Lockdown: Curbing Stress & Anxiety
Where to start. We are 8 weeks in, how are you feeling? Genuine question, feel free to reply, sound off, have a moan or simply to chat. Being in lockdown for many of us can exacerbate difficult feelings we may struggle with anyway and for others it’s possibly bringing up feelings of stress and anxiety that we are not used to. Maybe some of us are enjoying this enforced slowing down. Whichever bracket we fall into these feelings are to be expected and we are not alone. We are truly in this as a worldwide community.
Popping my trainee yoga therapy hat on I want to touch on this from a physiological perspective. Firstly our bodies are the most amazing piece of kit, even on the days we don’t feel like it mentally or physically; even on those days, what’s going on behind the scenes is fascinating. Understanding how the body responds to and deals with stress and anxiety is the start of understanding how to manage it.
Stress and anxiety go hand in hand but what is the difference?
Stress is NOW, an immediate threat, or that is how the body perceives the situation. This could be (right now) listening to the news, a bill landing on the doormat, traumatic news, a difficult conversation or even running late for work. The level of the threat doesn’t factor, the body responds the same.
Anxiety is the future, worrying about what might be, visualising scenarios, over analysing and fearing outcomes. If we think rationally, the future isn’t here yet so how can we truly know? What we spend our waking moments worrying about is often much worse than the reality when it arrives and often the future we’ve pictured and spent time agonising over doesn’t happen at all.
How does the body respond? It kicks into fight or flight mode (our sympathetic nervous system), which definitely has its uses as our survival mechanism as it helps to mobilise our energy to respond to the perceived threat. The problem arises when we stay in that state of high alert, i.e. a continuous level of stress and/or anxiety. If we pay attention to how the body feels during moments of high level stress, the heart beats faster, our blood pressure is raised, we breathe quicker and we’re less able to think/respond rationally. Do you ever experience digestive issues? This is because blood and oxygen is drawn away from those organs and is redirected to our muscles, brains and cells to assist the fight or flight response so the functions of those organs become secondary. And let’s not forget cortisol, the stress hormone. Yes it has its uses, it gets us up in the morning for a start! However, the more we experience mental and physical stress the more cortisol is released which can affect our memory, increase visceral fat (fat around our central organs) and weaken our immune system.
Stress is one of the biggest contributors to disease and illness in modern day life, it can cause cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity; it can impact mental health, sleep, diet and we may experience chronic fatigue and feel less likely to socialise and connect.
Have you got any good news I hear you ask? Yes. There are so many ways we can work with our mind and body to draw us back to our parasympathetic state, our rest and digest mode. In this state we are more likely to pay attention to our well being through exercise (any, not just yoga), what we eat, our sleeping patterns and one of the MOST important things, the breath. In terms of drawing us out of that high alert sympathetic state and weaving us back into our ideal rest and digest mode, the breath is the most amazing and instant tool we have.
You’re on this list because you either currently practice yoga with me or have done so in the past. We all know how important the breath is as we practice yoga, it helps us to block out external stimuli, to focus and steady ourselves, to slow the heart rate as we come out of more dynamic poses and the positive impact the breath has on our nervous system. When our breath is slower and calmer so is our nervous system, we feel less agitated and more able to respond to situations in a more considered fashion.
I would like you to take a moment to notice your breathing, just as it is right now, try not to change it! That’s like asking a child to not open a packet of sweets the minute you leave the room…. So, think of something else if you can, simply breathe with your eyes closed, noticing if the breath is higher or lower then open your eyes and continue.
Was the breath higher in the chest or lower down in the abdomen?
The higher the breath there is less oxygen intake and absorption and you may find the breath is more shallow. During periods of stress the breath is higher up and quicker. If you found you breathe more into the diaphragm area (which separates the chest and the abdomen, think between the lower ribs) then you are absorbing more oxygen and more effectively as you are utilising the lower lungs more. When the breath is lower it sends a message to the brain that you are relaxed.
Maybe pause for a moment here, sit up tall and breathe lower down, not the pit of the belly, think lower ribs/upper abdomen. How does that feel? A great way to do this is on your belly as you can feel the diaphragm rising and falling against the ground. Another way to tap into the parasympathetic system is to make the exhale twice as long as the inhale, i.e. breathe in for 3 and out for 6. Try it now, go at your own pace as we don’t want the breath to feel forced as that can bring on feelings of stress.
The great thing about using the breath is it is with you all the time and can bring an instant sense of ease to the busyness of the mind and you may feel any stress or anxiety rising up with less impact.
Please note for those suffering more chronically with stress or anxiety these tools, although useful, would be better practiced under the guidance of a Yoga Therapist. I am currently training with The Minded Institute and they have a directory here if this is of interest to you: https://themindedinstitute.com/interested-in-yoga-therapy/accredited-yoga-therapists/
I hope you have found this an interesting read and haven’t nodded off. Longer winded than I expected but there’s so much to say! Please do let me know if any questions arose as you read this, you can comment below or email me directly.