What is stress?
The dictionary tells us that stress is “A state of emotional or physical strain, or tension resulting from adverse or demanding circumstances”.
Stress is a reactive state and it’s important to understand it because ultimately it's the physical changes in our body which cause us harm. Our body cannot differentiate between types of stress, physical, emotional or even perceived; it will do the same thing it’s done for a millennium.
When we are put under strain physically or mentally, our body reacts.
Initially the body produces catecholamines, adrenaline and noradrenaline. This contributes to eustress or “good” stress, the type that allows us to function at our best. It’s our instinctive and natural way of coping and is not something we can control.
Continued stress produces cortisol which is the stress hormone. It allows the release of amino acids into the blood stream that allows the liver to synthesis the glucose released for energy. Blood sugar levels are now increased for your muscles and brain to respond to the perceived danger. At this time, other body tissues, such as the digestive system, reduce the amount of energy they use to help out.
Our chemical makeup hasn’t changed since we lived in caves. Our DNA is apparently a 99.7% match to tests done on Neanderthals. The difference is back then stressful circumstances included fighting off saber-tooth tigers, in other words we used the excess glucose pumped around our body to fight it off. If we don’t use the excess that’s been pumped around to help us respond, it can deposit in our vessels and cause heart disease.
The stress or “alarm" response stimulates what’s called the sympathetic nervous system; part of the autonomic nervous system. Its primary process is to stimulate the body’s fight or flight response and is constantly active at a basic level.
Resistance comes from the parasympathetic nervous system. The adaptive defence of the parasympathetic system tries to create balance, to counteract the alarm by initiating what’s called the “rest & digest, feed & breed” response.
So, you have the sympathetic nervous system trying to fight or flight and the parasympathetic nervous system trying to get you back to basics. While it might feel better initially, the body’s immunity is being compromised by this process.
This might be acute stress and will be uncomfortable. It could be caused by longer term work pressures, perhaps sitting exams or undergoing house renovations and it’s unlikely to cause permanent damage.
At the point the counteraction fails, the body has lost the battle to restore balance because of the persistence of the stress, then comes exhaustion. This is the signal that you are suffering chronic stress. When the body has tried to combat stress for an extended period, your physical state is undermined and there is a significant risk of it turning into a more serious physical and/or mental illness. There is no fixed time period but experts suggest this is likely to be persistent stress over a period of more than 6 months.
Understanding how you respond to stress is important. With practice, it is possible to control your perception of stress and in turn manage physical symptoms arising.
By law, every organisation must comply with The Health & Safety Act 1974, which means that unless you can provide evidence your staff are not impacted by stress at work, a stress risk assessment is necessary.
At work the six primary stress risk factors are:
Workload demands
Lack of support
Violence, bullying or threats
Change
Relationships
Control over role
Having a risk assessment gives you the insight to address issues that are not only contributing to absence, but also poor productivity.