Our world-wide stress levels have been on the rise for decades.
We know this to be true because -
- People are working longer hours
- There is more competition for jobs
- People are working around the globe and so there is always someone on your team who is awake
- Our phones are constantly pinging at us (either with work or some other notification)
- We are keeping ourselves chronically stressed by watching progressively more negative news and negative shows that rises our stress levels
We also know that more than 80% of US employees experience some sort of work-related stress. Drugs like Xanax which help with stress or sleep are on the rise, and people are turning to things like alcohol to also calm them down. With the stress levels rising and becoming chronic stress, the risk is that these chronic stress levels will lead to inflammation in the body. This inflammation can then lead to larger health problems such as irritable bowel syndrome, chronic fatigue, weight gain / loss, chronic brain fog, diabetes, and many more health conditions.
With this being the case, you’d think that as a society, we’d be more open to talking about stress and anxiety, but it is still a taboo subject. If one is “stressed out”, the common thought is “you’ll get over it” or “go shake it off”, or “just take some time off”. The problem is that, when your body is stuck in the constant “flight” / RUN AWAY mode, or even worse, in “freeze” / I CAN’T DO ANYTHING mode, then these recommendations really won’t do anything.
Fear drives us, or at least, it drives our stress and anxiety
“Fear is a state of your nervous system. It is up to you to then devise to let it guide you or let it hold you back.”
Kiki Bosch (freediver, breath teacher, healer)
When we are in place of fear, we cannot act rationally. Our brains switch off and go either into “fight / flight” mode or “freeze” mode. If you’d like to learn more about this — check out “polyvagal theory” by Stephen Porges.
Your body will not get out of this mode until it feels safe. We need to stop pretending that stress is a quick fix, or that stress/burn out is only…
