Work performance assessment makes us unable to sleep, and we keep counting sheep or unable to fall asleep?
Ten tension in a relationship makes us anxious and uneasy. After eating and drinking, we are still irritable and panicked?
The burden of life is too heavy and makes us depressed. "Only quiet" for a long time, but still wants to escape...
Pressure is the invisible enemy of modern people. As the pace of modern life becomes faster and faster, many people will feel exhausted in their busy lives and work. Fatigue, headache, gastrointestinal discomfort, and irritability have become commonplace. Symptoms such as insomnia, constipation, and cervical pain have also appeared frequently, and sometimes inexplicable depression may occur.
In the view of brain science expert, deputy chief physician of neurosurgery at Beijing Jishuitan Hospital Jin Bo , if you look at yourself from the perspective of stress, you will find that many physical discomforts are actually related to many factors such as life, mood, and feelings, which are the result of these factors bringing us stress.
Jinbo believes that stress is a reaction of the human brain to the outside world. If we observe carefully, we will find that there are two types of people around us. A type of people are energetic and have strong psychological tolerance. Even if they face huge pressure, they can still handle it calmly and easily. Not only have they achieved impressive results in their careers, but they are also very healthy. There is another type of people who often have no time to take care of themselves, and some small things in daily life can make them worried. Summarizing the differences between these two types of people, it can be seen that they treat stress in completely different ways.
So, how should we face pressure and what is the correct way to deal with pressure? The following content is selected from "Stress Relieving Life", and has been deleted and modified from the original text. The subtitle was added by the editor and is not owned by the original text. The illustrations used in the article are from the book except for the label. It has been authorized by the publisher to publish.
"Stress Relieving Life", written by Jin Bo, Guangchen丨People's Posts and Telecommunications Press October 2022 edition.
How much does stress have to do with human health?
You must be familiar with the word "stress", but this does not mean that you really understand stress. Physically, "pressure" refers to the force that occurs on the contact surfaces of two objects. In medicine, the meaning of "stress" is more extensive. In addition to referring to the forces our bodies are subject to, it also includes the environment and time that makes people feel nervous. Stress is an individual's nervous response to injury and change. So how much does stress have to do with people’s health? It can be said that most of the diseases and symptoms of physical discomfort in this world are related to inappropriate stress. The "improper pressure" mentioned here includes too high pressure and too low pressure. Yes, you heard it right, too low stress can also cause health risks.
"decompression" the brain.
Understanding these can bring you two very important gains. First, it can better help you explore the essence of the problem. If you are suffering from some physical or psychological discomfort right now, you need to re-examine yourself from the perspective of stress. The benefit of doing this is that you will no longer just stay at the tangled level, but will realize more deeply that these discomforts are caused by yourself; second, it can better help you solve problems and restore your health. When you realize the nature of discomfort, you find the right direction to deal with discomfort. So, how do you look at yourself from the perspective of stress?
We can try a very effective method called "body scan". Body scanning is a core technology of mindfulness meditation in psychiatric science. It allows our consciousness to have an in-depth conversation with every moment of the body experience, just like a super early physical examination of our body that allows us to detect problems in a timely manner and make adjustments. The first step is to choose a quiet place, sit or lie down, then close your eyes and take three deep breaths slowly. Next, use your consciousness to scan the whole body from head to toe like doing CT (Computed Tomography), and slowly feel every part of your body. When you are performing a "body scan" with your consciousness, you will notice a series of physical feelings you have not realized before, such as mild pain, itching, or relaxation, warmth.Stills from the movie "The Knight of the Freedom" (1969).
Don’t panic when you find that your body is not feeling well. Next, we will carry out the second step of "analysis". For example, if you feel some pain in your right ankle, you can recall whether you have walked too much today or have been standing for too long? Have you intentionally or unintentionally putting your right foot under too much pressure during this whole day? Another example is that you find that your stomach is a little uncomfortable, do you have to think about whether you have eaten a little too much these two days? Is it because of irregular diet? Do you want to eat iced food when the weather is hot and are used to using this to relieve dryness? If your head is a little uncomfortable, then you can think about it if you have been thinking too much recently? Is it because of lack of sleep? Is the things you are facing that make your emotions fluctuate too much?
Dutch There is a world-famous "iceman" called Wim Hof (Wim Hof). He was able to endure extreme cold and set several world records as a result. Scientists study his super cold resistance, monitor his physical condition and metabolism when he is in a low temperature environment with ordinary people, and also perform imaging evaluations such as functional magnetic resonance imaging on their brains.
