You Can Beat Stress In Today's World - Here's How
Summary
TLDRThis video script delves into the evolutionary design of our stress system, meant for short-term life-or-death situations, and contrasts it with the chronic stressors of modern life. It explains how our bodies are not equipped to handle the long-term stress of everyday tasks like paying bills or job hunting. The script suggests a solution: engaging in vigorous physical exercise to activate the body's natural stress relief mechanisms, which can help break the cycle of avoidance and procrastination. By understanding and leveraging our stress system's built-in 'off switch,' viewers can better manage their stress and improve their overall well-being.
Takeaways
- π― The human stress system evolved for short-term, life-or-death situations, like encountering a predator in the wild.
- π‘ In modern society, we face chronic stressors that are not life-threatening, such as financial or relationship issues, which our stress system isn't optimized to handle.
- π The stress response involves the release of hormones like cortisol and adrenaline, preparing the body for immediate action, but in today's world, this response is often inappropriately activated.
- π Chronic stress can lead to a cycle of avoidance and procrastination, causing problems to accumulate and stress to intensify.
- π Vigorous exercise can help 'short circuit' the stress response by activating the body's natural mechanisms to reduce stress, such as the release of endorphins.
- π« Avoidance behaviors are often triggered by stress, but engaging in physical activity can reduce the desire for such behaviors and help focus on tasks.
- πͺ The harder and more intense the exercise, the more it can stress the body, leading to a greater release of endorphins and a stronger stress reduction effect.
- π§ Physical exertion can help 'turn off' the stress system by engaging the parasympathetic nervous system and reducing the production of stress hormones.
- π The natural stress response includes a built-in 'off switch' that is activated by physical activity, which is often missing in our modern, mentally stressful lives.
- π By understanding and utilizing the body's stress response mechanisms, individuals can better manage stress and improve their overall mental health.
Q & A
What is the original purpose of the human stress system?
-The human stress system was originally designed for short-term life or death situations, such as reacting to immediate threats like encountering a tiger in the jungle.
How do modern stressors differ from the stressors our stress system was designed for?
-Modern stressors are more chronic and long-term, such as financial worries or job searches, and are not the immediate, severe threats our stress system evolved to handle.
What happens in the body when we face a life or death situation like being chased by a tiger?
-In life or death situations, the body releases stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline, increases heart rate and blood pressure, and activates the fight or flight response.
How does the body naturally compensate for high stress situations?
-The body compensates for high stress through mechanisms like the carotid baroreceptors, which detect increased blood pressure and trigger a response to slow the heart rate and lower blood pressure.
Why doesn't our modern stress response trigger the same natural de-stressing mechanisms?
-Modern stress often lacks the physical component that would normally trigger the release of endorphins and the activation of the parasympathetic nervous system, which help to naturally de-stress the body.
What is the recommended exercise strategy to effectively shut off the stress system according to the script?
-The script suggests engaging in the most vigorous exercise one can tolerate for as short a time period as possible, similar to running as if being chased by a threat.
How does the intensity of exercise relate to the body's stress response?
-The greater the intensity of the exercise, the more the body has to compensate by releasing more endorphins and calming mechanisms once the stressor (exercise) ends.
What is the benefit of vigorous exercise in reducing stress according to the video?
-Vigorous exercise can help shut off the stress system by recruiting the endorphin system and parasympathetic nervous system, reducing cravings for distraction and avoidance.
How does completing a mental task affect the stress system differently than physical exercise?
-Completing a mental task provides relief but doesn't fully engage the body's stress-shutting mechanisms like endorphin release and parasympathetic activation, which is why we might still feel stressed afterward.
What is the role of endorphins in the stress response as described in the script?
-Endorphins play a crucial role in the body's natural stress-shutting mechanisms by helping to relax the body and reduce stress once a threat or stressor is removed.
Outlines
π Understanding Stress: Origins and Modern Misuse
The paragraph explains the evolutionary purpose of the stress system, which is designed to handle short-term, life-or-death situations as seen in the animal kingdom. It contrasts this with the chronic, long-term stressors faced in modern society, such as financial and relationship worries, which are not suited to the body's stress response. The stress system, meant for immediate threats like encountering a tiger, is inappropriately activated by everyday tasks, leading to a cycle of stress without the physical exertion that would normally trigger the body's natural stress relief mechanisms. The speaker introduces the concept of 'short circuiting' this cycle through understanding and managing stress.
πββοΈ Physical Exercise as a Stress Antidote
This paragraph delves into how physical activity can mimic the body's natural stress relief response. It discusses the role of endorphins and the parasympathetic nervous system in reducing stress after intense physical exertion, which is a contrast to the lack of such relief in response to chronic stress. The speaker suggests that engaging in vigorous exercise, even for a short duration, can effectively 'trick' the body into activating its stress relief systems, leading to a decrease in stress hormones and avoidance behaviors. The paragraph emphasizes the importance of high-intensity, short-duration exercise for stress management and how it can improve focus and productivity in tackling the sources of stress.
