Defining stress

Before I continue discussing about the dangers of stress and how to avoid them I would like to define what stress actually is.

Every living organism is constantly trying to achieve a state of existence that requires the least amount of energy to sustain it’s core functions (feeding, hydration, procreation etc). This is called homeostasis.

What that homeostasis is in any given moment is defined by stressors. When you subject a living organism to a stressor, it will react by adapting to reach homeostasis. So stress can be defined as an organisms reaction to an outside stressor that demands change on homeostasis  such as environmental conditions.

Good example of this is how physical exercise (a stressor) builds our bodies stronger to cope with the new demands. This – as you probably know – has many beneficial side effects that increase life quality and longevity.

The stress (eg. exercise) becomes a problem only when we exceed the capacity to recover and adapt which would mean overtraining in the case of exercise. This same pattern applies to pretty much universally in all areas of life. To reach any kind of progress – be it social, economic, emotional or physical – you will have to come out of your comfort zone, which is stressful.

The key is moderation: Do too much and you will burn and crash. Do nothing and you will become weak and susceptible to any stress. So in a way not having any stress in your life is a stressor itself – it makes you weak. Acute stress in reasonable amounts is a good thing but once the stress becomes chronic you can kiss your health goodbye.

So the tricky part is recognizing when you are in the safe zone and when you need to back off and rest. The biggest problem in applying this to reality is that our bodies simply cannot recognize between different kinds of stress very well so their effects are cumulative.

That’s why you need to be careful at recognizing different stressors in your life and allocate your resources accordingly. So if you´re planning to simultaneously take another job, have kids and build a house all while being on a strict diet to lose weight – please think again.

When you are chronically stressed your body and mind are not in homeostasis and you need to reduce outside stressors and give yourself time to adapt. This will make you stronger and more tolerant to stress. Of course there has to be a limit to what we can adapt to but people have accomplished some pretty freaking amazing things through incremental training with time and determination. And so can you – you just have to take the time and recognize your  limits and give yourself the time to adapt.