4 Jan 2019

Berlin, Germany.

A framework on how to deal with the stresses of modern day life.   A life which has reduced contact with nature and people and negatively effected the resilience of the individual and the overall society.  The framework presented below tackles the root cause rather than fixes of the symptoms and results in a greater awareness of the contributing factors and then a greater sense of wellbeing and resilience.  Simply said, modern day life is hard - not so much in the western world with surviving physically, more so with the pressures of relationships, society, hierarchies etc.  This puts your organisms into a state of dis-ease and it was never taught how to deal with this … until now.

Stress (cortisol) and Wellbeing (endorphins).

We have all heard the common adage that stress has an effect on health. How exactly? Are there things that you can do to change it? How long does it take to feel the difference?

in stressful situations, the flight or fight response is triggered; this releases cortisol via the adrenal system. Cortisol prepares the body for action by resulting in higher blood pressure, higher heart rate. So what causes the stressful situation? Are they really stressful or do I have a control of the release via mindset? Give examples of stressful situations (evaluate the relative stress ….is it really that bad? You are probably seeing it worse than it is..)

Levels of Stress/reality 

1) ego ideal implemented by society (that can never be reached because it is utopian), 

2) a boss is using controlling behaviour and not allowing you to succeed. Cognitive dissonance stresses because of mental rumination.  

3) Being bored at work is stressful (organism needs to be challenged), overwork (in time) drains energy/physical and metal resources, 

4) disrupted sleep (sleep environment, sound, mental rumination, food/water stop 3 hours before sleep).

5) inhospitable society, unfriendly people, feelings of isolation/loneliness

6) you have no money to eat or feed your family, no place to stay

7) a person offends you 

8)a person is physically or mentally abusive 

9) a lion is growling at you and wants to eat you (the real life stress - survival).

Do you see the varying realities of the dangerous situations which would release cortisol and would be a real effect on your life? In modern day life, we incorrectly view all the situations with the same reaction - notice your reactions to events like, a person cutting you off in traffic, being late compared to seeing a lion face to face.  The Stress System is great when a real life/death situation is present, but equating every day issues to it is not rational and leads to a reduction of resilience. 

With an increase in cortisol/epinephrine etc. levels, the body goes through a peak of activity, followed by a drainage/crash - these cycles are not healthy.  Need to strike a balance.

Ultimately it is your reaction to stressful situations that defines the cortisol release.  Saying that, there are situations and people that are simply stressful due to their toxic/manipulative/exploitative states and you need to have the awareness of this to create the healthy boundaries and assert yourself so you don’t get taken advantage of.

Endorphins:

The buzz from within.  Endorphins are released by the pituitary gland at the base of the brain. This pea sized structure has been viewed in history as early as the ancient Egyptians as being the seat of the soul (along with the heart).  Releasing the quartet (dopamine, serotonin, cortisol and xxx) hit the pleasure centres of the brain reinforcing positive feelings and emotions (bliss, euphoria), not only that but by doing so, reduce the negative feelings and emotions (anxiety, fear etc.) induced by releases of cortisol. 

With higher levels of endorphins in the body, you feel greater energy (less lethargy/less sleepiness) which has a great effect on what productivity you choose to do.  More energy to practice habits that re-enforce endorphins naturally.  Spark the brain - you’ll see how alive you’ll feel and the magic that happens when the brain is functioning at this optimum state.  

We all chase the highs, note when they are coming from destructive places/short lived rather than expanding sources (ie. good food, exercise) vs. Drugs/alcohol etc.

Case Studies:

Lets look at real life situations on how people cope with the difficult situations of modern day life:

1. Alcohol and drug abuse smoking - all give the release of dopamine and serotonin - thus triggering the feel good renters of the brain (and reward centres - because you want more - so this is how it works on a neurological manner).  This leads to a mental and physical addiction because it is also easy to get - fast feel good. Problem is that the crash is really harsh and the buzz is not consistent! So you get a spike and crash rather than a nice increasing organically growing constant buzz.  alcohol also has the sedative effect so you think less (slight mediation effect) and lower inhibitions (opening to experiences). Drugs just blast the dopamine giving blissful effects in the brain.  again the problem with these is that drugs mess up the body (e.g brain cells lost, fatigue due to lack of sleep etc.).
2. Food Addictions (comfort foods) with Purified Sugar/honey/high GI foods: legal stimulants - wreaks havoc on system by depending on the GI content.  Overall effect on insulin production crash etc…better to have slow releasing sugar stuff (e.g. Fruits/vegetables)
3. Work stress: high stress, released by sports. But this is a fix not a root cause switch.

Mental/Physical States:

1. Are you always sick / cortisol and lack of dopamine have an effect on the immune system making you more prone to upper respiratory diseases such as colds.
2. Are you sleepy/low energy after a day of work
3. Are you sleep/low energy after eating - big sign that you had high GI or difficult to digest/blood thickening fatty foods.  Food should give energy! Ever sit in a meeting after lunch and dose off? What did you eat before? Canteen food sucks!

