The top 8 most common stress-related questions, answered.
The irony is that itâs kind of stressful to find answers about stress. Thereâs so much conflicting information out there. But if youâre a health and fitness professional, your clientsâmaybe even your friends and loved ones tooâwill likely turn to YOU for counsel. Theyâll ask things like: âIs stress REALLY toxic?â âDo you think stress [âŠ] The post The top 8 most common stress-related questions, answered. appeared first on Precision Nutrition.
The irony is that itâs kind of stressful to find answers about stress.
Thereâs so much conflicting information out there.
But if youâre a health and fitness professional, your clientsâmaybe even your friends and loved ones tooâwill likely turn to YOU for counsel.
Theyâll ask things like:
âIs stress REALLY toxic?â
âDo you think stress caused this belly fat I canât lose?â
And:
âAre these red bumps from stress?â
(Why does everyone insist on showing you their rashes??)
You want to help, but coming up with the right answers can be hard, because:
The right answer depends.
It depends on WHO the asker is, WHAT their goals are, WHERE theyâre starting from, and HOW MUCH theyâre willing and able to change
The truth is, one-size-fits-all answers to stress-related questions donât exist.
However, you can build a strong foundation of knowledge about stress that can help you answer these questions with more confidence and expertise.
In this article, weâll try to give you some resources to do that.
If you want, read the following Q and As from top to bottom. Or, just jump to the ones that interest you the most:
Question #1. Is stress really bad for you?
Question #2. What are the signs of stress?
Question #3. Is stress making me gain / lose weight?
Question #4. How can I stop stress eating?
Question #5. How do I get rid of stress?
Question #6. How do I fit in stress-management strategies and self-care?
Question #7. Is there a diet that will help reduce stress?
Question #8. Is there any way to cool stress fast?
Question #1. Is stress BAD for you?
Yes and no. Itâs all about the right amountsâfor YOU.
The relationship between stress and health has gained a lot more attention and validity in the past 30 years.
As a result, youâve likely learned to associate stress with all kinds of terrible things: heart attacks, hair loss, early death.
And while excessive, unrelenting stress definitely erodes health, letâs clear something up:
Not all stress is bad.
In fact, in order to thrive, we actually need some stress to feel juicy, purposeful, and alive.
As the above chart shows, itâs all about finding a stress âsweet spot.â
Go too far in either extreme, and youâll feel crummy.
How do you find your stress âsweet spotâ?
Stress thatâs long-lasting, relentless, and demoralizing is also the kind of stress thatâs associated with depression and anxiety, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, stroke, and cancer.1
If youâre dealing with those kinds of stressors, consider where you have control, and try to reduceâor even avoidâthem when you can.
Also, ask for help. Sometimes having another person around to tackle a problem with you makes the difference between feeling like youâre drowning and feeling like youâll make it to the shore.
On the flip side, when stress occurs in shorter bursts, and you feel like you have some control over it, as well as opportunities to recover in between, it can actually help you become stronger and more resilient over time.
This kind of stress tends to feel empowering: It helps build you up; not break you down.
One big complicationâŠ
What feels stressful is highly subjective.
Turns out, your perception of stress has a big impact on how stress feelsâand what it does to your health.
If you believe stress is always terrible and should be avoided at all costs, youâll be more likely to cling to your comfort zone, fear the future and what could happen, and steer clear of situations that could lead to growth.
(Youâre also more likely to experience the negative health effects of stress, like high cortisol.2)
In a cruel self-fulfilling prophecy, stress actually does become more harmful.
However, if you believe stress can make you stronger, wiser, and more resilient, youâll be more likely to proactively solve problems, seek out challenging experiencesâand benefit from stress in your life.
Luckily, you have some control over your perception.
In the spirit of helping you shift your perspective, here are some examples of how some stress can actually enrich various aspects of life:
Stress can strengthen relationships. Some conflict is actually crucial for healthy, secure relationshipsâitâs a pathway to better understand others. By working through things together, we grow together.
Stress can make you smarter. Managed effectively, stress helps you focus your attention, plan for future challenges, and enhance memory and learning. Stressors might even feel like fun puzzles to solve.
Stress can build muscles and endurance. This is probably the most obvious example, but most of us know that intermittent physical stressâsay, from a workoutâcouped with appropriate recovery helps your body become stronger and more capable.