Mindmap
Keywords
π‘Stress System
π‘Life or Death Situations
π‘Chronic Stress
π‘Avoidance Behaviors
π‘Endorphins
π‘Parasympathetic Nervous System
π‘Cortisol
π‘Carotid Baroreceptors
π‘Exercise
π‘CRF (Corticotropin-Releasing Factor)
Highlights
Stress is designed for life or death situations, not for everyday tasks like opening emails.
Our stress system evolved for short-term, immediate threats, like facing a tiger in the jungle.
Modern stress is often chronic and long-term, unlike the short-term stress our bodies are designed for.
The stress response in today's world is often inappropriately activated due to a lack of physical threats.
Avoidance behaviors are common when we feel overwhelmed by stress, but they don't solve the underlying problems.
The body has a natural mechanism to compensate and reduce stress through physical activity and the release of endorphins.
Carotid baroreceptors in the neck play a crucial role in detecting blood pressure changes and triggering a stress response.
In the natural world, stress is followed by physical activity that helps to shut off the stress system.
Vigorous exercise can be an effective way to trigger the body's stress-shutting mechanisms.
Exercising at 90-100% of your capacity can significantly reduce stress by activating the body's compensatory mechanisms.
People who are not in shape can experience greater stress reduction from vigorous exercise than those who are regularly active.
Shutting off the stress system reduces cravings for avoidance and distraction, making it easier to tackle stress-inducing tasks.
Completing a mental task can provide temporary relief but doesn't fully engage the body's stress-shutting mechanisms.
To master stress, one must engage the stress system in a way that activates its built-in off switch.
The stress system is designed for physical survival, and understanding this can help us manage stress more effectively.
The video offers practical advice on how to use exercise to manage stress and improve mental health.
Transcripts
today we're going to show you how to
teach your body that stress is designed
for life or death situations and not
doing simple stuff like opening emails
[Music]
so let's start by understanding what our
stress system was designed for so if you
look at the animal kingdom through which
we evolve like our stress system is
designed for short term life or death
situations so if we're like human beings
in a jungle and we see a tiger that's
what our stress system is designed for
you can look at things like deer or
Impala or even mice or snakes and all of
these organisms have stress systems and
they're designed for sort of immediate
and severe threats the problem if you
call it a problem it's kind of not
really a problem right I think it's a
win for the human race most of the time
in society today we're not faced with
life or death situations right like
we're not we're pretty secure like we've
got a place to sleep hopefully we have
food and stuff like that and so what we
tend to see is that our stress system is
inappropriately activated the kinds of
stress that we deal with today are more
long-term so on the first of the month
I'm already thinking about how am I
going to pay my rent at the end of the
month how am I going to find a job how
am I going to find a partner what's
going to happen with climate change
what's going to happen with inflation so
the stressors that we face today are
more chronic and long-term and the
problem is that our body has one system
to deal with stress and that system is
designed for short-term stress so in a
weird way our body inappropriately
activates our stress system to deal with
these problems and this creates an even
bigger issue so if you're stressed out
you're probably sort of in this cycle of
like okay I'm feeling stressed I'm
feeling overwhelmed let me engage in
avoidance behaviors to make the stress
go away so I'm going to distract myself
or things like that and then as I
distract myself and engage in avoidance
the problems that are causing me stress
don't actually go away and so as those
problems build up and build up and build
up I start to feel even more overwhelmed
and more stressed out and so the
problems tend to pile up and then
eventually you cross this very important
threshold where your stress
outweighs your feeling of overwhelming
and then like at the last second you
procrastinate to the last minute and
then in a burst of stress driven
activity you do something about your
problem if you're ready to take the next
step on your mental health Journey check
out Dr K's guide it's an immersive
resource that distills over 20 years of
my experience laid out in a way that is
tailored to your needs so if you're
ready to better understand your mind and
take control of it check out the link in
the description below but your
performance in that point isn't very
good right you're kind of exhausted
you're sort of stressed out you're doing
everything all at once everything is
rushed and then you end up kind of doing
a crappy job anyway and then you beat
yourself up and then the cycle just
repeats itself so today we're going to
teach y'all how to Short Circuit that
entire process how to really understand
how stress works so that you can
optimally solve your problems so let's
start by understanding how our body
keeps stress in check so normally let's
say I'm walking through the jungle and I
see a tiger I start to run there's a
burst of crh and then ACTH and then that
leads to cortisol adrenaline gets
activated as all these systems get
activated I also have a physical
component so since I'm running my heart
starts beating really fast my blood
pressure increases and then something
really really interesting happens as all
of these things activate and I start
running away what I actually my body
detects all of these things so there are
these things called your carotid
baroreceptors which are blood pressure
sensors in your neck and this is kind of
interesting you know in like in movies
and stuff when there's like a ninja and
they like choke someone out they're not
actually cutting off their oxygen flow
