Brain Link. The brain is designed to perceive and manage stressors. Effective stressor management is a key component of health and wellness. The goal is not to try to get rid of stress—it is simply part of being alive—rather to manage negative or undesirable stressors effectively. If the stressor hijacks the cerebrum and the brain’s energy and attention are directed down to the reptilian brain or 1 st brain layer, a reactive response such as Fight-Flight or Conserve-Withdraw can take over and chaos can result. At least three types of stress are found in the literature. Eustress is positive and helps you grow. Distress is negative and undesirable. Misstress is hidden or unrecognized. Unmanaged distress and misstress can kill brain cells, trigger or exacerbate mental disorders and illnesses, ruin relationships, damage body organs, increase a risk of disease, and contribute to a shortened lifespan. Unmanaged negative stress is said to be the precursor of all life-threatening illnesses. Managing distress and misstress effectively matters.
There is no stress in any situation until the individual human feels strain—and this differs for every brain. The distress perceived is less the result of what actually exists objectively, and more about what an individual brain perceives is happening. —Lawrence Albert “Al” Siebert, PhD
Born in Vienna on January 26, 1907, János Hugo Bruno “Hans” Selye CC was a pioneering Hungarian-Canadian endocrinologist. Dr. ”Hans” Selye is credited as borrowing the descriptive word stress from the field of engineering and applying it to human beings as a “nonspecific response of the body to any demand.” Selye was the first scientist to identify ‘stress’ as underpinning the nonspecific signs and symptoms of illness.
Stress is information overload at the cellular level. —Candace B. Pert, PhD
In response to a stressor, Corticotropin Releasing Factor (CRF)—both a hormone and a neurotransmitter—triggers the alarm center deep in the reptilian brain layer, which alerts the entire brain and body and initiates the stress response. The release of stress hormones (including CRF, cortisol, and adrenalin), when the stress response is triggered either frequently or prolonged, can result in suppressed brain and immune system functions, accelerated aging, eating outside of nutritional balance, and damage to brain cells. Runaway secretion of CRF is a core feature of anxiety and depression.
Stress is a condition, sense, or feeling that is experienced by individuals who perceive that the demands upon them exceed the personal and social resources they are able to mobilize. —Richard S. Lazarus, PhD
Stress responses are typically learned—often in childhood—by watching how family members and other adults react to situations. Responses tend to relate to personal levels of flexibility. In adulthood, some still react to negative stressors using early learned patterns of behaviors, many of which can be unhelpful. Unmanaged stress reactions can trigger the following undesirables.
1) Interference with cognitive ability
2) Decreased libido and ability to conceive
3) A 30% lowered energy potential
4) An increased risk for illness and chronic diseases
5) Potentially able to kill brain cells
6) Damage body organs
Stress does not change the result—it just messes up the journey. —Zen Wijeyesinghe
An individual’s external and internal environments—along with negative stressors—can have a tremendous impact on the brain and nervous system, overall health, and the ability to learn and retain information and later recall it. Epictetus is credited with pointing out that it’s not so much what happens that matters, as what you think about what happens. It is possible to change the way you think about what happened, which can positively impact the stress response.
When you find yourself stressed about something, ask yourself, “What difference will this make in 100 years?” You guessed it: No difference. So why get stressed about it now? —Ken Blanchard, PhD The One-Minute Manager
Studies have shown that when a child or adult experiences stressors involving the protective emotions—especially anger, fear, anxiety, or frustration—the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS), which regulates over 90 percent of brain-body internal functions, operates with less coherence, efficiency, and balance. In turn, this can lead to disordered incoherence in the heart’s rhythms, negatively impacting the rest of the body.
Chronic, unmediated stress often results in a condition known as an allostatic load. Allostatic load is ‘carryover’ stress. Instead of returning to a healthy baseline of homeostasis, the growing brain adapts to negative life experiences so that it becomes either hyper-responsive or hypo- responsive. ―Eric Jensen, PhD
Look ahead. Metaphorically, use your binoculars. Prevention through effective stressor management typically beats cure. While prevention cannot undo the past, it can minimize replicating damage in the future and may even mitigate existing injury. Both the brain and body are quite resilient. It may take months or even years of mis-living before symptoms of imbalance show up in the form of illness and disease. Show up, they will and sooner than one might think. Nevertheless, steps taken today may result in improvements down the line, which sometimes can be preventive.
Success involves identifying unhealthy (often automatic) habits and replacing them with healthier habits, which can become automatic over time. Practically apply strategies that have been shown to be effective and avoid those that have not. This demands daily vigilance along with a lifetime commitment. It can be done!