Choose to believe that stress has the capacity to benefit you. It can help you learn, grow, and live a bigger, more adventurous and meaningful life.
LEARN MORE:
- Good stress, bad stress: Finding your sweet spot [INFOGRAPHIC]
- Secrets for using stress to build you upâinstead of break you down
Question #2. What are the signs of stress?
The signs and symptoms of stress depend a little on whether the stress is acute or chronic.
Acute stress (think: a car just swerved in front of you) generally causes your sympathetic nervous system to ramp up, which releases hormones such as epinephrine (adrenaline) and cortisol.
With acute stress, you might notice:
- Your heart beats a little faster
- Your breathing gets deeper and quicker
- You feel a burst of energy, alertness, giddiness, and/or focus
- You might feel a little shaky or even nauseous, if the stress was intense
The stress response is built-in. You donât have to think consciously about it; your body just responds automatically in this way to all stressors.
Luckily, the recovery response is also built-in. Once a threat recedes, your heart rate and breathing will return to normal, and youâll feel calm again.
Chronic stress is when that sympathetic activation lasts for days, weeks, or months, without adequate opportunities for recovery.
Just like a rollercoaster, stress can feel energizing in short boutsâbut like a nauseating nightmare if you canât get off the ride. Not surprisingly, chronic stress is more likely to take a toll on your physical and mental health.
Signs of chronic stress include:
- Excessive worrying or anxiety
- Low mood or energy
- Poor appetite, OR an increased desire to âstress eatâ
- Digestive problems like heartburn or constipation
- Trouble sleeping
- Unfocused or foggy thinking
- Feeling isolated or irritable with others
- Frequent colds, flus, or infections
- Trouble recovering from workouts, or aches and pains in general
- Low sex drive
While the stress response is normal and helpful for short-lived bouts of challenge and excitement, weâre not meant to live in a constant state of activation and threat.
Stress feels best when itâs broken up with periods of recovery.
READ MORE:
The difference between stress and anxiety
Everyone experiences stress.
Most people will also experience anxiety.
(At least to some degree, at some point.)
Anxiety often involves physical symptomsâtension, increased heart rate, sweating.
But the hallmark aspect of anxiety is a persistent feeling of apprehension or dread.
Although this feeling sometimes seems like it arises from nowhere, itâs usually causedâand perpetuatedâby negative thoughts and ruminations like, âIâm never going to get through thisâ or âEveryone is going to judge me.â
(Overly negative or catastrophic thoughts are also called âcognitive distortions.â Read more about how to deal with them here: The thought tool that can lower your stress instantly)
Stress usually starts in response to an event or situation, and ends when that situation has resolved.
But with anxiety, the âthreatâ tends to persist even beyond the scope or duration of the event.
While stress can trigger helpful adaptations, anxiety tends not to be super productive. In excess, it can feel pretty debilitating.
The good news
Many stress management techniques are also effective at reducing anxiety.
Journaling, exercise, social connection, and relaxation exercises like breathwork or positive visualization can help with both stress and anxiety.
However, if anxiety is especially intense, long-lasting, or interferes with your quality of life, itâs best to consult a healthcare professional like a therapist or a family doctor.
If youâre a coach, remember that youâre not qualified to diagnose or treat clinical anxiety or depression. If your client struggles with either, the best way you can support them is to refer out to a medical professional who specializes in mental health.
(Trying to help clients with their mental health? Read this first: âIâm a coach, not a therapist!â 9 ways to help people change while staying within your scope)
Question #3. Is stress making me gain / lose weight?
Possibly.
But more likely, stress is affecting your behaviors. And eating behaviors definitely affect body composition.
Hereâs how it works
When youâre stressed, your physiology changesâat least temporarily.
Your bodyâs acute stress response and the accompanying spike in adrenaline releases stored glucose (sugar) into the bloodstream so you have energy to deal with whatever challenge youâre facing.
This increase in blood sugar can reduce your appetite, making you push away your sandwich even if you havenât eaten all day.
The stress response also dampens digestion.
Even when you do eat, food might feel like itâs just sitting in your gut not moving anywhere, or it might blast through you so fast that youâre afraid to stray too far from a washroom. Because digestion is compromised, you also may not adequately absorb your food.
