Managing Modern Stress
Cortisol, escape hatches, and resources.
Yesterday, I listened to the news, like I do most days, and I heard something disturbing. Yes, I’ve been hearing disturbing things for months and years now, but this was one of those “straw that broke the camel’s back” kind of things. I felt volcanic rage, immense sadness, and hopelessness all at once.
Sure, all of this is happening in my mind. I’m observing and perceiving and taking it all in—but let’s talk about what’s happening in my body.
Cortisol hits my bloodstream. Blood flows to my arms and legs. Metabolism slows. My prefrontal cortex becomes overwhelmed by my limbic system and feelings start to bully the reasoning faculties in my brain.
Thinking stopped and I wanted to hit something.
This is all pretty normal. There was no snake or lion or threat to my own life. Yet, I experienced all those biological impacts anyway. Classic modern human.
The trouble isn’t that I had this experience. It’s normal. The trouble is what happens next.
How can I disconnect from the anger and rage so that I can get my higher-level thinking back?
How can I reduce my cortisol level so that my physiology can return to stasis?
It doesn’t matter if you need to go for a run, watch a 10 minute YouTube clip, or just sit in time out to breathe slowly for a bit, you just need to have some escape hatches in your behavioral toolkit.
And yes, breathing slowly can absolutely reduce your heart rate. “Take a deep breath” is fantastic advice.
Once you’re back to feeling like yourself, it’s much easier to re-approach the issue with a clear head.
This is mandatory in today’s world.
Here are a few resources that explain this concept and provide some strategies:
I hope you find these useful in this insane world in which we live.