Stress: From Surviving Danger to the Cause of It

Core — Nº36

Imagine a secluded meadow, its gentle slopes blanketed in wildflowers swaying in the slow breeze. To your left, a softly bubbling stream winds lazily through a small valley, its waters glinting in the dappled sunlight filtering through a canopy of ancient oaks. This pastoral scene epitomises tranquillity, a refuge from the ceaseless demands of the modern world. You can feel it from the thought alone: it’s no wonder rural landscapes are revered as some of nature’s greatest stress relievers.

This bucolic backdrop stands in stark contrast to the urban jungles most of us live in. The city—a full-on cacophony of noise pollution, crowds, and perpetual motion. Over the last few years post-lockdown, I began to really notice how much of it is like an onslaught on our senses. The growls of traffic, blaring sirens, and honking horns create a jarring symphony that jangles our nerves. Even in the stillness of our own homes or a local park, the ambient hum of the city remains an inescapable backdrop. The constant stimulation taxies the body and mind in ways they were never designed to endure. Couple that with oodles of rain and cloudy days (at least here in the UK) and a lack of time for grounding, and it becomes a sickening recipe that wears us down.

The Evolutionary Paradox

It’s ironic that the very mechanism that once kept our ancestors alive now detriments our modern well-being. The stress response, governed by the sympathetic nervous system, can trigger a cascade of physiological damage that primes the body to confront or flee perceived threats. Instantly, heart rate and blood pressure spike, delivering an oxygen-rich supply of blood to major muscles as the mind sharpens its focus.

This heightened state of arousal allowed our prehistoric forbears to act swiftly against looming predators or other mortal dangers.

But in today’s world, as you can see, there are no prowling sabre-toothed tigers. Our main threats are largely psychological: daunting workloads, fast-approaching deadlines, financial strain, and interpersonal conflicts trigger the same biochemical reactions as facing an ancient beast. Why aren’t we much calmer?

Unlike our ancestors, modern stressors tend to be chronic, ambiguous, overwhelming, and unresolvable in the short term. With the "threat" persisting, our bodies remain stuck in a prolonged state of hypervigilance that can take its toll.

The Price You Pay

Sustained overexposure to stress hormones like cortisol disrupts nearly every biological system. It ravages the immune system, leaving us vulnerable to illness. It contributes to inflammatory disease, obesity, and cardiovascular issues. Mentally, it clouds our thinking, exacerbates anxiety and depression, and impairs our sleep. Chronic stress is an insidious force that can leave us depleted on all levels.

Fortunately, even though ridding our lives of all stressors is impossible, we can learn to mitigate their corrosive effects using the below.

An antidote to anxiety

One of the simplest tools in our anti-stress arsenal is breathwork. Take a few minutes periodically throughout the day to slow down your breathing and focus on long, deep exhalations. This can psychologically counteract the revved-up state of stress we often find ourselves in. Box breathing is my favourite: 5 seconds in, 5 seconds hold, 5 seconds out, 5 seconds hold.

Breathing exercises not only oxygenate the cells and calm the mind; they trigger the counterbalancing parasympathetic nervous system responsible for resting and digesting. Even better, extensive nasal breathing can improve your facial structure, protect your lungs, prevent tooth decay, and reduce your susceptibility to sickness. Remember it like this: your mouth is for eating, your nose is for breathing.

Grounding (or earthing) is a highly effective practice but depends on the availability of greenspaces near you—and the weather, of course. But by making more frequent direct contact with the earth’s subtly negatively charged electromagnetic field—either by walking barefoot on grass or sand or using specialised grounding products, we can neutralise destructive free radicals and reduce whole-body inflammation.

The gut microbiome is another crucial player in resilience. The trillions of bacteria in our intestines influence everything from immunity to mental health. Incorporating probiotic-rich fermented foods like yoghurt, kefir, and sauerkraut while limiting processed products (because, for some reason, every food has added sugar nowadays) promotes a diverse, flourishing microbiota that bolsters stress defences.

Finally, avoid trying to do too many things at once during the day and constantly context-switching as it damages the brain and facilitates stress. Couple that with talk therapy or entering a state of meditation in the things you do that require focus (such as work, or a hobby like reading or running) as it will train the mind to maintain present-moment awareness and cultivate self-compassion to withstand physically or mentally stressful events, with greater poise and objectivity. By incorporating these methods, you can reclaim your balance and find that stress becomes less of an occurrence.