Itâs through both loss of appetite and loss of absorption that some people lose weight during periods of stress.
On the other hand, weight gain during periods of stress is just as common.
Especially when stress becomes chronic, the stress hormone cortisol increases. Cortisol can increase appetite, especially for carbohydrate- and calorie-rich foods.3 4
Most people find eating pleasurable and soothing, so turning to food during times of stress is a common (and understandable) coping mechanism. Of course, when this becomes a habit, excess calories over time can lead to weight gain.
If thatâs something you struggle with, check out the next answer below.
READ MORE:
Question #4. How can I stop stress eating?
More than 60 percent of our new clients list emotional or stress eating as a major nutrition challenge. Whatâs more, over 50 percent say they also âget intense cravingsâ and âsnack when not hungry.â
If you relate, it might be a relief to know youâre not alone. Of course, thatâs little consolation when your hands are fumbling for crumbs at the bottom of a freshly opened bag of peanut butter pretzel bites.
But what if you realized this behavior occursâŠ
- Every time your mom calls?
- On Sunday nights, when youâre dreading the start of a new week?
- Whenever you see, smell, or hear something that reminds you of your ex?
Emotional eating and intense cravings are typically part of a pattern of behavior thatâs triggered by a specific experienceâa thought, feeling, and/or situation.
If you can identify the trigger, you can disrupt the pattern of behavior and make different choices.
Use the âBreak the chainâ worksheet to help clients identify their emotional and stress eating triggers. Then, apply the step-by-step strategy at the end of it to create and strengthen alternative coping mechanisms.
READ MORE:
Question #5. How do I get rid of stress?
Youâll never entirely rid your life of stress.
Nor would you want to.
As weâve mentioned, stress is a normalâeven goodâpart of a full, meaningful life.
However, many of us end up with stress levels that feel overly disruptive or unhelpful.
Sometimes, thatâs impossible to avoid. At some point, most people will face very difficult periods of unavoidable stress: illness, injuries, financial hardships, natural disasters, or a pandemic.
But often, you have some control. Maybe even more than you think.
At PN, we use an exercise called The Spheres of Control.
(If you want, fill out your own spheres of control using this free worksheet.)
With the Spheres of Control exercise, you identify what areas you truly have power over and focus more on them.
This often not only helps people feel less overwhelmed and stressed, but also more effective, capable, and in control.
What about those areas you have zero control over?
By seeing the reality on paper (or a screen), you can give yourself permission to stop wasting precious energy trying to control the uncontrollable. And that in itself can help relieve stress and anxiety.
READ MORE:
Question #6. How do I fit in self-care?
Sometimes, adding more recovery can be just as effective as reducing stress.
When you recover, you regain, restore, or recuperate what youâve lost. And you return to your baseline state of wellbeing, health, and performance.
Sounds great, except⊠what if you feel like you donât have time to ADD anything else, even if itâs good for you?
A paradigm shift that might help
Instead of looking at stress management as an âonâ or âoffâ switchâyouâre either doing ALL the things or NOTHINGâthink of it more like a âdial.â
The image below shows what stress recovery might look like on a continuum, from devoting five minutes a day to something restorative, all the way to basically making it your job to be a Master of Chill.
(If you want to see how this concept applies to other habitsâlike those related to nutrition or fitnessâcheck out this infographic: Never press âpauseâ on your health and fitness again)
To apply this concept, start by identifying your baseline: Are your stress management practices currently at a 1 or 2? Or maybe even a 0?
If so, no judgment. This is just your starting point.
Think about what âa little betterâ might look like.
Even by one or two ânotches.â
Might you add five minutes of journaling to your evening routine? Or a 10 minute walk to get some sun and fresh air in the morning? Consider what just a little better might look like, and start there.
For the extra frazzled, it might help to know that sometimes the BEST time to start a new habit is when youâre busiest.
If you can learn to fit stress management practices into your life when youâre swamped, itâll feel like a breeze to keep them in thereâor even build on themâwhen life settles down.
(And if life never settles down, at least you didnât delay your self-care further waiting for the âperfect time.â)
READ MORE:
Question #7. Is there a diet that will help reduce stress?
All over the internet, youâll find curative diets for stress and anxiety. They put food into neat little categories, and so long as you ONLY eat âdoâ foodsâand judiciously eliminate âdonâtâ foodsâyour stress will go away.