If you observe these States of being - its not sustainable and its a poor quality of life.  You can live better. 

What to do about this? 

Strategy:

1. Get quiet time, allow yourself to get bored without any distractions and listen to what comes up.
2. Notice what you are drawn to/what interests you — you’ll know because its not forced, it flows naturally, you feel surge of energy doing it.  
3. Experience life and listen to your self and observe yourself in different situations - you’ll start by knowing what you don’t want and this will lead you to uncover what you want and need to chase.
4. Be aware of your habits and coping methods - are they self destructive (do they kill brain cells, hurt the body, reduce the quality of life in terms of energy, sleep quality, disease in the future etc., or reduce life expectancy, or )? Do they promote the dangerous cycle of addiction (ie. immediate high, crash and repeat)? Are they sustainable (e.g habit of thinking optimistically,
5. Don’t beat yourself up about current state you are in, 
6. make the change and create the habits below to stick to what you were meant to be.
7. Be aware of your situation (gain situational awareness) - evaluate your stakeholders. Do you need to make a change? Are you asserting yourself? Are you being manipulated, exploited or are you in a give give relationship (at work, at home with yourself?)
8. Set your goal that you value - repeats the positive cycle of endorphin release (e.g. relationships goals, work goals, family goals, educational goals, health&fitness goals,)

Tactics.

Set the habits that result in more endorphin release - make it part of your lifestyle. 

1. Eat well - eat hot peppers to spike the endorphin release. 
2. Sleep Well
3. Educate and keep learning (boosting creativity releases endorphins) - also improves situational awareness making you make better decisions based on facts and good judgement
4. Get moving: Exercise the things that you enjoy doing. Key to know that sedentary life perpetuates the lack of low levels of endorphins. Break the habit/practice of veg’ing in front of the TV - it is at that exact moment when you hear yourself saying ‘i’m too tired to go to do an activity’ when you decide to do the opposite.  Observe yourself after doing the activity - you will feel higher. Why? Endorphins release from activity and social bonding with others (if you do it in a class).
5. Mediation/breathing exercises morning and night.
6. Get order from chaos (start by cleaning your room ;-), then organise yourself to hit the good habits and targets).  Discipline yourself.  Start by Setting the Intention/Goals, define the strategies, commit to them and make them habit.  Break the old habits if you see them encroaching - like…oh, just this one cigarette, or I’ll just have a shot, or just one cookie - these open for more later. Commit.
7. Massage - to release the stiffness in the muscles, connective tissue (thereby boosting flow of blood and loosening tight areas - and of course, releasing of endorphins)
8. Listen to music.

Do things to boost your endorphins - because when your endorphins are firing, your cortisol is not.  What is key to know it that you don’t only release the ‘feel good’ hormones, but also reduce the ‘feel bad’ ones by doing these practices.

Living high off life - literally.  You control it.

Sometimes though, despite all your positive habits (tactics detailed above), there is still a state of dis-ease.  At this point, it is imperative to re-valuate the situation and gain a greater awareness (despite it sometimes being very difficult to accept) and make a change. e.g work/relationship etc. Toxic people do exist and you deserve to get what you give. 

When it comes to weight control, current methods of addressing the issue is incorrect (need to look at it as an addiction to food and where this addiction stems from? 

What early childhood events created the habit of getting comfort from food? This combined with the addictive sugar uses the same neural pathways (dopamine release hitting pleasure centres of the brain like cocaine) makes weight an addictive issue that needs to be dealt like that.

Past and current approaches are incorrect since they affect the self esteem of the individual which makes them feel bad about themselves which actually increases cortisol, negative emotions and makes the person prone to going quicker to the ‘quick’ source of buzz.

It is not as easy as just telling someone go to the gym and eat healthier.  You need to look at the root cause (low endorphins caused by the variety of factors above).

Case Study: 

Alcohol addiction due to an insecure human being that feels the need to drink to give the courage to open up and speak, by dropping the inhibitions and being more open to experiences (as risky as they may be). 

Alcohol consumption then becomes like a safety blanket from the anxiety that the person feels when in situations that require high social connections with other humans. So in this case the root cause identification would be to address the insecurity rather than tell the person stop drinking - and incrementally control the habits through positive reinforcement thus stopping the unhealthy behaviour. 

Conclusion: 

Once the root causes of stress are identified and given awareness, then steps can be taken detailed above to get out of the rut.  Then it is up to the individual to setting the goal, value it and  achieve through incremental steps that gradually boosts of endorphins and get to the goal.

By being high on life you can do more things and are anchored less by useless things and have more energy to do more stuff;  Boosting the quality of life.  Also you have more energy and feel better, smile more, more open to experiences and opportunities, be more attractive to others - because this state creates opportunities rather than waiting for them to come.

ITS ALL ABOUT ENDORPHINS and finding the root cause of the cortisol levels, then valuing yourself by setting healthy boundaries go get ‘em!!!