The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another. ―William James, MD
View the Educational Video #11. If possible, stand and walk in place for at least a portion of the video to increase blood flow to your brain.
Trauma is not what happens to you. It is what the trauma does to you inside. —Gabor Maté, MD
The brain is the first body system to recognize a stressor. It reacts instantly and can stimulate the stress response for up to 72 hours after a stress event—real or imagined. It can last longer if you keep rehearsing the event to yourself and/or to others. If the brain recognizes another perceived stressor, it triggers the stress response again for another 72 hours. Unfortunately, some individuals are always “stressed” as their brains trigger the stress response repeatedly.
Aging is the sum of all the stresses that have acted upon the body during a lifespan. —János Hugo Bruno “Hans” Selye
When the brain recognizes a stressor—real or imagined—the hypothalamus in the Mammalian or 2nd brain layer triggers the secretion of a powerful substance known as Corticotropin Releasing Factor (CRF). It is both a neurotransmitter and a 41-amino-acid peptide hormone. CRF binds to receptors on cells in the locus ceruleus, an alarm center deep in the brain stem of the Reptilian or 1 st brain layer. Its release is telegraphed throughout the brain by norepinephrine, both a hormone and a neurotransmitter. It is linked with the Fight-Flight stress response and influences both sleep and alertness. CRF creates a heightened emotional arousal throughout the brain. Hyper-arousal can be helpful for brief periods of time but not if it becomes chronic. Runaway CRF is a core feature of depression. The resulting secretion of stress chemicals and hormones can suppress immune system functions and can contribute to illness and disease.
Analogies and metaphors that incorporate simple household and backyard items help illuminate content. For example, your brain’s hippocampus works a bit like a surge protector to limit the risk of overload. —Eric Jensen, PhD
The brain’s hippocampus, often referred to as the brain’s search engine, is extremely sensitive to stressors. A study of 178 early adolescents used structural MRI imaging along with interviews. Researchers at Vanderbilt’s Peabody College, led by Dr. Humphries, examined more than 30 different stressors including parental divorce, moving to a new community, separation from a loved one, illness or death of a close friend or family member, witnessing violence, and experiencing abuse. The study results linked stressful or traumatic experiences that occurred during birth to age 5 with reduced hippocampal volume in adolescence. Children who are exposed to stressors during this sensitive period of time have an increased risk for interference in the development of the hippocampus, which is connected to learning, memory, and mood.
A smaller hippocampal volume has been prospectively linked to a number of outcomes, including vulnerability to psychopathology following trauma, poorer antidepressant treatment response, and memory deficits.—Kathryn L. Huphries, PhD
A 20-year research study by the University of London found that unmanaged reactions to stressors were a more dangerous risk factor for cancer and heart disease than either cigarette smoking or high cholesterol foods. Unmanaged stress reactions can decrease cognitive ability, lower libido, and reduce one’s energy potential by 30%. Hundreds of studies have revealed the prohibitive cost of work-related stress:
1) High-stress workers are twice as likely to be absent five or more days a year.
2) Estimates are that 40% of job turnover is due to stress.
3) Between 60-80% of on-the-job accidents are stress-related.
Laughter and tears are both responses to frustration and exhaustion. I myself prefer to laugh, since there is less cleaning up to do afterward. —Kurt Vonnegut
Three categories of stress are commonly referred to as Eustress, Distress, and Misstress. Not everything can be placed neatly in just one category of stress. Some activities and events can be placed in two categories depending on other contributors such as the specific environment, who else is involved, and the person’s own issues and perceptions. For example, going on a vacation can be a Eustress or a Distress situation, depending on many varied factors. It can also be a combination of Eustress and Misstress.
Eustress. Eustress is generally considered a positive type of stress that can help you learn, grow, and develop. It can be good for you and can actually boost the immune system as long as your life activities are in balance. Studies have shown that when an individual participates in selecting Eustress activities—even when they take work and challenge both the brain and body—undesirable consequences to brain and body are reduced. Other examples can include:
1) Meeting a deadline as long as you are successful
2) Obtaining additional education and training
3) Receiving a promotion
4) Getting married
5) Having a baby or two or three
6) Learning to play a musical instrument
7) Participating in sports or Olympic-type events
8) Performing in public
Happiness, compassion, love, and appreciation increase order, balance in the nervous system, and create harmonious heart rhythms that help to reduce stress … They also reduce the production of the stress hormone cortisol. In any moment of crisis, just feel grateful for something, anything. Appreciation is one of the easiest things to feel and can take the edge off even the toughest situation. —Doc Lew Childre & Howard Martin
Distress. Distress can be defined as outright negative events and situations. Most people have no difficulty identifying negative and unwanted stressors, such as:
1) Being fired or laid off, unemployed, bankrupt
2) Earthquake or other natural disasters
3) Divorce (generally harder on females financially; more impactful on males emotionally.)
