Stress And The Body
Our emotions and our physical health are connected.
Fear, worry and anxiety are felt in the body, not only in the mind. When we sense danger the body responds automatically, whether the threat is real or one we have learned to react to. This is the fight-or-flight response: the sympathetic nervous system activates and the brain releases adrenaline and cortisol, readying you to face the threat or move away from it. Your heart beats faster, your breathing quickens, your muscles tense, your blood pressure rises and you feel more alert.
Short-term, that is exactly what you need. Held for longer, it starts to cost. Prolonged stress puts pressure on the heart and blood vessels, affects sleep and weight, and contributes to anxiety and low mood.
How can you start to notice how you are feeling?
With greater awareness, you can start to notice how stress and emotion show up in your body - a racing heart, tense muscles, shallow breathing, sweating, tiredness. Those signs are useful: they tell you that you are becoming stressed or overwhelmed and then you can start to do something about it.
Naming the emotion - anger, fear, worry, sadness - and staying curious about why it is there begins to settle it. So does simple movement. A walk releases muscle tension, steadies your breathing and eases the physical effects of stress, helping your nervous system return to balance.
