What Is Stress On Our Systems?

Months before lockdown, you could guarantee at least one appointment of the day would be a client that was struggling with what was on the news, and the effect it was having on their mental health.   

It all started in January, we were seeing at least 5 people per week with Covid related mental wellbeing concerns. This is BEFORE lockdown, BEFORE our first case of Covid in New Zealand. Since then, over 50% of our client base, per week, have underlying mental stress. So how do events like these affect us? 

Stress is good, to a point. Everyone handles stress differently. Our ability to adjust to stress, evolves as we go through life. Let us talk about trauma, or stress, and how it impacts people. The first time I made a dent in my car was from rear-ending someone. I was freaking out! I instantly got shaken up, got a headache, and nearly cried telling my mother! Fast forward 6 years, I backed into the lift we have at home. I didn’t even get out of the car to check the damage (our cat was inside so I knew he was safe) and thought to myself "oh well, it could have been worse, I should be paying more attention, lesson learnt”. 

I could tell you all about the emotional, physical and spiritual trauma that my mental health and body had been through in the 6 years between my first ‘accident’ and second. But the point is, that my tolerance had changed. What once stressed me out, no longer does. Previously, you could give me 5-6 tasks to complete in one day and throw a conflict in there, and I used to just sit down and cry (I’ve had treatments here and there haha). Our ability to handle stress changes depending on the circumstances. It does not measure our strength or resilience. It is in how our body’s physical and mental capabilities to respond to physiological, emotional or pathological stress. I can handle having a chesty cough, but give me a sore throat and I am one cranky person. Tight muscles in the gluts I can handle, but sore calf muscles and I will complain for a week! 

Physiological stress is any external or internal condition that challenges the homeostasis of a cell or an organism

Pathological stress is when they exceed the subject's ability to cope with them in a physiological way. This level of stress is indicated as pathological stress

Emotional stress is involves the experience of negative affect, such as anxiety, in the context of a physiological stress response that includes cardiovascular and hormonal changes

This would have been our lockdown. The emotional stress of keeping a job, keeping the family happy, amusing children (or adult children for that matter!) and trying to just simply keep your shit together! Hands up if you struggled at some point, but you kept moving forward. Have a think, for a moment, about the following questions:

• How has your digestion been? 
• How has your sleep been? 
• Have you struggled with motivation and energy? 
• Has a random ache occurred? 
• Are headaches or migraines ruling your life? 

There are so many different symptoms and complaints that could have arisen from these stressors. This emotional upheaval, we have all been through, could be the underlying cause of new symptoms and complaints that were already on the borderline to disconnect. 

When we are stressed out, we often turn to the people we love the most. A circuit pathway to your stomach, that was already weak, may completely disconnect when extra stress is added. 

We can help clear that underlying stress and improve your tolerance! By ensuring that ALL your body systems and mental relays are optimised. We can increase your tolerance again, strengthen your system and get you living your best life faster and in a more adaptive way ❤️