Open Thread: In Coping with Stress
An open discussion on the stressors people deal with and how people manage them.
Following yesterday’s post on the dangers of chronic stress, I think it’s fitting to ask people how they tend to manage stress.
There’s a ton of different strategies out there to suggest how one deals with chronic stress. I’m sure there are tons of books on the matter as well.
Yale Medicine’s website notes some of these ways one can cope with stress:
For all intents and purposes, the recommendations here are generally things we should be doing anyways, such as exercising and eating good food. It’s probably a reminder that lack of these things may contribute to stress, or that during times of stress we may forego these essentials for things that just add to the continuous feelings of stress.
When it comes to exercise, I found this interesting comment in a review by Mariotti, A.1 which examined chronic stress from the brain/body paradigm:
An important discovery is that if on one hand chronic stress can cause immune dysfunctions, that is, impair a peripheral function, on the other hand proper stimulation of a peripheral tissue like skeletal muscles can relieve stress symptoms and protect the brain, possibly favoring recovery. This suggests that programs of physical exercise should be formally proposed as a preventive measure to people known to be exposed to intense stress (eg., work-related stress), and could be prescribed as a form of therapy in combination with other treatments to ease mood and cognitive deficits caused by chronic stress.
Because chronic stress engages the sympathetic nervous system, it may actually be intuitive to respond by engaging in exercise or other physical activities, almost as if to properly respond to the signals that the brain is sending to the body. It would be interesting if such a mechanism may provide a feedback loop to place the brain back into a state of homeostasis.
From what I’ve seen, I’m finding that many people may have lost of their interest in various avenues in recent years. For some, it seems as if they don’t have many things that provide for a cathartic experience such as hobbies anymore.
I’ve had some discussions with friends who lament having hobbies because “older generations” would tell them to earn money from it. I tend to find these comments rather ridiculous, especially if such ideas prevent one from doing something that they like. Sometimes it’s perfectly acceptable to do things you like without having to turn it into income or to make a big deal of sorts.
Given what COVID has done, and that it has limited the ability for each of us to engage with others and share hobbies or activities, it may be fruitful to revisit those things that would generally make us feel well.
If we contrast the notion that negative affect can be deleterious to the body, we may infer that positive affect and emotions may provide some benefit.
For example, take this excerpt from Brod, et al.2 which I referenced in yesterday and Thursday’s post:
Positive emotional states or emotional well-being (there is some debate in our laboratory as to whether any emotion could be categorized as singularly positive or negative) also have a distinct effect on the immune system. Research studying the effects of relaxing interventions on health has seen enormous growth in recent years (possibly because of the steep increase in recorded stress-related disorders). Seminal studies conducted by Gruzelier26,27 have shown that hypnosis and guided relaxation cause a significant modulation of the immune response, increasing the number of CD4-positive T cells while buffering the drop in natural killer (NK) and CD8 cells that occurred in human subjects experiencing stress or anxiety. T'ai chi ch'uan, an ancient Chinese martial art form that has recently come into vogue in western society has been subject to multiple studies investigating its psychological benefits and their effects on the immune system. When collated this research suggests that performing T'ai chi exercises leads to an improvement of both cell-mediated immunity and antibody response to infection.28–36 However, it should be noted that few studies have demonstrated a unified mechanism behind these improvements – instead focusing on specific players in the immune response such as circulating myeloid dendritic cells 28,37 or pro-inflammatory CD14+ CD16+ monocytes.38
Laughter has also been reported to have a surprisingly potent modulating effect on the immune system. Studies have shown that laughing therapy (in which at its most simple subjects are made to watch humorous films) up-regulates the expression of genes involved in the NK cell immune response, such as granzymes H and B, perforin, cathepsin and granulysin.39,40 Similar effects on NK cells have been described in further investigations where laughter was additionally shown to significantly decrease levels of circulating pro-inflammatory cytokines in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.41 It was further demonstrated that this therapy suppressed the heightened expression of growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor 1 that is often associated with the disease.42 In one of the first and more detailed studies on this subject, Berk et al. collected blood samples at regular time-points before and after a subject was exposed to a humorous video. Their results demonstrated that the potentiating effect of laughter on the immune system can last as long as 12 hr with increases in NK cell activity, immunoglobulin levels and functional phenotypic markers for multiple lymphocyte subsets.43 This persisting influence raises the question of the possible genomic effects of ‘happiness’, its molecular mechanisms of action and the possible therapeutic implications it may have. Of course this particular form of ‘mirthful laughter’ as Berk refers to it, is distinct from the laughter that can stem from emotions such as embarrassment and anxiety. It seems feasible that any immune response to this form of laughter may be distinct also.44
So maybe laughter is the best medicine.
