Stress GPS

Week 1 – Stress and the Body

Why Do People Get Stressed/Anxious?

There are evolutionary and scientific reasons for why we get stressed/anxious. You may have heard of the “Fight/Flight” response. If you were walking in the jungle and a tiger appeared, you would have a huge stress reaction in mind and body. Under threat, your sympathetic nervous system kicks in to prepare you to fight or flee (run away) – the so called “Fight/Flight” response. Adrenaline and noradrenaline are now pouring through your system; your digestion shuts down because your energy is more useful being used to save yourself; blood is diverted from hands, feet, and skin and gets pumped to your major muscle groups, especially the legs; your heart beats faster; your breathing speeds up increasing the oxygenation of your blood; your liver releases stored sugar into your bloodstream to give you more energy; you sweat more; your peripheral vision fades out as all your focus is on the threat factor, etc. Your body is now ready to fight or run away from the tiger.

The fight or flight response (in its original form) is about survival. It’s about hope. We activate it when we believe there’s a chance we can outrun or outfight our attackers. This response could be seen as an energy conservation device. It allowed our prehistoric ancestors to go through their day, using a modest amount of energy for mundane tasks while keeping a massive amount of energy, always on reserve, in case of emergency.

In extreme situations, the body has a third option, which is “freeze.” The freeze response works differently. When we’re overwhelmed by an attacker and we perceive that there is no hope of surviving we tend to freeze. Sometimes freezing can help us survive if we “play dead” and the attacker loses interest.

All of these responses are a natural built-in evolutionary reaction to perceived danger. However, though these are normal evolutionary responses, most situations that make us anxious nowadays are not as dangerous to our physical wellbeing. But often our brains don’t know this and that is why we have the stress/anxiety reactions that we do. By practicing some skills that respond to the body’s sympathetic nervous system reactions, we can learn ways to manage the symptoms that we have when we’re anxious.

Teaching note: We might think of this problem as society evolving faster than our brains. Our brains might go into the “Fight, Flight, Freeze” response to relatively mundane things because it’s trying to protect and save us. It has not had enough time to adjust to our fast-paced society to realize the threat it is perceiving is not as dangerous as a life-threatening event such as a tiger attacking us. It is important to have compassion for our brains and bodies as they are trying to do their job to keep us alive, even though it might be an “overreaction” to the perceived problem/stimulus.

Some Stress Response Symptoms

Here is a list of common physical, emotional, thought, and behavioral stress responses that one might experience during times of stress or when experiencing “Fight, Flight, Freeze”

Physical Responses

· Muscle aches

· ↑ Heart rate

· Weight Gain

· Weight Loss

· Constipation

· Muscle Twitching

· Low Energy

· Tight Chest

· Dizziness

· Stomach Cramps

· Insomnia

· Headache

· Nausea

· Dry Mouth

· Weakness

· Diarrhea

· Trembling

· Chills

· Sweating

· Choking Feeling

· Leg Cramps

· Hot Flashes

· Pounding Heart

· Chest Pain

· Numb or Tingling Hands/Feet

· ↑ Blood Pressure

· Dry Throat

· Face Flushing

· Feeling Faint

· Neck Pain

· ↑ Urination

· Light Headedness

Page 8 of 8

Emotional and Thought Responses

· Restlessness

· Agitation

· Worthlessness

· Depression

· Guilt

· Anger

· Nightmares

· Sensitivity

· Numbness

· Mood Swings

· ↓ Concentration

· Preoccupation

· Insecurity

· Anxiety - Stress

· Depression

· Hopelessness

· Defensiveness

· Racing Thoughts

· Intense Thinking

· Expecting the Worst

· Lack of Motivation

· Forgetfulness

· Rigidity

· Intolerance

Behavioral Responses

· Avoidance

· Neglect

· ↑ Smoking

· Poor Appearance

· ↑Spending

· ↓ Eating

· Nail Biting

· ↑ Talking

· Sexual Problems

· Fidgeting

· ↓ Exercise

· Aggressive Speaking

· ↑ Sleeping

· ↓ Relaxing activities

· Withdrawal

· ↑ Alcohol use

· ↑ Eating

· Arguing

· Poor Hygiene

· Seeking Reassurance

· Skin Picking

· ↑ Body checking

· Foot Tapping

· Rapid Walking

· Teeth Clenching

· Multitasking

· ↓ Fun activities

T. I. P. P Skills

Change your body chemistry. Reduce your stress/anxiety

Temperature

· Cold (hold ice cubes, splash cold water on face, lie down on cool tile/stone floors)

· Hot (hot shower, warm face cloth, drink hot beverage)

Intense Exercise

· Jumping jacks

· Running in place or down the hall

· Exercise at the gym

Progressive Muscle Relaxation (2 ways)

· Tense muscles slowly and then relax, from toes all the way up to the forehead and back down again

· Alternatively, you may be holding tension in your body already that you’re not aware off. Scan your body from toes all the way up to your forehead. When you notice you are holding tension in different parts of your body, try to relax that part before moving up or down to the next part

Hold

Paced Breathing

· Inhale for 4 seconds

· Hold for 2 seconds

· Exhale for 6 seconds

Exhale

Inhale

Hold

· Hold for 2 seconds

· Repeat 3-4 times

Teaching note: a common phrase or myth that people might hear is “it’s all in your head.” As you’ve read through this packet, you may have noticed that stress has a lot of physiological impacts on the body: increased heart rate, breathing, sweating or chilling, etc. What this means is that your body is responding to the stress or anxiety that you’re experiencing; this is called the stress response. These are measurable observable reactions to an emotional state, meaning it’s not fake or “all in your head” but a real thing that is really impacting you!