4) Abuse, Trauma, PTSD
5) Accidents, Addictions, Chronic diseases
6) Migraines, chronic diseases
7) Pandemics, wars
Think ahead and avoid stressful situations or events whenever possible. Some can be avoided—or the impact reduced. If unavoidable, careful and effective management is important. This may include resetting some of your boundaries, learning to say “No” or “No thanks” kindly and firmly, altering the amount of time spent with some specific individuals, and accessing your support network to help you brainstorm options for problem solving.
Distress can sometimes be transformed into Eustress by changing your perceptions of the event or your expectations around it.
Distress erodes mental abilities and makes people less emotionally intelligent. —Daniel J. Goleman, PhD
Misstress. Not a spelling error, Misstress can be described as hidden stress or missed stress—although a mistress can also create stress as someone once opined. Many have difficulty identifying or recognizing this hidden type of stress, as the name implies. Misstress tends to accumulate and can produce outcomes that equal or exceed Distress.
In order to deal appropriately with Misstress, one must first identify it. Many miss the impact of the stressor to their lives because they fail to identify it or fail to take action to reverse or minimize it once they have identified it. Misstress may include aspects of living, such as:
1) An unhealthy lifestyle
2) Unrealistic expectations and/or inaccurate perceptions
3) Long commutes or forced remote learning or working
4) JOT behaviors such as jumping to conclusions
5) High alcohol intake or use of drugs
6) Addictions or addictive-like behaviors
7) Excessive use of electronics and/or social media
8) Frequent arguing with others that can depress immune system function
9) Unmanaged emotions and feelings with low levels of Emotional Intelligence (EQ)
10) Watching scary, gory, frightening, Sci-FY. or fantasy movies that can disrupt sleep and suppress immune function
11) Living inauthentically and trying to portray yourself as different than you really are, including living a lie and trying to sustain that over time.
Be who you are. Denying your authentic self may generate the most stress because your life energy is being diverted and therefore depleted. You are compromised mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. Long-term, the cumulative effects can kill you. —Phillip C. McGraw, PhD
Studies have identified several types of stress reactions. Following are three common types.
1) Fight-Flight (F/F) – Probably the most studied, F/F tends to be implemented more often by the male brain. Unmanaged it can lead to anxiety, worry, ulcers, high blood pressure, and any number of acute or chronic illnesses.
2) Tend-Befriend (T/B) – Females can exhibit fight-flight under sudden stress, but soon fall back to T/B, nurturing children and family, connecting with others, trying harder and harder to figure out a solution and resolve the conflict. Unmanaged, it can lead the individual to tolerate the intolerable, resulting in any number of stress-related symptoms along with the potential for severe injury or death.
3) Conserve-Withdraw (C/W) – May be implemented by any human being. It involves the brain’s attempt to sit still and wait it out in an attempt to recover and heal—especially when the situation appears to be unresolvable. For example, the death of a child or spouse, a terminal illness, or a catastrophic natural disaster can trigger a type of withdrawal. It can be helpful in the short term to allow one to catch a breath and recover from the shock. Unmanaged, it can lead to apathy, depression, and immobility.
The prefrontal cortex and the hippocampus, crucial for learning, cognition, and working memory, are the areas of the brain most affected by cortisol, the so-called ‘stress’ hormone. ―Eric Jensen, PhD
Did you know that stress reactions are contagious? Human beings can experience negative health effects associated with second-hand stress. Turns out, so can mice. A study published in Nature Neuroscience reported that stress transmitted from others has the same effect on the brain as stress that is experienced first-hand. Researchers from the University of Calgary studied this effect in mice. They divided the mice into groups of two. Next, they exposed one mouse from each pair to a mild stressor before reuniting it back with its sheltered partner.
The researchers found that both mice then demonstrated remarkably similar levels of CRF in the brain and nervous system—indicating that the stress-exposed mouse transferred its stress over to its partner. Interestingly, the effects of the communicated stress on the brain could be reversed in female mice following social interaction, but it was not reversed in the brains of male mice following social interaction.
It’s not stress that kills us, it’s our reaction to it. —János Hugo Bruno “Hans” Selye
Effective stressor management is critical for everyone but especially for females as they may be twice as vulnerable to stress-related disorders such as depression and PTSD. Studies with rats showed that male and female brains responded very differently to Corticotropin Releasing Factor (CRF) secreted in response to stressors.
