Being in a high stress environment for long periods is like driving a car at 90mph (145kph for those of you who prefer metric), and you’ll soon find that something is going to blow. And expecting yourself to be able to switch from this sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight) state when you want to relax or think clearly is overly optimistic to say the least. It’s like that 90mph car, slamming on the brakes every time you come to a junction or a roundabout. Those brakes are not going to last long, and then you’re stuck at high speed, and you’re not going to stop until you either run out of fuel or crash – not a good result in the car analogy, and an even worse one when we’re talking about ourselves!
So if we spend too much time in stressful environments – or in a stressful state in any environment – we put our nervous system and by extension the rest of our body at risk. We could burn out our sympathetic nervous system, so that –
- It may not trigger at all, resulting in the ‘freeze response’ sort of paralysis often referred to as being ‘like a deer in the headlights’, caused by extreme parasympathetic nervous system activation.
- We can become sluggish, lacking energy and drive, and in some cases become depressed. Or,
- It can become overly sensitive, whereby mild stressors cause a disproportionately excessive reaction.
Likewise, we can overwork our parasympathetic nervous systems trying to combat the persistent stress, interfering with the production of ‘happy hormones’ like serotonin, and potentially cutting off our access to those traits and skills which would ordinarily help us to maintain the equilibrium.
Coming soon – Stress and the Nervous System Part 2: The Neurophysiology of Stress.