinking about a bad situation. Job stress is the leading source of chronic stress. The chain reaction can begin with bad day at work. Perhaps we hate the boss, but can’t actually tell him or her. So instead we ‘‘stew and chew” explains Dr. Pamela Peake, who coined the term in her book ‘‘Fight Fat After Forty.” The stress mounts as we turn the day’s activities over and over in our heads, reliving every bad moment. Internally, our cells get the message and they prepare for action.

Stress causes disease

One researcher likens immune system cells to an army of tiny soldiers. Some cells rush in and clean up an infection site; others kill any cells that might be mutating into something like cancer. And still others cells shoot ‘‘bullets” to eliminate infections. All these cells communicate with one another. When perfectly balanced, the body remains healthy. But when chronically stressed, increased amounts of stress hormones, including cortisol, are pumped out, creating an imbalance. This imbalance impairs the cells’ ability to communicate effectively and sets off a chain reaction, which suppresses the immune system and sets up the body for illness. Researchers believe that the body suppresses immunity to conserve energy, as it prepares for a potential battle.

Stress makes us fat

Why do we eat when we are stressed? It’s a natural reaction and physiological response. Cells send a message to the brain that sugar is needed in order to fight. Reaching for food — especially carbohydrates — allows for a quick burst of energy. In the older days it was needed for a battle or to run away from a threat, but nowadays no fight ensues and we are left with too much sugar in the bloodstream, which is eventually stored in fat tissue.

An excess of the stress hormone cortisol will also cause central weight obesity. Fat cells in the belly have many cortisol receptors and an overabundance of cortisol will hook into these receptors and cause a ‘‘tire” around the midsection. Cortisol also influences weight gain by stimulating the release of sugar, which stimulates insulin, which stimulates fat storage. That’s why one of the best ways to lose weight is to reduce stress.

Reducing stress

Changing behavior and controlling thoughts is not easy, but it is critical in controlling stress and protecting ourselves from overweight and illness. Many studies indicate that stress reduction can prevent or help slow the progression of an illness. Support groups, stress relief and meditation all may, by altering stress hormone levels, help the immune system. For example, women in support groups for breast cancer have longer life spans than women without such support. Ann Roberts of Voorhees, N.Y., a two-time breast cancer survivor, can attest to the importance of stress-reducing techniques as a means of healing. ‘‘I took the ‘‘slash, poison and burn” approach [to breast cancer therapy]” Roberts explains, ‘‘but in addition to that I sought alternative healing methods which included homeopathy, a change in diet, supplements and also spiritual work, mainly forgiveness and clearing out of anger.” She was diagnosed in early February 2006. After nine weeks of chemo plus the stress reducing techniques, she tested 90 percent cancer free. ‘‘The doctors thought it was kind of a miracle,” she notes.

The following are some proven techniques for handling stressful situations, and for tricking our bodies into remaining calm and relaxed:

Exercise

Weight lifting lowers stress hormones. It also increases growth hormone, an anti-aging and repair hormone. Simple stretching in the morning and at the end of the day also lowers stress hormones and can prevent stress-induced suppression of the immune system.

Get back in the drivers seat

Feeling in control is a key step toward managing stress. Gloria Harrison of Montgomery Village attributed her irritable bowel syndrome and hypertension to stress. ‘‘So many foods upset my stomach,” Harrison says, ‘‘and those symptoms didn’t disappear until I left the unhappy marriage I was in. Now I can eat whatever I want and it does not bother me. And my blood pressure is so much better too.” Start clearing out the stressors in your life, one at a time. Say ‘no’ more often, set a goal and go after it. Find the activities that eat up your time but offer little satisfaction and get rid of them, for your health.

Breathe

Ever wonder why breathing calms us down? When we breathe we saturate every cell with oxygen, which reduces a physiological stress. It also helps us from acting impulsively. ‘‘One good belly breath” gives you time to think before you respond, explains yoga enthusiast Colleen Aycock of North Potomac.

Try wearing a band around your wrist for a couple of weeks to remind yourself to breathe deeply until it becomes a habit.

Find an outlet

For Roberts her outlet was prayer, painting and music. For someone else it might be exercise, journaling or joining a local support group. Finding an outlet for expression is a key ingredient for calming the soul.

Sleep well

Lack of sleep will further increase stress hormones and make problems seem almost insurmountable. Figure out how to sleep well: avoid stimulating late night TV, turn off the computer an hour before bed, keep a pad and paper nearby for the to-do lists that keep us wired. Drinking alcohol before bed will lower blood sugar during sleep and create a hypoglycemic state, which will raise stress hormones and wake you up in the middle of the night. Don’t drink water after 8 p.m. and finally, try meditation, which has been proven in studies to reduce sleep disturbance. One study found that cancer patients were able to reduce stress and fatigue, and to sleep better through mindfulness meditation techniques.

Change your perspective

Focus on solutions to your problems instead of focusing on the problem itself. Don’t recount and ruminate over the stressors, simply recognize that you are thinking of the stress and switch your thinking to finding a solution. While we can’t control every problem in our lives, we can pick the ones that are changeable, and start viewing them differently.

Take your vitamins

Specifically, make sure you have enough vitamin C and Zinc, both of which are used in great supply during stressful times and are rapidly depleted from the body.

Stress can ruin your health. Ask yourself this: If I were paid a penny for every good thought and took away a penny for every bad thought, would I be rich, or poor? What do I ‘‘hear” when I’m thinking about the day’s events or past occurrences? What did every cell in my body do with the information? Deepak Chopra, medical doctor and spiritual writer explains, ‘‘Every cell in your body is eavesdropping on your thoughts.”

Don’t give your cells a reason for battle.

Send comments and questions to kschafer@gazette.net.