In our fast-paced, stress-laden lives, the need for stress reduction is crucial to buffer from the damaging effects of chronic stress. The mindful path to stress resilience offers a way.
Stress comes in waves and can crash over us leaving us struggling just to keep our head above water and ourselves afloat. Through a mindfulness practice we learn to drop beneath the surface and to find the stillness within.
When we oversimplify an issue and underestimate the complexity of change, the psychological impact can be shame inducing, even damaging.
Let me begin by saying that this is NOT another 10 steps to de-stress kind of post. Those approaches oversimplify what is a layered and complex issue. They also tend to be behaviourally based. If you just do this, stress will abate. The message is clear, this is the problem (YOU) specifically what you are not doing, and this is what you need to DO to fix it. If that doesn't work, the problem is YOU. While behavioural changes and self-care measures can be helpful and part of the stress reduction process, they are often not enough. Moreover, they can leave people feeling more defeated. If they find themselves unable to action these steps or don't feel much better when they do, these advice laden "just do it" approaches can cause people to regress and can trigger shame. When we oversimplify an issue and underestimate the complexity of change, the psychological impact can be shame inducing, even damaging. "Shame corrodes the very part part of us that believes we are capable of change."~Brené Brown I have seen the devastating effects of this with clients whether they are trying to lose weight, reduce alcohol intake or work on mental health. They wind up feeling more defeated and are left in a pool of self-loathing and shame.
As health care professionals and as a society, it's crucial that we acknowledge the formidable stressors people face that make the change/stress reduction process more complex. Motivation to change does not directly correlate with success. Read that again. It's one ingredient but not the most important or effective. Simply put, it's not simple. Very often, life stressors, the kind that move us away from health, are rooted in inequality and trauma. The "social determinants of health", income, education, trauma, discrimination, social support, all impact our ability to buffer stress and to become stress resilient. The ACES study and Ted Talk by Nadine Burke-Harris highlights the research on this, particularly the link between childhood trauma and poor health later in life. I will address this in a future post. We need to distinguish between stress, what we feel, and stressors, the conditions/life circumstances they are rooted in. A bio-psycho-social model of health recognizes the intricate and complex relationship between all these factors and their impact on an individual's overall health. These formidable barriers to health need to be acknowledged and addressed in any stress management/stress reduction program. If this has been your experience, know that it's not your fault, it's not weakness or a character flaw and there is support available. Healing is possible, hope is essential, in addition to adequate support and resources. That being said, we don't have to resign ourselves to a life of stress and it's crucial that we don't. While we cannot control the stressors that come our way, through mindfulness, we can learn to become more resilient to them.
Not all stress is bad. In fact, some stress is good, even necessary.
While it's clear that too much stress is bad for us, stress is not our enemy. In fact, some types of stress boost our immune function while others suppress it. What is the key difference here between the type of stress that has a positive effect and that which can cause damage? The key as it turns out is TIME. The duration of the stress/stressor is a key determinant between stress that is health giving and that which is health compromising. There is abundant empirical evidence that short-term stress can and does boost the immune system. We are well equipped as human beings to manage and recover from stressors that are not prolonged. Think of an event that occurs during the day that causes stress initially but as you move through the day, it fades. A tough workout that is demanding in the moment can be adaptive long term, provided we have time to rest and recover. Cortisol, one of our stress hormones is a key player in this process. Too much cortisol means you can't sleep or focus, as well as a cascade of other ill effects. Too little cortisol and you feel tired and lack the energy to get through the day. Cortisol, among other stress hormones, rise when we face a stressor and ideally, soon after, return to baseline. Our bodies are intricately designed to maintain homeostasis or balance. When that delicate balance is disrupted we feel it and it's effects. Provided that the stressor is not prolonged, we recalibrate seamlessly and return to baseline.
When stress does not abate, as in the case of chronic stress, the effects are profound. In fact, cortisol directly impacts our central nervous system and overall mental health. "Fluctuations in cortisol secretion often accompany psychiatric disorders, and normalization of its levels correlates with improvement in the patient’s health." Dziurkowska & Wesolowski, 2021 (Journal of Clinical Medicine) Chronic stress, the kind that negatively impacts health, is stress that ensues for an extended period of time. It is this type of stress which suppresses our immune responses and can lead to illness and disease. It alters the production of our T cell activity, hindering the immune systems ability to function optimally and fight disease. This has a psychological and physiological impact on our mind-body. At this point, very likely we require much more than "10 steps to de-stress." We may need time off, we may need medical and social supports to kick in and it may take TIME to heal. Often, it's not steps that we need. Let's face it, that's just more to do at a time where we are already depleted. What we need is TIME.
If TIME was a key factor in creating the imbalance, then TIME may well be a key component of recovery.
