Master Stress: Tools for Managing Stress & Anxiety
Main Takeaways
Stress is a response to stressors, which can be psychological or physical.
The neurons that control stress run from the neck to naval.
The stress response pushes what we need, turns off what we don't need, stimulates the body to move to action, or say something.
To reduce stress, we should use the body instead of the mind. Breathing exercises such as physiological sigh can calm down in real-time.
Short-term stress is good for the immune system, and procrastination is how we turn on short-term stress.
Managing stress is about raising capacity, and the goal is to be calm of mind when the body is activated.
Chronic stress leads to heart disease because of the way adrenaline impacts blood vessels.
Social connection and regular exercise are some things that can mitigate long-term stress.
L-theanine and Ashwagandha are supplements that can help manage stress.
Melatonin should not be used as a supplement since over-the-counter doses are much higher than produced in the body, and it can suppress puberty response in species and reduce the output of adrenals.
