Whether we admit it or not, we are all stressed. It could be from mental fatigue, physical exertion, or emotional drama. Whatever the reason, stress has an affect on the body, on the mind, and on the heart. In some cases, stress can save our life, get us back on the right path, or even prepare us to be successful in life's crazy events. However, stress can also be dangerous. With too much stress, we can expose ourselves to the negative effects of anxiety - high blood pressure, restless sleep patterns, depression, irritability, etc. Therefore, overexposure to stress will ultimately lead to sickness, disease, and an overall lower quality of daily life. So, let me pose this question - how stressed are you?
As strength and conditioning coaches, we all deal with certain levels of stress. Long hours, hectic travel schedules, losing seasons, winning seasons, spoiled athletes, pleasing our coaches, work/life balance, does any of this sound familiar? For many of you, I am sure it hits close to home. We are supposed to be "strong" coaches, the epitome of mental toughness, the ones who never show weakness, however we all have our own issues. How we handle those "issues" or that stress, is how we are going to be successful as coaches as well as better leaders for our athletes and peers.
Through the previous introduction, you can hopefully foreshadow that this blog has to do with stress and the cumulative affects it has on the body and mind. Currently, the four contributors of this blog are reading "Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers" by Robert Zapolsky. Each week we have agreed to read one chapter and then share and discuss our thoughts and findings. Through this blog and through our reading, we will propose strategies to help balance the stress in our daily lives. Also, we want to challenge other coaches to read along with us, comment on the blog, and provoke discussions that will benefit all of us in the strength and conditioning community.
Within chapter one, Zapolsky provided an insightful overview of the stress-response and how it affects our body - on an acute level and on a long term level. In the following section, I will discuss the highlights of chapter one, and pose a few questions to brainstorm over and discuss.
- Our knowledge of the body and its physiological components as well as our advances in medicine have given way to an entire new array of potential harmful diseases: stress-related illnesses. Rather than worry about malaria, tuberculosis, etc.; we now worry about anxiety, depression, and psychological disorders.
- Certain types of stress promote a response: acute physical crisis (think - zebra getting chased by a lion), chronic physical challenges (think - a plague of locusts descending on crops), and psychological/social disruptions (think - the frustration of an athlete being late to workouts).
- When we worry or stress, we turn on the same response a zebra does when being chased by a lion. Do this chronically, and we are setting ourselves up for a potential psychological and physical disaster.
- Homeostasis vs. Allostasis: there is no one ultimate and perfect level that one can reach because what is ideal in basal conditions, will not be ideal in stressful conditions. Instead, allostasis looks to make body-wide changes in anticipation of an event rather than change one component.
- A stressor is anything that knocks you out of allostatic balance or the ANTICIPATION of knocking you out of that same balance.
- Hallmarks of the stress-response include: increased heart rate, high blood pressure, increased breathing rate and rapid mobilization of energy in preparation of the upcoming event. In addition, inhibited digestion, curtailment of growth and tissue repair, lowered immune system, decrease in overall sex drive, and blunted pain perception represent stress-response trademarks as well.
- Fight or Flight - all of these previous symbols of stress help you "fight" if called upon, but in reality - the stress-response becomes more damaging than the stressor itself.
Questions:
1. What things in your life qualify as stressors?
2. Do you find yourself anticipating stress more than actually being stressed?
3. How often do you succumb to the stress response?
4. What are ways in which you combat the stress response (i.e. hobbies, travel, etc.)
5. What is your definition of allostasis?
I hope this review as well the questions posed above promote some interesting discussion, and in turn help us all become more pro-active in how we handle stress - perhaps not avoiding it altogether, but understanding its role on our physiological and psychological state and finding ways to combat its negative affects.
Helping to prevent ulcers - one coach at a time,
Callye
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