They
may lurk in a back office hazed in a ring of smoke sitting next to a
cold cup of caffeine. They may be hunched over a calculator and a
keyboard crunching numbers, or they may be out at the counter making
sure that everything gets done “just right.” Often, they coexist with
the equally anxious hired hand
in charge of keeping daily operations going and the lights on. Either
way, with slim pickings for profit margins and given the
generally-negative economic atmosphere, is it any surprise that many
small business owners and executives exhibit signs of chronic stress?
With that said, what are the signs and possible symptoms of chronic
stress and what is its overall impact on the viability and longevity of
small businesses in the area and the health and well being of the owners
and staff? Once identified, aside from buying a fishing boat and moving
to the bahamas, what can be done about it?
This
three part article will be an interesting read. It may even take you
down memory lane and serve up a few “aha” moments that will better your
life and hopefully your health. After all, a happier staff is a more
productive staff and “if the boss ain't happy, ain't no one happy.” Your
health and the health of your staff is the bottom line.
The disclaimer
Many
people read articles like this one, see the list of symptoms, and feel
the affliction known to University Clinics around the world as “Medical
Student’s Disease” or at doctor’s offices as “cyberchodndria.” In that,
armed with the new knowledge of possible symptoms, you begin to see them
everywhere. Rest assured and take a deep breath, this article is meant
to educate, not diagnose. It’s meant to help you ask questions of
yourself, start conversations at work, and then take those questions to
your primary care provider.
Am
I covered? Wait... if you’re having chest pain signs or other signs of a
heart attack, call 911 or go to the emergency room. So, with that in
mind and the lawyers off of speed dial, let’s move on.
Warning! Science Content.
In
order to understand abnormal reactions to stress we must first
understand our body’s normal reaction to it, which begins with a brief
history lesson and some basic physiology.
Only in the last few hundred years, has mankind been able to worry more about what new iPhone app to download than about running away from large predators while looking for food. If you want an excellent primer on the subject, watch the new animated movie “The Croods” with your family. In it, the patriarch of the cave-family uses the motto “Never not be afraid.” His only job is to keep his family alive. He is big and strong and only has to react to threats. No “ideas” necessary.
Only in the last few hundred years, has mankind been able to worry more about what new iPhone app to download than about running away from large predators while looking for food. If you want an excellent primer on the subject, watch the new animated movie “The Croods” with your family. In it, the patriarch of the cave-family uses the motto “Never not be afraid.” His only job is to keep his family alive. He is big and strong and only has to react to threats. No “ideas” necessary.
Physiologically
and chemically, not much has changed since the stone-age. In order to
outrun the saber-tooth tiger at your heels or fight the bear at your
front door, two chemicals do most of the heavy lifting and it starts in
your brain.
Think of the amygdala as the alarm bell in your brain. Tucked away in the back of the medial temporal lobes of the brain, this almond sized piece of the basal ganglia is responsible for receiving perceived threat information from the frontal cortex and signaling the adrenal glands (housed atop the kidneys) to begin production of a host of hormones. Just the sight or sound of a perceived threat sets off an unconscious signaling process. Most people identify this as “getting tense” or feeling agitated, but they seldom know why.
Think of the amygdala as the alarm bell in your brain. Tucked away in the back of the medial temporal lobes of the brain, this almond sized piece of the basal ganglia is responsible for receiving perceived threat information from the frontal cortex and signaling the adrenal glands (housed atop the kidneys) to begin production of a host of hormones. Just the sight or sound of a perceived threat sets off an unconscious signaling process. Most people identify this as “getting tense” or feeling agitated, but they seldom know why.
Enter
the hormone adrenaline. If the amygdala gets the engine primed,
adrenaline revs it through the gears like a Japanese drift racer. It
constricts peripheral blood vessels, which decreases the possibility of
limb hemorrhaging. Core blood pressure goes up, to fight possible
hemorrhaging, and it takes the brakes off your SA node to increase your
heart rate to pump needed fuel to running legs. If you’re not already on
the run, you’ll feel your heart race, beads of sweat gather on your
arms, and you’ll get a headache from too much light entering your
dilated pupils.
While
adrenaline recruits massive amounts of muscle fiber for fast action,
the corticosteroid Cortisol feeds them by elevating the amount of
glucose in your blood. It also stalls your immune system and its
inflammatory response to protect muscle cells during extreme use. If you
haven't been eaten or mortally wounded, the system is designed to save
you and then reset itself and return the body to normal. You, however,
at the cash register or on the couch after a hard days work will feel
completely drained, possibly lethargic, and have no motivation to get
into the sunlight you crave.
Granted, Wolves and Vikings are negligible threats in most of Ohio, but the system still serves its purpose. Cars get pulled off of kids by superhuman moms. Trauma victims make it to the Emergency Room alive and first responders function at top gear, but what happens when the intermittent stresses of wolves, vikings, and overturned cars are replaced by the unending stress of bills and payroll? What happens if the system doesn’t reset itself?
Granted, Wolves and Vikings are negligible threats in most of Ohio, but the system still serves its purpose. Cars get pulled off of kids by superhuman moms. Trauma victims make it to the Emergency Room alive and first responders function at top gear, but what happens when the intermittent stresses of wolves, vikings, and overturned cars are replaced by the unending stress of bills and payroll? What happens if the system doesn’t reset itself?
We'll
get into this next week and focus on the negative effects of chronic
stress over a period of time and begin to delve into practical (and
free) ways to begin to identify and combat those effects in your
everyday life. In the meantime, check out the references below for more
in-depth reading on the subject as your time permits.
References:
Lemonick , M. (2003, October 06). How to heal a hypochondriac. Time, Retrieved from http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1005818-2,00.html
U.S. Census Bureau. (2007). Retrieved from U.S. Census Bureau website: http://www.census.gov/econ/smallbus.html
Mayo
Staff. (2010, September 11). Stress: Constant stress puts your health
at risk.. Retrieved from http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/stress/SR00001
McEwen,
B. S., & Mirsky, A. E. (2007). Physiology and neurobiology of
stress and adaptation: Central role of the brain. Retrieved from http://physrev.physiology.org/content/87/3/873.full
