In this post, you’ll learn

• how stress causes changes in your brain, your body, and your perspective
• why these changes can cause adverse effects on your health, relationships, and ability to achieve.

Stress starts with something called the stress response, aka fight or flight, which is the body’s way of keeping us safe when our brain senses a threat.

Since the brain does not distinguish between a real or perceived threat, the stress response often gets triggered when it will do more harm than good.

An example: an argument with a spouse can cause the same stress response as being confronted by an angry bear.

You most certainly need the stress response to survive the very real bear threat but it’s counterproductive and potentially harmful when triggered by an argument.

Regardless of whether the threat is real or perceived, when the stress response gets triggered, it instantaneously switches our brain, body, and perspective into survival mode.

Stress affects our Brain and Diminishes our Ability to Achieve

When our stress response gets triggered, our brain switches from executive functioning mode to survival mode which immediately diminishes our ability to achieve our goals.

Executive Functioning Mode is responsible for our long-term success.

Executive Functioning mode provides the skills needed to reason, plan, problem-solve, organize, strategize, pay attention to and remember details.

It helps us focus, exercise discipline and self-control, be flexible, modulate emotional responses, relate well with others, and initiate tasks or activities.  It helps us think clearly and make fruitful plans for our future.

As you can imagine, the capabilities provided by the executive functioning mode are necessary to forward our long-term goals with our health, relationships, and achievement.

Survival Mode is responsible for our immediate survival.

Survival mode provides the skills needed to survive life-threatening situations by enabling us to act fast without thinking.

The brain switches out of executive functioning mode since it’s not considered necessary when facing a threat.  We don’t need to think (executive functioning mode) we need to act fast (survival mode).

The sense of urgency that accompanies the survival mode can save us in dangerous situations. Unfortunately, the same sense of urgency usually has detrimental results when triggered in everyday life.

This switch from executive functioning mode to survival mode explains why we can’t relax, think clearly or function at our best when we are stressed.  Our brain is not trying to think clearly, it’s urging us to act fast so that we can survive the immediate threat.

In a nutshell…

• The stress response switches us out of executive functioning mode, reducing our ability to focus, reason, plan, problem-solve, organize, strategize, exercise self-control, be flexible and modulate emotional responses.

The stress response switches us into survival mode, creating a sense of urgency that can cause us to make rash decisions or act on impulse.

Stress affects our Body and can take a Toll on our Health

When the stress response gets triggered, not only does the brain switch from executive functioning mode to survival mode, the nervous system switches from the “rest & digest” parasympathetic nervous system to the “survival” sympathetic nervous system which can take a toll on our health.

The “rest & digest” nervous system is responsible for our long-term health.

It’s the part of the nervous system that supports our immune system, helps us relax and digest our food.  It slows the heart rate, dilates blood vessels, decreases pupil size, increases digestive juices, and relaxes muscles in the gastrointestinal tract.

The “survival” nervous system is responsible for our immediate survival of a perceived threat.

Among other things, it floods our body with adrenaline and other hormones to speed up our heart.  It directs additional blood to our muscles to help us run or fight.  And, it slows down our non-critical processes… such as our immune system and digestive system, neither of which are critical to surviving an immediate threat.

Everything generated by the survival nervous system is crucial if we need to run or fight for our lives, but when stress is persistent in response to everyday stressors, it can be counterproductive to our health and well-being.

According to WebMD:

• 43% of all adults suffer adverse health effects from stress.
• 75% – 90% of all doctor’s visits are for stress-related ailments and complaints.
• Stress can play a part in problems such as headaches, high blood pressure, heart problems, diabetes, skin conditions, asthma, arthritis, depression, anxiety, etc.

Stress affects our Perspective and Can Create Conflict in our Relationships

When the brain switches from executive functioning mode to survival mode, it also switches our perspective from executive functioning perspective to the survival’s “exaggerated threat perspective” which is why stress can create conflict in our relationships.

Our executive functioning perspective is responsible for our long-term success.

It enables us to be engaged, energized, playful, orderly, connected, capable, inspired, kind, efficient, flowing, clear-headed, and at peace.

The feelings available in executive functioning perspective include serenity, gratitude, joy, interest, hope, pride, amusement, inspiration, awe, and love.

The executive functioning perspective gives us the ability to be flexible, modulate emotional responses, and relate well with others.  All of which are critical to building strong, healthy relationships.

The survival’s exaggerated threat perspective is responsible for immediate survival of a perceived threat, which is crucial when we are facing a life-threatening situation.

Unfortunately, it can damage our relationships when triggered in everyday life.

When the stress response triggers the threat perspective, we’re likely to be tense and pessimistic with underlying urges to either argue and fight or run and hide.  We’re less able to regulate our emotions and inhibit our impulses.  We’re more likely to be confused, disorganized, discouraged, harsh, agitated, obsessive or exhausted.

Feelings that accompany the threat perspective include fear, anger, sadness, insecurity, feeling isolated, humiliated, worthless, frustrated, resentful, paralyzed or vulnerable.

These urges and negative feelings are a key factor in our ability to survive a life-threatening situation.  Unfortunately, those same urges and negative feelings can damage our relationships when triggered in everyday life.

In a nutshell…stress creates conflict in our relationships because

• The survival’s exaggerated threat perspective causes underlying urges to argue and fight or
  run and hide.
• When in an exaggerated threat perspective, we are less able to be cooperative, respectful, compassionate, collaborative or relate well with others.
• Exaggerated threat perspective makes it difficult to resolve issues and unresolved issues can damage even the best of relationships.

Summary

Our survival instincts trigger the stress response anytime our brain perceives a threat.  This stress response…

• makes it difficult to think clearly
• slows down digestion and immune function
• floods our bodies with adrenaline and other stress hormones
• shifts our perspective so that we feel as though we need to run or fight for our lives

All these things are detrimental to our health, create problems in our relationships, and hinder our ability to achieve our goals.