Physical sensations of stress and overwhelm

This is one of the issues that come up most for me when I am answering questions about prolonged stress, overwhelm, and trauma:  why does the effect of stress and overwhelm always seem to be so physical, and what on earth do I do about it?  Thankfully, there is a scientifically reasonable explanation about why our reactions to stress are often or even always physical, and some tried and tested ways to manage the physical sensations, even if we are not eliminating the cause of stress itself.

The first thing to get to grips with is that stress is a physical occurrence, even if it seems as if it only happens in the mind.  Stress itself, and overwhelm (when stress gets too much for us to manage in the moment), and trauma (when the overwhelm results in us not being able to return to a healthy sense of normal), are all unconscious brain reactions to how we are perceiving the world.  The bit about the brain being in unconscious mode is really important, because it's when the brain is engaged in that mode, that the physical sensations appear.  It's about our brains in unconscious mode, or even in survival mode, keeping us safe. 

If we think about stress in the physical world (instead of on a screen, or during emotional or intellectual stress), we can easily see that a physical response makes sense.  If, for instance, we are being threatened by a sabre-toothed tiger, our brain in survival mode will unconsciously consider fight (probably to be discarded as a promising option), flight (yes!), or, if there is no possibility of either, then freeze and dissociation.  These are high-energy options, and require extreme physical responses in the body, including big muscles being ready to run or climb, or attack, and all the heart rate, breathing and circulation paraphernalia required to allow this to happen. 

I chose the sabre-tooth tiger as the example, because our brains were making full use of these survival actions when sabre-tooth tigers were still roaming the earth, and our brains still do this, even if the animals in question have long become extinct. 

The fact that we have built on intellectual extensions to the brain in the meantime through evolution makes not a jot of difference.  When we feel threatened, no matter how, our brains will still go down the same old survival route.  Our sensations and the internal reactions (even if we don't feel them) will signal alarm to our rational brains, and we will start to worry, or feel emotionally (that is, psychologically) frightened or on red alert, or angry.

So, what happens in our bodies when we are stressed, that is accompanied by the sensations we know and definitely don't love?

• increased heart rate to increase circulation, to get the blood carrying oxygen and fight and flight hormones around the body quickly, to where they are needed, including the big muscles.
• increased breathing rate, to increase oxygen intake, to enable increased heart rate.
• the lightning-quick production of hormones required to switch our systems into high activation fight and flight mode, and to aid everything associated with that, AND to hinder everything that might impede that (hint:  that includes digestive processes).  
• sweating, dry mouth, jaw movements or clenching, extreme tension, and many other phenomena are all part of the picture here.
• extreme focus on one thing, losing the broader picture, and oversensitised hearing are also required to work out exactly what the threat is, and where it is coming from.

I think you get the picture here.  All these natural, automatic occurrences in our bodies take place when we suspect we are under threat.

If we are actually under attack, then these physical reactions are normal, natural, and a sign that we should do something about the attack (fight or run away).  If we are not under attack, then our brains are reacting to previous stressful or overwhelming experiences as if they were still happening.

How easily we see threat in our surroundings depends largely on previous experiences, and the way our brains have set themselves up to protect us from repeated stress or overwhelm, attack, or disaster.  That's not the focus of this blog post, but we do have to deal with exactly this, in order to stop our brains initiating survival actions which are not necessary, and producing the physical sensations in the first place.  That's a story for a different time, or you can find out more about how to do that in the programme Calm, Confident Brain.

What are the kinds of sensations that we would associate with prolonged stress and overwhelm?  I'm going to list them below.  If you suffer from any of these long-term, please see your doctor, as they can begin to do organic damage if prolonged, or also be a sign of a medical condition, and it's necessary to have that checked out as soon as possible.

• racing heart
• short, quick breaths
• feeling on edge
• tingling, buzzing, trembling, or shaking
• constant jerky leg movements
• feeling cut off, or spaced out, or not fully present (dissociation)
• inability to move (freeze)
• inability to think (not physical, but still worrying, and a sign of freeze)
• inability to speak or find words
• neck, back, or jaw tension and pain
• headaches
• feeling you are going to explode
• feeling as if you are coming apart, disintegrating
• extreme 'butterflies' in your abdomen, or abdominal pain
• bloating
• diarrhoea
• constipation
• heat
• cold
• dizziness

As I said above, these symptoms can also appear as part of a wider medical condition, and if you have not already seen your doctor, please do that now.  

I said at the beginning of this blog post that there are things we can do about these body sensations associated with stress and overwhelm.  There are two aspects to this.  Firstly, we need to check that these sensations are not signs of a medical condition.  Secondly, we need to deal with the fundamental problem that our brain thinks we are under attack, when perhaps we are not.  Thirdly, we need to do something about the physical sensations in the moment, so that we can function without pain, tension, digestive and breathing problems, and odd sensations.  

Here's something in that third category that we can do right now.  Whatever sensation you are experiencing, if you feel that you have to lower the intensity of your reactions, do this simple thing:

• Breathe out for slightly longer than you breathe in.  Do it for a few minutes for it to take effect.  This changes the blood chemistry and calms the system slightly.

If you find yourself obsessed with whatever it is that is happening, your sensations, or whatever is stressing you, do this:

• Look up and take a couple of breaths.  Take in the wider picture of where you are, what you can see, what the sounds are, and what is going on.  Try to put everything in a bigger visual or mental frame so you are lifting yourself out of the detail and putting things into context.  This helps engage the rational brain, and helps stop the brain's survival mode obsessing about what might be going wrong.

For any physical sensation, try this:

• Place your hand wherever you can feel the sensation, and gently stroke another part of your body at the same time.  For instance, if your jaw aches, put your hand on your jaw and stroke your arm with your other hand.  If your stomach is painful or jangly, put a hand where you can feel it and stroke your arm, or your leg with the other hand.

There are many more 'tricks' to help us diminish physical sensations, or make the disappear altogether.  I'm producing an online programme with lots of ways to manage each of the symptoms in that long list above, so let me know if you would like to go on the waiting list for it.  It should be out in March or April, and I'll have videos so you can see exactly what I mean, and do the exercises alongside me.

In the meantime, do try the three explained above, as they are really effective and can help enormously.