However, to juxtapose this argument I remember reading a book (can’t recall which one) a few years ago about a woman dealing with breast cancer, in which she highlights how the “positivity/happiness movement” had a lot of pseudoscience attached to it.
I can’t recall much aside from the fact that the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) invested a lot of funding into such research without much return.
She also commented how, in many breast cancer survivor circles, many of the women had to put up a front of positivity even if their outlook wasn’t so great—some of these women just wanted to be angry but weren’t allowed to be if it dampened the mood of others, I suppose.
It’s a good reminder that one probably shouldn’t look to positive emotions and take a “fake it until you make it approach”.
It’s likely a good idea to find hobbies and avenues that actually do make one feel good, rather than provide a fake perception of positivity. Know that the research isn’t conclusive, but that still doesn’t mean that we should lack positivity in our daily lives.
There are several Substacks out there providing some posts on positivity and well-being.
Stephanie Brail is a good example. She has several posts on Yoga and Qigong (body-posture and movement techniques that encourage wellness). Several are for paid members, so consider supporting her work if you’re interested, along with her other posts.
There’s also this Substack from Dr. Sonya Lazarevic where she posts some medication exercises for those who are interested. I enjoy Dr. Lazarevic’s vignettes that are included with each post, and her ASMR-style voice certainly helps put one in a calming state of mind.
These are only a select few Substacks that I have seen. Of course, if anyone has any posts or Substacks they would like to shout out please do so!
Sometimes it’s good to have some self-reflection. Below, I’ll just ask a few questions relating to chronic stress and coping with it. They’ll be very broad, but hopefully they’ll provide for a source of introspection.
These are just a few comments I can think of right now. As always, the floor is open for people to discuss their stress and anger, including if from COVID or some other things people may be dealing with. Also, discuss ways in which one deals with stress and anger. Use this as a cathartic experience— we know plenty of people need it!
If you enjoyed this post and other works please consider supporting me through a paid Substack subscription or through my Ko-fi. Any bit helps, and it encourages independent creators and journalists outside the mainstream.
Mariotti A. (2015). The effects of chronic stress on health: new insights into the molecular mechanisms of brain-body communication. Future science OA, 1(3), FSO23. https://doi.org/10.4155/fso.15.21
Brod, S., Rattazzi, L., Piras, G., & D'Acquisto, F. (2014). 'As above, so below' examining the interplay between emotion and the immune system. Immunology, 143(3), 311–318. https://doi.org/10.1111/imm.12341
For undue stress, I identify the cause, decide whether it is within my ability to do something about it. If no, I accept it, and if yes, I take action to try to resolve it. I may not resolve it, but knowing I am trying my best helps relieve the stress. I may talk to others whose opinion I trust to get another opinion.
Doing other things may temporarily alleviate stress in the short term, but I would rather just address things that cause the most undue stress sooner than later.
Performing work before pleasure as a habit is helpful so long as breaks are taken as needed.
Thank you for your continuing thoughts on this important topic. It bears mentioning that while regular exercise, and even exercising in response to acute stressors, is helpful, exercise is in itself a stressor ( although it usually has hormetic effects) and therefore the intensity and frequency should be modulated depending on degree of chronic stress.