T. I. P. P. skills are a way for you change the chemistry of your body to activate the relaxation response, the response to bring the body back to pre-stress levels. So, if you are feeling hot, use cold to change that response, or vice versa. If you have increased energy, use it instead of letting it build inside of you. T. I. P. P. skills are great self-soothing skills to activate the relaxation response which will allow you to cope more effectively with whatever is bothering you.

Some Helpful Apps to consider:

Breath2Relax: stress management &

diaphragmatic breathing

T2 Mood Tracker: Monitor moods

Calm: Mediation and Sleep Stories

Headspace: Relax, sleep & manage stress

Liberate: Mediation for People of Color

Stress GPS

Week 1

Home Practice

1) Choose one T. I. P. P. skill to practice each day

a. Temperature

b. Intense Exercise

c. Progressive Muscle Relaxation

d. Paced Breathing

2) Use grid below to chart how these skills worked

Day

Stressful/Anxiety

Provoking Event

Stress/Anxiety Level Before Practice

(Scale 1-10)

T. I. P. P. Skill Practiced

(5+ minutes)

Stress/Anxiety Level After Practice

(Scale 1-10)

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

3) How did these techniques work? Pros/Cons? Will you use them again?

___________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Progressive Muscle Relaxation Script

Note: Progressive Muscle Relaxation or Body Scans go over each part of your body. You are an expert on your body; if there is a part of your body that is unsafe or uncomfortable, please skip over that part as you go through this script.

Progressive muscle relaxation is an exercise that relaxes your mind and body by progressively tensing and relaxing muscle groups throughout your entire body. You will tense each muscle group vigorously, but without straining, and then suddenly release the tension and feel the muscle relax. You will tense each muscle for about 5 seconds. If you have any pain or discomfort at any of the targeted muscle groups feel free to omit that step. Throughout this exercise you may visualize the muscles tensing and a wave of relaxation flowing over them as you release that tension. It is important that you keep breathing throughout the exercise. Now let’s begin.

Begin by finding a comfortable position either sitting or lying down in a location where you will not be interrupted.

Allow your attention to focus only on your body. If you begin to notice your mind wandering, bring it back to the muscle you are working on.

Take a deep breath through your abdomen, hold for a few second, and exhale slowly. Again, as you breathe notice your stomach rising and your lungs filling with air.

As you exhale, imagine the tension in your body being released and flowing out of your body. And again inhale…..and exhale. Feel your body already relaxing.

As you go through each step, remember to keep breathing.

Now let’s begin. Tighten the muscles in your forehead by raising your eyebrows as high as you can. Hold for about five seconds. And abruptly release feeling that tension fall away.

Pause for about 10 seconds.

Now smile widely, feeling your mouth and cheeks tense. Hold for about 5 seconds, and release, appreciating the softness in your face.

Pause for about 10 seconds.

Next, tighten your eye muscles by squinting your eyelids tightly shut. Hold for about 5 seconds, and release.

Pause for about 10 seconds.

Gently pull your head back as if to look at the ceiling. Hold for about 5 seconds, and release, feeling the tension melting away.

Pause for about 10 seconds.

Now feel the weight of your relaxed head and neck sink. Breath in…and out. In…and out. Let go of all the stress In…and out.

Now, tightly, but without straining, clench your fists and hold this position until I say stop. Hold for about 5 seconds, and release.

Pause for about 10 seconds.

Now, flex your biceps. Feel that buildup of tension. You may even visualize that muscle tightening. Hold for about 5 seconds, and release, enjoying that feeling of limpness. Breath in...and out.

Now tighten your triceps by extending your arms out and locking your elbows. Hold for about 5 seconds, and release.

Pause for about 10 seconds.

Now lift your shoulders up as if they could touch your ears. Hold for about 5 seconds, and quickly release, feeling their heaviness.

Pause for about 10 seconds.

Tense your upper back by pulling your shoulders back trying to make your shoulder blades touch. Hold for about 5 seconds, and release.

Pause for about 10 seconds.

Tighten your chest by taking a deep breath in, hold for about 5 seconds, and exhale, blowing out all the tension.

Now tighten the muscles in your stomach by sucking in. Hold for about 5 seconds, and release.

Pause for about 10 seconds.

Gently arch your lower back. Hold for about 5 seconds, relax.

Pause for about 10 seconds.

Feel the limpness in your upper body letting go of the tension and stress, hold for about 5 seconds, and relax.

Tighten your thighs by pressing your knees together, as if you were holding a penny between them. Hold for about 5 seconds…and release.

Pause for about 10 seconds.

Now flex your feet, pulling your toes towards you and feeling the tension in your calves. Hold for about 5 seconds, and relax, feel the weight of your legs sinking down.

Pause for about 10 seconds.

Curl your toes under tensing your feet. Hold for about 5 seconds, release.

Pause for about 10 seconds.

Now imagine a wave of relaxation slowly spreading through your body beginning at your head and going all the way down to your feet. Feel the weight of your relaxed body. Breathe in…and out…in…out….in…out.

And when you are ready, you may slowly open your eyes and return to this space as we bring this meditation to a close.

Adapted from The Anxiety & Phobia Workbook, by Edmund J. Bourne