Stress plays a major role in our society. Everyone experiences it from time to time, but few people truly understand how stress works. Six steps can be identified:
Step 1: A stressor from the outside appears or comes closer — for example, a tiger or a deadline.
Step 2: The body determines that there is danger and activates the stress response.
Step 3: Physical response: increased heart rate, faster breathing, and the release of stress hormones. Some bodily processes, such as digestion, are put on pause. The body prepares to freeze (play dead for the tiger), fight, or flee.
Step 4: Thoughts about the stress arise — you become aware that something is happening and begin to think rationally about it. This step also includes the emotional response.
Step 5: Coping with the stress. In the case of the tiger, this means the threat must be immediately removed. But for psychological stressors in the modern world, there are both healthy and unhealthy coping strategies. Examples of healthy strategies include mindfulness and moderate exercise. Unhealthy strategies include seeking distraction through TV, your phone, or alcohol.
Step 6: If healthy strategies are used, this signals to the body that the threat is over. The stress ends, and all processes that were on “pause” resume.
Steps 1 through 4 are largely involuntary or difficult to influence. It is important to properly go through steps 5 and 6. If this doesn’t happen, stress will not be properly resolved and may become chronic. The body will start to interpret all sorts of normal stressors as threats, making the stress worse over time.