Dutch "Iceman" Wim Hof.
research results found that this "iceman" has some special methods that have improved his ability to tolerate cold. For example, adjust your breathing and meditation. His special method not only changes the metabolism of body tissues, but also activates certain areas of the brain, reduces the body's sensitivity to environmental low temperatures, and establishes tolerance to low temperatures and maintains body temperature under extreme cold conditions. These methods of changing body tissue metabolism are related to sympathetic . When he adjusted his breathing, he breathed vigorously and caused the sympathetic nerve excitation of the intercostal muscles to increase the consumption of glucose and glucose , and the heat generated diffuses to the lung tissue, which heats up the circulating blood in the alveolar capillaries.
The extremely low temperature is an unfavorable stimulus for the body, and it is also stressful. If you can use a method similar to the Dutch "Iceman" to deal with low temperatures and adjust your body in time, it can greatly reduce the negative impact of this adverse stimulus on the body.
stress wants to make our body react through autonomic nerves
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Our body has hundreds of millions of nerve cells, which make up our nervous system . The nervous system is divided into two major branches: central nervous system and peripheral nervous system . The central nervous system, composed of the brain and spinal cord; the peripheral nervous system, including all neural structures outside the central nervous system, extends to all parts of our body. The peripheral nervous system consists of the somatic nervous system and the autonomic nervous system. The somatic nervous system is mainly distributed in the skin and muscles, while the autonomic nervous system is distributed in various organs in the body.
The composition of the nervous system.
Autonomous nerves on anatomy mainly refer to the sympathetic and parasympathetic nerves, which control our breathing, heartbeat, and even the contraction of each blood vessel. In addition, it also regulates the secretion of hormones in our internal organs and the body, forming an inherent set of laws in our bodies. For example, when you are nervous, your hair will rise and you will get goosebumps; when you enter a hot room, you will sweat profusely; when night falls, you will feel sleepy.
The autonomic nerve has a significant feature, that is, although it exists in our body, it is not dominated by our consciousness. Not only that, it also governs our lives. It is like the body's "autonomous driving program", which puts the most important physical activities in our lives and happening at every moment in the background to run to ensure life safety; it is also like the body's "preset system", when we encounter external changes, the body will enter a set state according to the inherent program. This is actually an evolution of life. Just imagine, if the autonomic nerve is completely left to consciousness to control, then there is a high possibility of big trouble.For example, when you are reading or playing games, you forget to breathe as soon as you get immersed in your mind, or when you are quarreling with others, you forget to beat your heart when you are angry. Then isn’t your life facing the danger of ending anytime and anywhere?
The autonomic nervous system is so secretive and important, I gave it a cool name, called "Hidden Self". The autonomic nervous system is another self hidden in your body. You cannot feel its existence, but it is always there and deeply affects your body. Although the autonomic nerves are not controlled by our consciousness, they can be affected by stress.
For example, if you returned to ancient times, you were wearing animal skins, holding a spear, walking alone in the forest. The sun shines in the gaps between the leaves, and the fragrance of grass and the land enters your body with your breath, and occasionally a few bird songs are heard above your head, which makes you feel very comfortable. Suddenly, you noticed that a pair of eyes with golden light were staring at you not far away. If you look closely, it is a tiger! Your heart rate increases, your blood pressure increases, your eyes dilate the pupils, your eyes reduce blood flow to the internal organs, your limbs increase, your skin pores shrink urgently, your adrenaline levels suddenly increase, and your body becomes extremely sensitive. At this point, you need to choose to fight or run away!
The role of autonomic nerve.
When you meet a tiger, your emotions and feelings will become extremely nervous from being very relaxed, and your physical signs will also undergo a series of changes. The carrier of these changes is the autonomic nervous system. What stimulates the autonomic nerves to make changes is the tiger you encounter, which is the pressure brought by the danger at that time. In this way, this reaction of the autonomic nerve is actually a self-protection mechanism . Without this self-protection mechanism, you were enjoying life comfortably in the last second, and the next second you might become a tiger's meal.
The autonomic nervous system also protects our body temperature from excessive influence by ambient temperature, so our body temperature is always constant. But for ordinary people, this regulation and protection are limited. In extreme low-temperature environments, the autonomic nerves will fail to regulate body temperature, so in the absence of protective measures, life will be under great threat when exposed to low-temperature environments.
The story of the Dutch "Iceman" tells us that the autonomic nervous system is not completely out of our control. Therefore, we get an important revelation: stress is not what you want. Stress wants to make our body respond through the autonomic nerves, and we can also intervene and regulate the activities of the autonomic nerve through some special training and lifestyle changes.
Adjust stress has positive significance for our lives
The production of stress is closely related to two structures in our brain - hippocampus and the amygdala. The memory function of the hippocampus and the recognition function of the amygdala complement each other in the process of stress production. Given the role of the two, we will also recognize a special means to help relieve stress, called " system desensitization method ", which means to achieve the purpose of eliminating anxiety and tension by reshaping memory in a stressful environment and creating new memory patterns, thereby empowering stress relief.
