Anxiety, anger and depression all impair our ability to process information effectively. When relaxed, we free our “working memory”, greatly increasing our capacity to learn and improving the effectiveness of integrated social and emotional strategies. This results in greater success in education and works, improvements in behaviour and enhanced social cohesion.
When faced with a situation that makes you stressed, your body release chemicals which invoke a ‘fight or flight’ feeling. These hormones help us run faster and fight harder. They increase heart rate and blood pressure, delivering more oxygen and blood sugar to power important muscles. They increase sweating in an effort to cool these muscles and help them stay efficient. They divert blood away from the skin to the core of our bodies, reducing blood loss if we are damaged. As well as this, these hormones focus our attention on the ‘threat’, to the exclusion of everything else. All of this significantly improves our ability to survive life threatening events.
However, when you’re in a situation that isn’t life threatening, such as being on an overcrowded train, in a meeting at work or in a classroom at school, these chemicals are not needed for survival, but their taxing effects are still felt by our bodies. Too much stress often leads to physical, mental and emotional problems so it is important for us to recognise the signals and learn to manage our stress.
