Understanding Stress: How it Works and How to Manage It
by RiceLunch · 36 things on NewTwos
- 你为什么总是压力很大？
- Clarification: Short-term stress can be useful stimulate improvement, however long-term stress is harmful as keeping our brain nervous will make our body tired
- How Does Stress Work?
- Condition that'll cause stress: when our body senses crisis from the environment, eg danger or stranger
- When we're stress, amygdala (responsible to regulate mood) release signal to hypothalamus (responsible to distribute signal).
- Sympathetic nervous system receives signal from Hypothalamus to release adrenaline into our blood.
- Stand still for 30-60 sconds during cold shower
- Adrenaline in blood causes blood pressure to increase so that more blood go through brain. Therefore, we can stay alert to prepare for fight.
- After stress, Hypothalamus stimulate parasympathetic nervous system to help our body relax.
- Concusion: Parasympathetic nervous system relaxes the body as a reward, while sympathetic nervous system prepares for fight by increasing stress.
- Take deep breath - for short-term stress
- While we hold our breath, our brain sends signal to stimulate parasympathetic nervous system to reduce heart rate. This exercise deliberate stimulate
- This exercise deliberate stimulate parasympathetic nervous system, that helps to relax. While we hold our breath, our brain sends signal to parasympathetic nervous system to reduce heart rate.
- We naturally sigh when we're stress, it's a version of deep breath. However, instead of natural mechanism, we can deliberate stimulate our body to relax.
Do the cyclic sighing for 5 minutes everyday, also suitable to recover after doing vigorous exercises, or relax before sleeping.
While we hold our breath, our brain sends signal to parasympathetic nervous system to reduce heart rate, therefore relax our body.
- When we feel stressed, our body naturally takes deep breaths to help us relax. But we can also intentionally make ourselves relax by doing something called "cyclic sighing." This means taking deep breaths in a pattern for 5 minutes every day. It's also helpful after doing intense exercise or before going to sleep. When we hold our breath during this process, our brain tells our body by stimulating parasympathetic nervous system to slow down our heart rate, which helps us relax.
- Take a short deep breath (est. 0.25~0.5 seconds)
- Take a long deep breath (est. 1~2 seconds)
- Take a long time to release breath slowly (est. 2~4 seconds)
- Avoid - for short term stress
- During weight lifting, the more we push for more weight, the stronger we become. Just like weight lifting, "stress resistant mechanisms" involve putting stress on our body while staying calm, making our mind more resistant to stress.
- Stress resistant mechanisms - for mid-term stress
- When we lift weights, our muscles get stronger because they adapt to the stress of lifting heavier weights. Similarly, our minds can become more resistant to stress by practicing stress resistant mechanisms. This means putting our body in stressful situations while staying calm, which helps our mind become stronger and better able to handle stress.
- Keep a calm mind during vigorous exercises
- Tummo breathig method
- Resilient Mindset - for long term stress
- Recognise reality. Differenciate between what could & couldn't be changed. Carry out actions to change what could be change
- Differenciate between what could & couldn't be changed
- Carry out actions to change what could be change
- Recognizing reality = means understanding and accepting the way things are in the world around us. It's important to be able to tell the difference between things that we have the power to change and things that we don't. Once we know what can be changed, we can take actions to make those changes happen.
- Prioritise health = the more critical your challenges, the more important to preserve energy to fight back
- Prioritizing health = when you face difficult situations or challenges, it is important to take care of your body and mind. Just like when you have a big test or a tough game coming up, you need to make sure you eat well, get enough sleep, and take breaks to rest and recharge. This way, you will have more energy and strength to face those challenges and overcome them. It's like saving up your energy to fight back when things get tough.
- Seek help from friends or professional, loneliness may be one of the reason that causes long-term stress since human can't handle everything alone. you may also join hobby community to meet more people.
- Interact with other = Sometimes when we feel stressed for a long time, it can be because we feel lonely. It's important to remember that we don't have to handle everything by ourselves. We can ask our friends or professionals for help when we need it. It's also a good idea to join groups or communities where we can meet new people who share similar hobbies or interests. This can help us feel less lonely and more supported.
- How to Measure Stress Level?
- Based on our own feelings, symptom - records / journal
- Heart Rate Variability (HRV) - smart watches