Wouldn’t it be great if we could just put all of our stressors into the bin and empty it forever? ⠀
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If you feel stress is impacting your day to day life, you’re not alone. ⠀
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A recent survey shows that 72% of the population reported stress to have had an impact on their physical health, and 64% reported stress to have impacted their mental health.⠀
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Stress is something that everybody processes and deals with differently. Some people can even develop stress and anxiety related disorders such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, other wise known as PTSD, in response to a major stressor which can impact them long after the initial stressor is removed. ⠀
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Stress resilience is one of the variables that influences how one responds in the face of stress. ⠀
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Stress resilience is determined by many factors including psychological, biological and epigenetic.⠀
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Positive psychological attributes include:⠀
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- The individual’s own perception of the situation including the level of threat they attribute to the event, and the assessment of their available resources required to cope with such stress⠀
- Their ability to cultivate social support⠀
- Having high self-esteem⠀
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Favourable biologic responses include ⠀
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- Lower Norepinephrine release⠀
- Lower Corticotropin releasing factor (CRF) levels⠀
- Lower Cortisol and higher Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) levels.⠀
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Epigenetics also plays a role, where stressful situations create changes in DNA expression, impacting the resilience capabilities of future offspring. Early life events are also recognised to impact DNA expression and stress resilience later in life.⠀
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It’s important to work with a practitioner that can work with you to devise a stress management program that supports you towards thriving over surviving. ⠀
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This means addressing the biological responses to stress by calming the nervous system, normalising the stress response in the body by supporting adrenal health and managing stress-related sleep issues. It’s also important to seek support from someone who can steer you towards psychological tools to better navigate your stressors.
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