In females, receptor molecules on the cell surfaces allowed CRF to freely enter the cells, making the stress reaction much stronger. In the male rats, about half of the receptor molecules were inactivated so only half as much CRF entered each cell, making the stress reaction less strong. The less-intense stress response in the present moment, however, may be more problematic over time for males, increasing their risk for a Major Depressive Episode (MDE) 25 years later.
Researchers at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, studied Stressful Life Events (SLE) and the risk of a MDE 25 years later. Data broken out by gender and race showed no difference in MDEs for females regardless of race. This may reflect coping strategies such as relational connections, faith, support networks, spirituality, religion, and emotional expression.
Stress is largely self-inflicted, so the ability to manage stress more effectively comes from managing oneself. ―Michael Hetherington
In males, despite higher levels of exposure to SLE, Black males showed disproportionally lower rates of MDE as compared with white males. This may reflect a tendency for Black males to implement adaptive coping strategies, including positive reappraisal, personal connections, and maintenance of hope and optimism. They are also more likely to attend church.
Understanding that male brains tend to underreact to stressors in the present, males can:
1) Learn to identify stressors in the moment as accurately as possible and avoid blowing them off as no big deal.
2) Collaborate with a trusted female brain to get another perspective and use that to help them create and implement appropriate strategies to manage stressors now—even if they don’t register it as all that serious—which can help reduce the male risk for MDEs in the long term.
Understanding that the female brain tends to overreact to stressors in the short term, females can:
1) Learn to identify stressors in the moment as accurately as possible and avoid over-reacting and blowing them out of all proportion.(Overreacting is a JOT behavior.)
2) Collaborate with a trusted male friend and use his differing perspective to craft and implement appropriate coping strategies to help them deal with the stressors effectively and timely.
The female alarm system is more sensitive to stressors and to Corticotropin Releasing factor (CRF), period. Even in the absence of stressors, the female stress signaling system is more sensitive from the start. —Debra Bangasser, PhD
Negative stressors are a two-way freeway. They can trigger addictive behaviors. In turn, addictive behaviors of almost any type are a form of negative stress because over time they lead to an imbalance in the brain and body. Picture the brain as containing its own pharmacy. Based on past experience, cravings push a person toward a substance or behavior that triggers the Brain Reward System (BRS) to release substances such as dopamine, serotonin, and endorphins. They help a person temporarily feel better. Not necessarily wonderful, simply better than he or she felt before. It can be a fast way to receive temporary relief from negative feelings, but long-term outcomes can involve illness, disease, and even death.
Drugs (prescription and non-prescription), alcohol, tobacco, sex, gambling, and foods and beverages can activate the BRS—which likes them all. Even the overeating of healthier food can stretch the stomach causing internal pain, which results in the release of substances that combat pain such as endorphins. So can overexercising or “cutting” oneself.
Dehydration is the number one cause of stress in the human body. ―M. J. Pangman
Listen to Chapter #13 of the Just the Facts audiobook. If possible, walk around the room while you listen. At least walk in place.
Smiling can be infectious in a workplace to help reduce stress, to help teamwork, to defuse high-pressure situations. The more you smile, the more people will smile back. —Byron Pulsifer
In stressful situations that involve anger, fear, trauma, crisis, or threat—anything that triggers a sense of helplessness as in abuse or natural disaster—the brain tends to shift its attention and energy automatically away from the neocortex in the Cerebrum or 3rd brain layer to the Reptilian brain or 1 st brain layer, attempting to access functions that promote safety.
When downshifted the brain tends to experience a sense of anxiety rather than the excitement of a challenge. Compared to a vehicle with an automatic transmission, “Cognitive driving” is typically a function of the Cerebrum or 3rd brain layer. In downshifting, the Reptilian or 1 st brain layer grabs the driving controls reactively.
If brain attention and energy become divided among the three brain layers, the neocortex in the Cerebrum may think one thing, the Mammalian layer may trigger emotional impulses, and the Reptilian layer may react from instinctual urges that differ from either thoughts or emotions. Symptoms include reverting to former less-functional behaviors and a lack of easy access to conscious, cognitive thought. Downshifting is a major contributor to conflict and misunderstanding. To manage stressors effectively, it helps to identify downshifted states quickly and upshift as soon as possible.
Downshifting occurs automatically when the brain feels unsafe. Upshifting occurs by choice. Picture yourself climbing back up to the brain’s 3 rd layer. Select at least two strategies and preplan to use one whenever you become aware that your brain has downshifted. For example:
1) Think of something humorous and choose to laugh. Humor and mirthful laughter are 3rd layer cognitive functions.
