Stress-Proof
Hack your stress response by stepping out of your comfort zone
Push it to he limit!
Ready to unlock the secrets to a healthier and longer life? Learn to manage your stress and reduce the chances of getting sick.
We can lower our health risk ourselves by reducing our overall stress response. In this text, we take a closer look at how we control our mind and body.
Do you recognise the following thoughts?
In stressful situations, our heads take over. We start thinking negatively. "Can I do this? Heb I suffer from that? Did I forget? Could I have done this better?" All questions that potentially race through your mind and make you doubt yourself.
Everyone has been outside their comfort zone at some point and knows the feeling of being in a situation for which we are actually unprepared. At such times, we often say to ourselves that we are failures. Let's do something about that!
Learning to cope better everyday stress
Stress is not only very troublesome, in the long run it can also be deadly. It is a big part of our daily lives, whether we want it to be or not. Stress is not just about making you feel bad about yourself. It also contributes to cancer, diabetes and heart disease.
How the brain the body influence
As soon as the brain experiences stress, a switch goes on, so to speak. The nerves kick the whole system into disarray, releasing a wave of hormones into the bloodstream. Breathing rises and our heart races.
We feel "sharp". In dangerous situations, this energy helps to fight or flee. As soon as the situation is over, the stress circuit should switch off. Nothing happens.
BUT, when our stress does not go away, cortisol continues to flow through, preventing our fight-or-flight circuit from shutting down completely.
This can lead to burnout , increased blood pressure, a confused immune system and elevated blood sugar levels. All these triggers in turn increase the risk of disease.
How responds your body on stress?
Measure for yourself what it looks like in your situation. Understanding brings peace.
Learn to understand how your brain affects your body. To measure this in reality, you can work on your breathing and heart rate.
Measure your heart rate at rest and measure again when under stress.
Learn how your body changes.
Do the same with your breathing rhythm.
Ways to better to and to cope with stress
- Positive self-talk
- Breathwork
- Meditation
Positive self-talk as a tool for stress
Get started with positive self-talk. Reframe your negative thoughts. When you experience negative thoughts, ask yourself "can I turn them around to a more positive way of thinking? How can I do this differently? What do I gain from this experience?"
Our fight-or-flight system does not only react to the outside world. Our own thoughts and emotions influence that circuit too.
When we are under pressure and think something is beyond us, the brain pushes the panic button. It tells our fight-or-flight circuitry to prepare for the worst. Arteries and veins constrict because they expect danger. They send blood to the core so it physiologically reduces the chances of us bleeding to death. BUT, because less blood now flows to the muscles and brain, mental and physical strength decreases.
By thinking more positively, you can reverse this physical response. The blood vessels open up so we have renewed energy to keep going. We still feel tense, but the stress no longer works against us.
Remember: the story we tell ourselves becomes reality. It is mind over matter. So don't let fear take over!
Breathwork
When adrenaline is flowing and heart rate is rising, it is important to keep breathing. Breathing is a tool we always have with us and can use in any situation. We have the power at our fingertips to simply breathe through it.
The more stress we experience, the faster we breathe, the faster we breathe, the more stress we experience. It is a vicious cycle.
When we breathe slowly and deeply, the nerves sense that something is changing and send a signal to our brain to calm down so that the fight-or-flight system is interrupted. Everything in the body drops again, heart rate, stress hormones and tension.
The following simple breathing technique shows that the stress signals connecting the brain and body are not a one-way street. The body also sends signals back
A practical exercise we deploy in such a situation is called "Box Breathing"
Breathe in, hold, breathe out, hold. Imagine a square whose edges you go down and do the following.
Inhale for 4 seconds, hold for 4 seconds, exhale for 4 seconds, hold for 4 seconds.
Mindful meditation
Mindful meditation is a very powerful technique. It makes us feel less stressed. When you meditate regularly, it can even change your stress response.
The network in our brain that triggers the fight-or-flight circuit must be hypersensitive to keep us safe. The big problem is that anything can set it off these days. Scientists think that meditating for less than eight weeks can provide new connections in key parts of the brain so that we react less strongly to things that can cause stress.
Curiosity and/or fear
It's not about thinking you can't do it, we are preparing you for the emotions you are probably already feeling as you dwell on the idea of stepping completely out of your comfort zone.
You have the power within you to train your brain to accept and embrace stress so that it does not kill you later.
Follow the path to health
Ready to self one step put direction a stress-free life?
Cold Experience
The unique combination of cold, movement, hypoxia, hunger and thirst creates a need for innovation in our actions and thinking
Heat Experience
Increased CO2, muscle acidification and heat literally make you unstoppable & train your overall stress tolerance
Breathwork
Breathing is the most forgotten and underrated life hack that you always have in your pocket and can influence yourself, you just need to learn how.