what they're actually doing is squeezing
on both sides of your carotid Barrel
receptors and this is what's really
interesting when they squeeze on both
sides of the Carotid Barrel receptors
our body thinks oh my God the blood
pressure is way too high our blood
pressure is huge right because you're
squeezing on those parts so it increases
the pressure and as we increase the
pressure there it actually causes our
heart rate to slow down and our blood
pressure to drop which causes people to
pass out in the movies but if we sort of
stop and think about that what we
actually discover is this is the natural
way that our body compensates with a
high stress situation when our blood
pressure goes up and our heart rate goes
up our body recruits other things to
slow our heart rate down to decrease our
blood pressure and to stop the
production of cortisol now the problem
in today's world is that when we feel
stressed out there is not that physical
component right so we get cortisol
release but we don't actually increase
our heart rate we don't increase our
blood pressure we don't start
hyperventilating because we're not
physically running away from it
everything the other thing that happens
when we physically run away from things
is that we release endorphins and
endorphins will help us literally relax
so basically what happens in the natural
world and through millions of years of
evolution is any time my body gets
stressed it automatically starts Parts
the circuitry to de-stress endorphins
parasympathetic nervous system
activation and you'll kind of understand
this if you go for a very brisk run like
if you exercise a lot what does your
body want to do afterward it wants to do
absolutely nothing I'm going to sit down
I need to relax you don't feel like
doing anything you're not even mentally
stressed you're just kind of vegging out
and so this is the really interesting
thing our stress system today does not
recruit any of those things because we
feel this chronic stress with no
homeostatic activation there's no
balancing of the stress response in
today's world so interestingly enough if
we want to actually de-stress what we
need to do is recruit those systems so
if you're feeling super stressed out
about something what you need to do is
the most vigorous exercise you can do
for as short of a time period is you can
kind of tolerate so we're not talking
about 20 minutes a day we're not talking
about wake up every day and exercise
what we're talking about is literally if
you are feeling stressed out try to run
as if something a monster is chasing you
and your life depends on it run as hard
as you can for a short of a time period
as you can like you don't have to run
for a long time you could literally do a
dead ass Sprint for like 90 seconds and
if you you feel absolutely exhausted and
you can't run 91 seconds then you're
doing it right now this is the really
interesting thing a lot of people may
say does this mean that I need to
exercise no so this is what's really
cool so if you run it 50 of Your
Capacity you do not shut off your stress
system if you run it 70 of Your Capacity
you shut off your stress system more if
you run it 90 or 100 of your capacity
that recruits the greatest shut off of
your stress system so think about it
very simply right so the more the harder
you exercise and the more difficult your
exercise is the more that it stresses
your body the more that it stresses your
body the more that your body has to
compensate as soon as the stress ends to
even release more and more endorphins
and calm you down even more so the
beautiful thing about this technique is
that if you are not in shape if you are
not used to exercising you will actually
get a greater stress reduction than some
someone who is in shape and the really
cool thing about that is that once we
shut off our stress system then
something beautiful happens once we're
no longer stressed out and our CRA a CRF
level drops then you will stop engaging
in avoidance behaviors your cravings for
avoidance will literally go shut down or
decrease because our body is using
endorphins to shut off CRF production
once we shut off CRF production our
desire for Cravings distraction and
avoidance actually decreases which then
allows you makes it more easier to
actually do the task that is stressing
you out in the first place so if you're
in a situation where the thought of
opening up your email triggers a stress
response or sending a message to someone
or needing to cancel social plans if
you're stressed out about that engage in
as vigorous exercises you can for as
long as you can it doesn't have to be
long and then you'll start to slow down
you'll start to stop avoiding things and
and then you'll actually be able to
focus on the task at hand and do
something about it and the Beautiful
Thing is as you do things about it your
overall Global stress will start to get
better because you have fewer things to
be stressed out about so the problem in
today's society is that our stress
system gets inappropriately activated by
mental tasks but our stress system is
actually designed for physical survival
and the beautiful thing is that the
stress system has a built-in off switch
the problem is the stresses that we feel
deal with today don't actually shut off
the off switch even if you think about
completing the task what does that do to
your stress level it's sort of a relief
but you don't actually feel fully
relaxed afterward and why is that it's
because when you complete the mental
task you're not recruiting the endorphin
system you're not recruiting your
parasympathetic nervous system you're
not actually shutting off CRF production
so as soon as we're done with our task
what do we go back into we give in the
Cravings so if you want to master your
stress in today's society you've got to
recruit your stress system in the right
way so hopefully this is helpful give
this a shot and kind of let us know does
this work for you not work for you we'd
love to hear from you so go ahead and
comment like or subscribe
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