2) Identify something for which to be grateful. It is physiologically impossible for the brain to be in a simultaneous state of fear and gratitude.
When humans are under stress, their brains automatically “downshift” to a lower functioning level. This design allows fingers to pull away from a hot pan before the thought “I need a potholder” can even be formulated, but it just as easily sacrifices thinking and learning to such “survival”; responses. Under stress, humans drop from the thinking level to the emotional level, and eventually to the “fight or flight” survival level. —Renate Caine & Geoffrey Caine
Stress is a relative concept because every brain is unique. Stress responses are typically learned and often relate to personal flexibility. Since stress responses are learned, if the ones you have been using are not providing positive outcomes, you can choose to develop new and more beneficial responses. Addictive behaviors typically represent poor self-care. Addictive behaviors create stress, and stress can create attraction to addictive behaviors. In addition, stress is linked with treatment relapses. Several key tasks can help you enhance self-care as you engage in stressor management:
1) Take a self-inventory of how you tend to manage stressors. Be completely honest; otherwise, you will continue doing what you have been doing and getting the outcomes you have been getting.
2) Identify your own key stressors as you currently perceive them. You can manage only what you can label and describe. Assign each to one of the three main categories: Eustress, Distress, and Misstress. What symptoms does each produce? What behaviors do you exhibit?
3) How long do the symptoms last? Are you able to resolve them, or do they hang on even if they have been temporarily “swept under the rug,” so to speak?
4) Review the components of a health and wellness longevity lifestyle and identify any that you have failed to implement or that have fallen by the way. Get back on track!
Pathology that is seen to be associated with social stresses—fear, anxiety, insecurity, persistent emotional and matrimonial problems and the establishment of depression— are the results of water deficiency to the point that the water requirement of brain tissue is affected. —F. Batmanghelidj, MD
View the short Birds ‘n Brains #11 video. If possible, stand and walk in place for at least part of the video. Is it time for another glass of water?
Not everything that is faced can be changed—but nothing can be changed until it is faced. —James Baldwin
First, identify the type of stressor you are dealing with. Is it Distress or Misstress? What type of abuse is causing it? Next, ask yourself if the stressor can be transformed into Eustress (positive stress) by altering your expectations or perceptions. If yes, go for it. If no, then ask how much it will matter 12 months from now. If it will have little consequence, let it go. If it may have large consequences, access your support network to help you identify options and problem-solve. You may need to get law enforcement involved to keep you safe.
The truth is that stress doesn’t come from your boss, your kids, your spouse, traffic jams, health challenges, or other circumstances. It comes from your thoughts about your circumstances. ―Andrew Bernstein
Protect yourself. Find a way to shield yourself and avoid being exposed to stressors such as:
Only 20% of any negative effect to your brain and body is due to the event, while 80% is due to your perception of the event and the weight you give to it.
Even when you can’t do anything about the 20%, you can do almost everything about the 80%. That goes back to mindset and self-talk.
There is no such thing as a stress-free life. No evidence has ever been presented which suggests that a stress-free life can ever be achieved. Stress can be managed, relieved and lessened, but never eliminated. —Gudjon Bergmann
Music can help. If you sing, sing. If you play an instrument, play. Are you a dedicated listener? Listen to upbeat, happy music. Researcher Shelley E. Taylor, PhD, suggests identifying your gold medal moment—a time, situation, or event in life that was especially pleasing and rewarding. Everyone has at least one. When you recognize a stressor or perceive a negative interpretation of an event, recall your gold medal moment. Reliving it in memory can help you move into the 80% of the 20:80 Rule.
You pray in your distress and in your need; would that you might pray also in the fullness of your joy and in your days of abundance. —Khalil Gibran
Some things can be an emotional antidote to stress or illness. These include humor, laughter, appreciation of life, responding to art, music, social support system, and so on. —Norman Cousins, BA “Anatomy of an Illness”
Concentrate on Module #11 during this entire week. Reread the sections, review the videos, and relisten to the audiobook excerpts. It takes the average adult four times through to really absorb the material and turn it into a new behavior. If you want positive results, rushing through the material just because you can, may not provide the desired outcome.
Get plenty of sleep so your brain has time to consolidate or transfer what you are learning from short term to long term memory. Stay hydrated to keep your brain energy high. Little by little put what you are learning into daily practice.
Stay true to your own nature. If you like to do things in a slow and steady way, don’t let others make you feel as if you have to race. If you enjoy depth, don’t force yourself to seek breadth. If you prefer single-tasking to multi-tasking, stick to your guns. Being relatively unmoved by rewards gives you the incalculable power to go your own way. —Susan Cain
