We all experience stress in some form or another and we all react to these stressful experiences differently. Daily hassles, curveballs, roadblocks, stressors, and unexpected surprises are just a few of the stresses we cope with as human beings. It is commonly thought that it is the amount of stress you encounter that matters, that the consistency and intensity of your stress are what impacts your mental health and well-being. But a recent study has shown that it is actually your perception and reaction to stressful events that is more impactful on your health than on the frequency of encountered stress. According to health researchers from Penn State and Columbia University, it doesn’t matter how few stressful events a person faces, but rather it is how the events are perceived that determines who experiences a greater increase in negative emotions that leads to lower heart rate variability. For those who don’t know, heart rate variability is defined as variation in intervals between consecutive heartbeats and was used as a measure of stress within this study.
These results tell us that perceiving an event as more stressful, and experiencing increased negative emotions as a result, leads to lower heart rate variability and an increased risk for developing heart disease. So although it is said that stress can be good for you, this finding just adds to the evidence that daily hassles do keep you on your feet but eventually pile up to negatively impact your health. So live by the very old but often said quote and don’t sweat the small things in life. I know some days will be worse than others and it will feel as though everything is out to get you and you will never catch up, but you will. Hang in there. Make a list of everything you need to do and prioritize, take it day-by-day, seek support, take a moment to take a couple of deep breaths, make a calming playlist, take a walk, or employ any other adaptive coping strategy that you find personally helpful. But take a moment for you and consider that it is only a roadblock on the road to success and save your energy for bigger things. We can all benefit from making an effort to put our stress within perspective.
As the study suggests, it is how you perceive and emotionally react to the stressful events you encounter that is more important than the quantity of your daily and overall exposure to stress. The small stressors we encounter are not always worth the amount of stress we place on them. They are challenges you will conquer. Don’t focus on how many you must conquer, rather focus on the success you will inevitably achieve when you do!
Written by Laura Spong
References:
Penn State. “Let it go: Reaction to stress more important than its frequency.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 25 February 2016. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/02/160225140246.htm>.