De-Stressing and Why it's Important

Stress. According to Google, stress is “A state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or very demanding circumstances.” It is no longer simply adverse or very demanding circumstances; it feels like all circumstances lead to some sort of stress. 

This singular feeling has become a core part of today’s society. These days, everywhere you go, someone is stressed about something.

Sometimes, I think to myself, “Why is stress so prevalent in our society?” My conclusion is that it has to do with how society pressures us to have a certain type of life: you can’t just be happy, you also have an elite social life, an incredible career, and an artificially joyful family. WOW! What else is there? shaking my head

As we strive to meet these expectations, we often find ourselves stressed at the thought of not meeting our goals; this stress can manifest from even “smaller” goals, such as a test score or a friendship. 

But did you know that stress is bad for you? Who am I kidding, we all know that! But let me explain why chronic stress is so detrimental to your health. First off, a little of bit of stress here and there is okay! It is a sign that you’re body is protecting itself and as long as the period of stress concludes once the stressor is removed, everything is okay!

The issue is with chronic stress. Chronic stress results when a stressor persists continuously and the individual is unable to cope. For example, someone who aspires to be admitted into graduate school may be always stressed because of a lack of faith in their test scores. This prolonged stress is bad!

During prolonged stress, a hormone called cortisol courses through your body. In periods of short stress, cortisol helps you adapt to the situation by prioritizing which body systems get energy; in particular, cortisol suppresses the immune system because you’re typically not fighting an infection when faced with an external stressor. 

In the long term, cortisol damages your immune system (and other systems) by suppressing its functions during the entire stress period. This means your body is more vulnerable to all diseases in that particular period of stress and in the future. 

Big idea: short-term stress = good, long-term stress = bad, de-stressing mechanisms = necessary. 

This is why learning to de-stress is crucial! You need to be able to de-stress from those long-term stressors! There are many ways to de-stress and they all depend on who you are and what you enjoy.

Personally, I de-stress through these activities:

1. Cardio workouts: I like to run on the treadmill with walking breaks while watching a Netflix show.

2. Reading: I like to read fantasy books with romance to escape my reality for a moment!

3. Creative: I like to get creative with my organizational materials. For example, I’ll color code for Google Calendar.

There are many ways to de-stress and it is up to you to find what works best for you! De-stressing is a life skill so please invest some quality time to put yourself first. Trust me, you’ll thank yourself for it :)

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Finding your favorite ways to de-stress can be fun! Enjoy this process and say ❌ to long-term cortisol <3

All my best,

N