Adjust pressure has positive significance for our lives, and one of the most typical examples is the "Lion Memory Method". When a lion hunts, it will mobilize its memories, recalling the most grassy antelope, and the ponds have abundant water sources. People find that lions generally have the following characteristics when hunting: lions often hunt most actively and efficiently when hungry; lions always keep walking when foraging; lions are more efficient when hunting.
People have summarized learning methods that help enhance memory based on these three characteristics of lion hunting - hunger, walking and cold. This is the "Lion Memory Method". In other words, if you want to improve memory efficiency, try to learn when you are hungry before meals, and it is best to remember while walking, such as memorizing words on the way to school; and do not wear too much when studying, and appropriately lower the ambient temperature to improve memory efficiency.
But is the "Lion Memory Method" really so magical? Will your memory improve after mastering these skills?
The main thing that is responsible for memory is a structure in our brain called the "hippocampus". It is located deep in the brain near our ears, with one on each left and right brain. It is not very large in size because it is particularly shaped like the hippocampus in the ocean. The memory function of the hippocampus can be activated by external influences. For example, scientists' research has found that the principle of hunger in the "Lion Memory Method" is that hormones produced during hunger will stimulate the hippocampus to enhance memory.
Have you ever been anxious or confused about such a question: "Why can't I remember some things, no matter how many times I read them, how many times I hear them, no matter how I remind myself, I still can't remember them?" In fact, you don't need to be anxious or confused, because forgetting is the instinct of each of us, which is a result of the evolution of the human brain. In terms of weight, the brain accounts for 2% of the body's weight, but in terms of energy consumption, the brain consumes 25% of the body's energy. It can be seen from this that the brain is a "large energy-consuming user" of the human body. Faced with such high energy consumption, if you want to maintain its operation, you certainly need a "energy-saving mode". In order to achieve the purpose of energy saving, our brains quickly forget most things. Therefore, most of our memories are short-term memories, which can only last for a few seconds to minutes, making it difficult to form long-term memories. The hippocampus plays the "gate" of long-term memory.
So, what kind of events can form long-term memory through the "gate" of the hippocampus? The answer is: stressful events related to individual survival. Cold and hunger will make the lion alert to the threat of the environment to their lives, so it is easier to mobilize the memory function. There are many similar situations in life. For example, do you often forget to turn off the lights when you go out? But do you often forget to turn off the gas when you go out? I guess it is common to forget to turn off the lights, and forget to turn off the gas is very accidental and has never even happened. This is because you know that it is very dangerous to not be related to gas. Correspondingly, the matter of not being related to gas becomes a stressful event related to your survival. This stress will become long-term memories that will be stored in your mind forever.
For example, until today, most Americans who have experienced the "9.11" incident remember what they were doing that day because this incident was a stressful event for them, and this pressure will turn what happened at that time into long-term memory and store it. Our brain receives countless information every day. If all information is stored, the brain's energy consumption will become higher and higher, and the body will be overwhelmed. Therefore, the hippocampus is responsible for screening, which converts events that create the greatest stress on our emotions or survival into long-term memory and stores them. This is the protective mechanism formed by our human body in the process of continuous evolution.
utilizes the deceptive nature of the hippocampus and the amygdala.
can empower our stress relief
hippocampus retains stress memory. So where does the judgment of stress come from? This requires another structure in our brain - the amygdala. Its function is to create emotions about events and judge the magnitude of pressure.
Richard J. Davidson, PhD in Psychology, wrote in The Emotional Life of YourB rain: "The area in the brain that mainly deals with social behaviors appears in the brains of mammals about 200 million years ago. This part of the ancient and primitive area is called the 'mammal brain', which includes the amygdala." The amygdala is named because it looks like an almond. The amygdala never rests, detects the outside world at all times, from life to threatening, such as gas leakage or earthquakes we mentioned earlier, to negative emotional experiences, such as anxiety in work competition, feeling of loss in lost items, etc., will activate the amygdala and make it begin to recognize stress.
Given an example that most of us have encountered: Why do you have a faster heartbeat, a blank mind, and incoherent speech when performing in public? This is because when you are stared at by a group of people, the amygdala is immediately alert, and the brain will awaken the ancient memories in your genes, feeling like you are being targeted by an animal, so you immediately mobilize the autonomic nervous system to activate your survival instinct: your heart is accelerated, your breathing is rapid, and your limbs are filled with blood and oxygen to fight or run away. Meanwhile, the blood used by the brain to think and organize language areas is snatched away by the limbs, so you will feel like your brain is blank.