If only feeling better were that simple.
Truth is, good mental health depends on many different nutrients from many different foods, as well as a set of fundamental nutrition principles, like:
- Getting enough energy (calories) to cover your energy needs
- Meeting macronutrient (proteins, carbohydrates, and fats) and micronutrient (vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients) needs
- Drinking enough water
- Eating at regular times, whatever that means for you
- Consuming mostly minimally-processed foods (like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, animal proteins, and dairy)
- Eating slowly and mindfully
- Enjoying your food, and the company you share it with
Consistently neglecting the above can add stress.
Prioritizing themâwhich doesnât mean doing them perfectlyâis probably the most effective nutrition strategy to reduce stress.
If that list looks overwhelming, just start from wherever you are right now, and simply aim to eat âa little better.â
Choose one practice to work on from the above list, and in a couple of weeks, evaluate whether youâre ready to build on it.
Master the fundamentals, and youâll see that theyâre pretty effective on their own, no magic diet needed.
READ MORE:
Question #8. Is there a way to calm stress fast?
No matter whatâs going on in your life, one of the most effective, accessible ways to cool stress FAST is simply to breathe.
Slow, deep breathing stimulates your vagus nerve (the main nerve of your ârest-and-digestâ system), which can help relax your whole body.
In turn, this reduces not only your physiological response to stress but also your emotional response.
When youâre calmer and more relaxed, you make better decisions. Youâre able to focus better. You feel more in control. And deliberate breathing techniques can help.
One breathing technique we like is called âBox breathing.â It breaks the breath cycle into four 4-second-long stages (like the four sides of a square).
Hereâs how to do it
- Take a four-second inhale through your nose. But donât just âbreathe into your belly.â Try to pull the air into your chest and mid-back without letting your ribs flare out. (Youâll feel some tension in your abs.)
- Hold your inhale for four seconds.
- Exhale for four seconds. Imagine that youâre slowly blowing out a big sigh. Keep your body relaxed, but put a little tension into your abs so that you feel them pulling your ribs down and in, toward your spine.
- Hold your exhale for four seconds.
Repeat as many times as youâd like. (And feel better.)
READ MORE:
Stress is uncomfortable, but it also helps us grow.
If youâre stressed about answering your clients stress-related questions, think of it this way:
This is an opportunity to expand and deepen your knowledge and coaching skills.
(See? Weâre applying a resilience-building mindset already!)
Being a coach who helps clients manage their stress involves, yes, knowing about stress.
But it also means being a fellow human who can relate to their struggles.
Alongside your clients, you can use your knowledge about stress and recovery to take on challenges, and grow into a better coachâand personâthan you were before.
References
Click here to view the information sources referenced in this article.
1. Mariotti, Agnese. 2015. âThe Effects of Chronic Stress on Health: New Insights into the Molecular Mechanisms of Brain-Body Communication.â Future Science OA 1 (3): FSO23.
2, Uphill, Mark A., Claire J. L. Rossato, Jon Swain, and Jamie OâDriscoll. 2019. âChallenge and Threat: A Critical Review of the Literature and an Alternative Conceptualization.â Frontiers in Psychology 10 (July): 1255.
3. Chao, Ariana M., Ania M. Jastreboff, Marney A. White, Carlos M. Grilo, and Rajita Sinha. 2017. âStress, Cortisol, and Other Appetite-Related Hormones: Prospective Prediction of 6-Month Changes in Food Cravings and Weight.â Obesity 25 (4): 713â20.
4. Yau, Y. H. C., and M. N. Potenza. 2013. âStress and Eating Behaviors.â Minerva Endocrinologica 38 (3): 255â67.
If youâre a health and fitness proâŠ
Learning how to help clients manage stress and optimize sleep can massively change your clientsâ results.
Theyâll get âunstuckâ and finally move forwardâwhether they want to eat better, move more, lose weight, or reclaim their health.
Plus, itâll give you the confidence and credibility as a specialized coach who can solve the biggest problems blocking any clientsâ progress.
The brand-new PN Level 1 Sleep, Stress Management, and Recovery Coaching Certification will show you how.
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The post The top 8 most common stress-related questions, answered. appeared first on Precision Nutrition.