Stress is often, if not always, a regular part of life. But everyone handles it differently, and many people are frequently on the search for ways to deal with it more effectively. While stress triggers are usually different from person to person, the brain is actually hardwired to process stress in a certain way. So sometimes this hardwiring can make stress feel more intense, and the reactivity that can come along with it often only compounds the problem. Accumulated over time, negative stress affects the body physically, mentally, and emotionally. It can cause illness and even death. It is not the event or situation that creates the stress, it is how we respond to it.
 
A deeper understanding of how the brain is wired equips us to choose interventions that can help us deal with stress more effectively. See this four-minute video after reading the explained below.
 
The brain is consistently working to meet our core needs, which are: safety, satisfaction, and connection. This can be thought of as the “green zone.” When these needs are met, then the brain defaults to it’s resting state, a place of equilibrium where refueling and recharging can take place. When the brain is under stress, it can go into a state of fight, flight, or freeze ~ a “red zone” that is not meant to be sustainable but rather a brief burst. As a way of life the red zone, or even a range between the green and red zone (pink zone) burns resources faster than the body can take them in, bodily system are disturbed, there is a sense of deficit, and the immune system becomes challenged. Instead of safety, satisfaction, and connection there comes fear, frustration, and heartache – known as an Allostatic Load. If this is prolonged, there is a burden on one’s physical and mental health affecting one’s everyday well-being. Watch this brief four-minute video explaining these states.