In addition, studies have shown that both patients with social phobia and patients with post-traumatic stress disorder have abnormal changes in the amygdala brain. I once treated a patient with PTSD. When he was working in a factory, he was squeezed into his head by a machine tool from both sides, resulting in a skull fracture of on both sides. Later, after treatment, he recovered, but he suffered from a sequelae. Every time he returned to the factory, he would sweat and be frightened whenever he saw the machine. This is because his brain has identified the last incident as a stressful event that threatens survival.
As long as he sees that machine, the amygdala in his brain will be activated and recognize it as a stressful event, evoking long-term memory in the hippocampus, thus putting him into a very uneasy state.
In each of our brains, the amygdala and the hippocampus work together. The amygdala is responsible for judging the magnitude of stress based on events; the hippocampus is responsible for filtering small stress events and converting large stressful events into long-term memory. It is precisely because of the hippocampus that the amygdala can accurately identify the emotional information brought by stress and be activated. At the same time, the amygdala will also send strong emotional-oriented signals to the hippocampus, and extremely positive and extremely negative emotions can make the memory of related events stronger. The coordination between the hippocampus and the amygdala allows humans to survive and continue in primitive societies where there are dangers everywhere. The fear of beasts makes people firmly remember their faces so that they can react the first second they feel they are approaching: choose to defend, run away, or fight.
But the information sent to us primitively and instinctively by regions such as the hippocampus and the amygdala may also be deceptive and will affect our judgment of the current situation. Maybe you heard a saying in your school days, and you are even still talking to your children now, that is: "If you don't study hard, your life will be over." This sentence hovers in your mind, and the hippocampus and amygdala keep telling you: "If you don't study well, you will be done. If you don't do well, you will be terrible." So you have a strong fear of the exam, and you will have a doubled pressure before the exam, you will be extremely anxious, you will not be able to read books during the day, and you will not be able to sleep at night... However, this may not be the case. If you don’t study well, no one’s life will be really “finished”. It is a very common experience to fail the exam. It is realized that the hippocampus and the amygdala deceive us, and that these primitive fears from the brain are often not true portrayals of reality, or the beginning of stress relief. Seeing this, are you enlightened?
uses the deceptive nature of the hippocampus and amygdala to reshape memory and create new memory patterns, which can empower our stress relief. In fact, this is a psychological treatment method called "system desensitization method", which is mainly used to treat some psychological and behavioral disorders. For example, the social phobia and post-traumatic stress disorder we mentioned earlier, as well as the negative reactions of individuals to daily events such as exams, public performances, and coming to a new environment. Systematic desensitization method will slowly induce individuals to be exposed to situations that make them feel anxious and fearful, and will fight this anxiety and fear through a psychological relaxation state, ultimately achieving the purpose of alleviating or even eliminating anxiety and fear.
For example, if you are afraid to speak in public, you can try this: be alone, choose an environment that makes you feel relaxed and safe, be in it, and be ready to speak. Imagine a group of people sitting in front of you, staring at you intently, ready to listen to your speech.At this time, you may start to feel nervous, breathing rapidly, and your heartbeat is faster... Don't panic, and tell yourself silently in your heart that it is normal to be nervous. With so many pairs of eyes staring at me, who can not be nervous? Don't force yourself to relax quickly, and don't fall into chagrin. In a tense state, take a deep breath, adjust the frequency of breathing, relax the muscles in the body, and don’t be so tight. Then, talk to yourself in your heart: "No terrible thing will happen." Keep practicing the above process until you no longer feel nervous and anxious. After repeated and step-by-step practice, you will find that the things that make you feel anxious and fearful are gradually no longer stimulating you. You are not so sensitive to these things, and you are "desensitized" and naturally the pressure will be much less. Using the deceptive nature of the hippocampus and amygdala can not only empower stress relief, but also turn knowledge that you find difficult to remember into long-term memory. Here, I will introduce two tips to you.
The first trick is called repetition. For example, if you recite a knowledge point repeatedly before the exam, as long as you repeat it enough times, your hippocampus will feel that this may be important for individual emotions or survival, so you will open the "gate" and make this knowledge your long-term memory.
The second technique is called giving meaning and generating emotions. For example, if I ask you what work you did last Wednesday, you may no longer remember it, but if I ask you what work you did on the first day of your job, you will often remember it because "the first day of your job" has unique meaning. You have an emotion of tension or excitement. The stronger the emotions, the deeper the memory will be. Therefore, learn to give meaning and mobilize emotions, and the memory effect will be twice the result with half the effort.
Original author/Jin Bo
excerpt/He An'an
edit/Wang Qing
introduction proofreading/Chen Diyan
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