Ep. 172: What Happens When You’re Stressed?
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When you experience stress, your body releases a hormone called cortisol. So what exactly does the “stress hormone” do? Why is there an instinct to freeze in stressful situations, and what lifestyle changes could improve our ability to handle stress?
Here, Medcan CEO Shaun Francis (above, left) talks to the director of the UHN Krembil Research Institute, Dr. Jaideep Bains, (above, right) an expert on stress, about how exactly stress affects our wellness—and why it’s so important to have healthy coping mechanisms when dealing with difficult situations. He also shares what he does to get through stressful times.
LINKS
If you feel like stress is a problem in your life, contact a member of Medcan’s Mental Well-Being team at mentalwellbeing@medcan.com.
Follow Shaun Francis on Twitter and Instagram.
Check out Dr. Bains’ Stressynomics Lab at the University of Calgary, and read up on the research happening there.
Check out Dr. Bain’s UHN talk about stress being contagious: Is my stress your stress?
Need more tips on how to deal with stress? Listen to episode 152 of Eat Move Think: How to Calm Your Mind, and episode 161, Can You Breathe Your Way to Better Mental Health?
INSIGHTS
Dr. Jaideep Bains introduces himself, and recounts how he became a neuroscientist and expert in short- and long-term stress. [2:12]
What is the physiology of stress in the brain? What happens to the brain when you’re in a stressful situation? [5:53]
Social contagion, and the idea that stress is contagious. And if it is, how does that happen? And does contagious stress have the same effect on the brain as authentic stress? [8:22]
What’s the evolutionary explanation for why stress is infectious? [11:25]
Navy SEAL training helps soldiers with stressful situations through practice. What do you do if you encounter a threat – how do you overcome the instinct to flee? What’s the physiological basis for that training? [15:16]
Does chronic stress lead to burnout? And why? Why doesn’t the body turn off the stress response in these cases? And what is burnout? [17:21]
How is anxiety related to stress and burnout? [20:15]
How does chronic stress affect human wellness? And how can you help the body deal with chronic stress? [21:32]
Are there specific time periods, after a stressful event, where intervention is possible, in order to fight the brain-imprinting, health-harming effects of stress? [24:30]
The challenge of developing wearables that measure stress in real-time—and can they one day be designed to intervene, to mitigate the stress of an event? [26:18]
What tactics does Dr. Jaideep Bains employ in his stress relief kit? How do you overcome chronic stress? [30:44]
Cigarettes, alcohol, cannabis—people do turn to these things for stress relief. Do they work? And what are their long-term effects, as stress relievers? [32:56]
*LEGAL
This podcast episode is intended to provide general information about health and wellness only and is not designed, or intended to constitute, or be used as a substitute for, medical advice, treatment or diagnosis. You should always talk to your Medcan health care provider for individual medical advice, diagnosis and treatment, including your specific health and wellness needs.
The podcast is based on the information available at the time of preparation and is only accurate and current as of that date. Source information and recommendations are subject to change based on scientific evidence as it evolves over time. Medcan is not responsible for future changes or updates to the information and recommendations, and assumes no obligation to update based on future developments.
Reference to, or mention of, specific treatments or therapies, does not constitute or imply a recommendation or endorsement. The links provided within the associated document are to assist the reader with the specific information highlighted. Any third-party links are not endorsed by Medcan.