What is Toxic Stress and how to Manage it?
Stress is something that many of us are told to try to avoid. We are forever talking about feeling stressed out, and feeling the need to escape and chill out. Much of the messaging around stress is that it is bad for you and your health, and to be real… our society and current state of affairs are pretty stressful.
However, the truth is that not all stress is bad. In fact, we need stress to function, to tackle important life challenges and to thrive. But is there too much of a good thing? What happens when we get too stressed out? and what is toxic stress and how do we manage it? We will cover these questions and more in this post on toxic stress.
Stress Response – What is it?
So, what is stress and what isn’t it?
Through evolution humans have developed the stress response for the very purpose of fueling our body and minds when we are faced with a threat or challenge we need to overcome. The system that generates stress is designed to be activated to help us deal with difficult situations or exciting opportunities. When it is working right, it helps us to show up and do our best.
To keep the biology class simple, to activate the stress response, your body releases a collection of hormones including adrenaline and cortisol. These are hormones signal to our body and brains to help us become alert, aware and ready to go. This is often called the “flight or fight response”. This response wakes up our nervous system, causing our muscles to tense, our heart rate to accelerate, our attention to sharpen and our thinking to speed up. Preparing for battle… or respond to that stressful email you just received from your boss.
When our stress response is functioning well, it activates our body and brain to face the challenge at hand, and then it turns off allowing us to rest, recover and restore so that we are ready to take on the next challenge. Think of a thermostat that is always working to come back to “room temperature”. The heat kicks on, then turns off once the goal is achieved.
Toxic Stress - What is it?
So, why does stress get such a bad reputation when we just said it can be a helpful tool?
Well, this is usually due to when the “heat” or activation mode doesn’t get a break or ability shut off and gets stuck on for too long. What happens when we live in a wild world with competing responsibilities, deadlines and a boss who keeps sending us emails after hours? The stress response stays on; it doesn’t get an opportunity to kick off into rest mode and this can have a host of negative effects on our minds and on our body.
This persistent effect of stress is what we call “toxic stress”, or stress that overwhelms the system leading to negative outcomes. Prolonged experiences of toxic stress can disrupt sleep, it can impact our appetite and cause things like weight gain, anxiety, irritability, lead to increased risk of depression and anxiety, negative health outcomes such as heart disease, bowel/digestive disease and substance abuse. You can start to experience somatic symptoms in your body such as headaches, aches and pains due to long-term tension. It can also cause and contribute to burn out, something that many of us know all too well. Prolonged stress can even lead to the death of brain cells in the area of the brain that is important for memory. Yikes…
Long story short, stress that persistently overwhelms the system can have lasting consequences on our emotional and physical health but I don’t think you needed us to tell you this. Most of us know this from lived experience.
How to Manage Toxic Stress
We’ve highlighted the peaks and the pits of stress, and that experiencing prolonged and toxic stress is something you ultimately want to avoid. It can be a bit of a balancing act trying to figure out how to make sure you have enough stress to function at your best, but not so much that you start to experience adverse outcomes.
So what can you do to manage toxic stress?
How we think about stress matters. It is a bit of a paradox, but if we think stress is entirely harmful, it can lead us to be stressed out about stress. So the first step you can take is recognize when you are experiencing healthy stress and embrace it as a tool to overcome the challenge. Lean into it and reframe it as an exciting opportunity versus something you should avoid.
Try to recognize when stress is becoming prolonged or toxic and take breaks to allow your body to get proper rest. This can include unplugging from technology or not checking your work email, using exercise to regulate stress and stress hormones, getting proper and restful sleep, and using relaxation skills and mindfulness. We know, easier said than done, but working on getting into good and healthy routines can have a really positive impact. We also know that it takes time and practice; so start small and work up to bigger changes.
Try to focus on what you can control and not staying fixated on things you can’t. We tend to be most at risk of toxic stress when we feel that we cannot influence the situation. Take a step back and ask yourself, “what CAN I do in this situation”, and do it. Even the small things can have big impacts if you let them.
The key message we want to drive home here is don’t avoid short term stress. It is here to help you reach your full potential and perform at your best. But pay attention to your body’s responses and what it’s trying to tell you; don’t get caught in overdrive for too long. Start working on those good and helpful routines, because an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Need Help Managing Stress?
If you’re noticing signs of toxic stress or simply want support in navigating life’s challenges more effectively, we’re here to help. Whether you're looking to better understand your stress response, develop healthier coping strategies, or just need a space to feel heard, we would love to support you on your journey to better mental health. Book a free consultation to learn more.
