Think Inside the Box During Stress Awareness Month

Some stress is completely normal. It’s the “fight-or-flight” response to something worrying or threatening. Your body’s nervous system kicks in with perhaps a more rapid heartbeat, faster breathing and a razor-sharp focus on what’s bothering you.

As we learn during Stress Awareness Month (April), stress becomes a problem when it goes on for weeks or months. This is often the case when stress is related to major problems like marital issues or financial shortfalls. That’s when being stressed out can interfere with sleep, disrupt digestion and trigger headaches. 

“When stress is long-term – what we call chronic – your body becomes flooded with cortisol, a hormone released by your adrenal glands when you are stressed,” says Rory Marraccini, MD, Interim Chair, Department of Psychiatry, at Lehigh Valley Health Network. “This causes real wear and tear on your body, which can produce a range of physical, psychological and behavioral symptoms.”

These are just some of the symptoms you may experience if you’re under stress for any length of time.

• Jaw clenching or muscle tightness
• Stomach or digestive problems
• Weakened immune system
• Racing heart, headaches or dizziness
• Trouble sleeping and exhaustion
• High blood pressure
• Anxiety or depression
• Alcohol, drug or gambling abuse
• Overeating
• Smoking

It’s not easy to quickly resolve the reasons behind your stress. Plus, you will never eliminate sources of stress. Therefore, the best way to keep stress from affecting your health is to manage it with a variety of tools and techniques. Stress Awareness Month is a good time to consider how you can adopt them.  

“Relaxation techniques have been shown to have a significant effect on stress. It’s especially true when you practice those that slow your breathing,” Dr. Marraccini says. “Slowing down the breath allows CO2 to build up in your blood. This stimulates the response of the vagus nerve, the one that carries sensory fibers, producing a feeling of calmness throughout the body.”

One of those techniques is “box breathing.” It’s so easy, you can do it anywhere, anytime you feel that the stress levels are rising in your body. Picture four lines forming a box and a dot slowly moving around the four sides. As the dot travels along each side of the box, do this:

1. Breathe in for four seconds (side 1).
2. Hold your breath, keeping the lungs full for four seconds (side 2).
3. Breathe out for four seconds (side 3).
4. Hold your breath, keeping the lungs empty for four seconds (side 4).
5. Repeat the exercise as many times as needed.

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Other stress-taming techniques to commit to during Stress Awareness Month include taking care of your health, since you can manage stress better when you are fit and eating and sleeping well. Learn to say “no” when asked to do things that will make you feel overwhelmed. Try to be grateful for what you have; a positive attitude goes a long way to ward off stress. And finally, stay connected to others who are positive and help you feel calm and connected.

“Additionally, a lot of stress can come from wanting to be able to control things, then feeling anxious when you cannot,” Dr. Marraccini says. “Accept that there is a lot you cannot control. Work on letting go of worrying about situations you just cannot change.”