TIME is a key healing agent and has a wisdom of its own. A mindfulness-based approach to stress reduction recognizes this. Mindfulness is not something to do but rather is the cultivation of a way to be and has the capacity to make us more stress resilient. A key pillar of mindfulness is acceptance. Acceptance allows us to see things as they are and to do what we need to move through them. Core to mindfulness is the belief that suffering comes from attachment or wanting things to be other than which they are. If the root of suffering is attachment, then the cessation of suffering, the way out is acceptance. Acceptance of our circumstances is not easy, but it is possible. Acceptance is a deep breath of peace in the middle of the storm. It's like finding the eye of the storm where somehow it's peaceful and you can shelter a while as it passes. Acceptance does not mean you like it but it does allow us to name our experience and there is great power in naming things. It allows us to detach giving us a measure of space from it. Space to breathe, to shelter and to just be. It doesn't mean you like the storm or that you wouldn't prefer it to be over, but it does offer you some space in it and a peaceful path through. We don't delay or postpone peace or attach it to a desired outcome. We seldom have control over that. We learn that right here, right now it's stormy and yet, peace is possible. Right here, right now. AND this may take TIME.
Brain imaging scans reveal the brains of regular meditators appear on average, 7 years younger.
Mindfulness, rooted in Buddhism, simply means to pay attention, in the present moment, without judgement. Jon Kabat-Zinn the 'father of mindfulness', runs mindfulness-based stress reduction clinics all over the world treating people with illness, chronic pain, anxiety and depression. The vast health benefits of a mindfulness practice are well documented and include improved cognition, better sleep, stronger immune function among many, many others. On brain imaging scans, the brains of regular meditators appear on average, 7 years younger. A mindfulness-based stress reduction practice includes but is not limited to a seated meditation practice. Mindfulness, at it core is about cultivating a mindset that can buffer from stress. A seated meditation practice assists greatly with this but gains can also be made by learning to:
1. Pay Attention
2. In The Present Moment
3. Without Judgement
None of this is easy, yet all of this possible and can be life changing. Each of these steps require practice, patience and guidance. What is so helpful and deeply respectful about a mindful approach to stress reduction, is that it does not deny the presence of the stressor nor does it blame you for it. It respectfully acknowledges it with compassion and without judgment. Mindfulness teaches us to "be with our experience", with acceptance, non-judgment and compassion. This has a wonderfully calming effect. Vital energy no longer being funneled to fix or change things, (if we cannot), can be preserved and redirected to healing. I often think of one my favourite Beatles songs. It removes the struggle and allows us to 'let it be'.
The goal of mindfulness is not to FEEL peaceful but it is often the byproduct. Mindfulness, at it's core is about cultivating a way of relating to yourself and your life circumstances in a kinder and more compassionate manner. This has the effect of easing our struggle and soothing our pain.
Step-based approaches often look for a way out when that may not be within reach, at this moment. They give us more to do when our resources may be at an all time low. When what we need most is not more "to do" but rather time "to be". Mindfulness offers a way through. It is a critical, compassionate shift in our mindset and in our way of being with and relating to ourselves in the storm. Victor Frankl, revered Austrian Psychiatrist, holocaust survivor and author of, 'A Man's Search For Meaning' observed;
"Between stimulus and response there is a space, and in that space lies our power to choose our response, and in our response lies our growth and our freedom." ~Victor Frankl
Through a regular meditation practice, we learn to "grow the space" even amid life circumstances we may feel powerless to change. We learn that our response is a choice. Therein lies our growth and our freedom. Although Frankl lost every family member to Nazi's and did not know if he would live, he realized that the one thing they could not control was his mindset, how he chose to view his circumstances. He made a decision backed by conscious, daily effort, to search for and notice kindness and beauty amid the darkest of circumstances. He found it. He found it in individuals that would sacrifice themselves for a family member or in a friend that would give their food away to help another that was suffering. It's a stark and beautifully poignant reminder that while we may not be able to control our life circumstances, we can influence and cultivate how we view and move through them. Mindfulness offers a way through. While we cannot control the stressors that come our way, through mindfulness, we learn to become more resilient to them. We can also draw inspiration from Frankl and choose to look for beauty and goodness around us even if we are facing difficult or painful things. I believe it's critical that we do. There is always good that comes from bad. If we look, we'll find it. It's there. If Frankl could find it, then so can we. Our pain and suffering is real and the collective angst in the world right now is palpable. Now, more than ever, we need to mindfully, deliberately search for and steep in the good.
The path to stress reduction, to better health-the way out, as esteemed poet Robert Frost suggested......is through. The way out is to move through our experience with acceptance, non-judgement and self-compassion in equal measure, Mindfulness offers a way to become more resilient to stress by facilitating a gentle, compassionate way through. Stress reduction and improved overall health is the evidenced-based outcome of a mindfulness practice. Looking to reduce stress? Need help growing the space or finding your way through? Struggling to search for or find the good? Reach out.
#mindfulness#stress-reduction#resilience#healing#health#hope
Healing is possible. Hope is essential. Help is available.
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