“I love being busy”, my patient told me today.
I love hearing stories about women thriving at work, surrounded by good social networks, enjoying parenting and in a happy, stable marriage.
So why is she sitting in my clinic?
This same patient is also struggling with weight loss, low energy, thyroid health and has woken at 2am, every night for many years.
I began to ponder how “being busy” is affecting her and whether her “normal life” is now a contributing factor for her ailments. That’s right, is she in the chronic stress reaction?
There are 3 types of stress:
- acute (a brief event such as a heated argument or getting late for an appointment)
- acute episodic (frequent acute events such as exams)
- chronic stress (persistent events like being unhappy at work, in a difficult relationship or undergoing financial hardship).
Both acute and chronic stressors cause the “fight-or-flight” response.
With acute stress, the event is brief and hormone levels will gradually return to normal. Acute episodic and chronic stress repeatedly trigger the fight-or-flight response causing a persistent elevation of hormones, leading to a risk of health problems: [1]
- Digestive issues (heartburn, flatulence, diarrhea, constipation)
- Weight gain
- Elevated blood pressure
- Muscular pain (headaches, back pain, neck pain
- Insomnia
- Anxiety, depression
- Tiredness
It’s true that you might live a busy life without experiencing stress.
For example, you may have a busy schedule filled with multiple activities you enjoy, such as working at a job you love, meeting with friends after work for drinks, and going home to have dinner with your family. This is a busy day but may not lead you to feel stressed.
However, if you dread going to your job every day and find the work overwhelming and meaningless, you might feel stressed about it.
Here are some common signs among those who experience chronic stress:
- Having difficulty concentrating.
- Experiencing racing thoughts.
- Having a negative outlook.
- Feeling depressed or unsatisfied with life.
- Having more mood swings or angry outbursts.
- Experiencing anxiousness and agitations.
- Isolating yourself or feeling lonely.
And of course, having the physical symptoms of chronic stress as outlined above.
So why do we love being busy?
Researchers have found that this may be influenced by the fact that when we complete tasks, our brain releases the pleasure hormone dopamine, which makes us feel good.
We can get hooked on this feeling and rewarding experience, so we want it to be repeated. We then crave this pleasure again and again.
Other reasons for being busy include fear of missing out, avoiding negative emotions, striving for success, being busy is your identity, you may feel guilty about doing nothing or you find it hard to relax.
Back to my patient...
As I dive deeper into her story, she is struggling with long hours at work. She is the main breadwinner in the family and feels there is no way out of her current situation. She realises she is chronically sleep deprived and on further questioning, she notices she takes shallow breaths which activates the fight or flight response.
She now understands that she has been in the chronic stress response for many years and is keen to make some lifestyle changes including creating a better sleep routine, setting boundaries, reducing screen time and taking deep breaths thoughout the day.
Therapeutic lifestyle change programs are now recommended as the first line of treatment for chronic disease by many medical societies and organisations such as the Center for Disease Control, National Institutes of Health, American Heart Association and the American Diabetes Association. [2]
Simple changes in lifestyle can have profound effects on health.
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Disclaimer: This is general advice only. Please see your healthcare professional if you are suffering from stress and anxiety.