Whats Your Stress Language? (Best Way To Release Stress!)
Posted by Anil (3 years, 1 month ago)
Do you know what's the best way to relieve stress? Through your individual Stress Language. Once you figure out your Stress Language, you and your people would never be stressed the way you'll used to be!
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What is Stress?
Our society considers stress to be a villain. We attribute all social problems, our health problems, our work problems, all problems to stress. Stress, in reality, is just your body's feedback system. You see, your body is this amazing, complex, mechanical system that keeps on emitting and receiving signals. These signals trigger emotions or, what some people may call, energy in motion; at times, the energy flows smoothly, and we feel relaxed; other times, it faces obstruction and friction, and we feel stressed.
Stress Languages
Have you been in a situation where you're stressed, and your friend tries to make things better for you but, instead of making things better she makes you feel more stressed, and not just that, she goes back stressed too. Why is that?
You see, stress is a communication from your body; your body is trying to tell you that something is not right. And like any other communication, there is a language that it speaks; two persons need not speak the same stress language. So when your friend came to help you, she assumed that whatever worked for her should also work for you, and that's why when it didn't work, she would have imagined all sorts of negative conclusions, including a possibility that you might even dislike her! As a result, her body sent her that dreadful signal that something is not right. And thus she felt stressed. And since you assumed that you are not understood by your friend, you felt even more stressed.
The point is, a lack of awareness of various stress languages makes people more stressed.
So what are these stress languages?
3 Stress Languages
According to research, linked in the description, there are three stress languages:
1. Flee Stress
2. Fight Stress
3. Freeze Stress
You may have already heard of these three; these are the same involuntary responses that helped our ancestors survive wild animals thousands of years ago. In the current times, however, we no longer need to worry about them, at least not as often; so instead, these get triggered at perceived danger, or when something is not right.
Now, if you search online, you'll find many ways to manage these responses, as if these involuntary responses are somehow in our control. Obviously, they focus only on the superficial and short-term management, rather than a long-term solution.
But as you know, in this channel, we like to go deeper into the root of all problems. So far we know that flee, fight, and freeze are languages our bodies use to communicate stress. Now, let's see how these stress languages actually work.
1. Flee Stress
If you feel like escaping the situation, your body is exhibiting the flee stress language. Flee stress is all about movements - your hands start shaking, your feet starts moving, your fingers start fidgeting, you feel like going to the washroom often, you start sweating, there's palpitations, restlessness, insomnia at night, and drug abuse, and all such things.
In this situation, if your friend tries to restrict your freedom by asking you to calm down or do as what she says, you, obviously, are going to get more stressed; and same happens if she tries to remind you of any deadline, or gives you more worries.
So what should she do? Maybe she should give you more options and let you choose, according to your will. Maybe she should put things into perspective, and remind you that everything will be okay, lighten the situation with laughter and humor, invite you to take a walk with her. Basically, she should do anything that would let you escape the situation.
2. Fight Stress
Fight stress is all about power. You become aggressive, there's intimidation in your voice - it gets louder, your movement gets stronger, you lose all patience, your eyes start squinting, there's inner tension, oversensitivity, anger, you stand tall.
In this situation, if your friend tries to match you, and tries to overpower you or undermine you, or annoy you, or laugh at you, your stress will literally blow the roof.
So what should she do? Perhaps she should listen patiently, take responsibility of any mistakes and try not to make any excuses, offer solutions, and get to the point and be factual. Fight stress is all about overpowering and winning, so maybe she should just let you win.
3. Freeze Stress
Freeze stress shows helplessness. Your voice lowers, you talk slowly, you use less words, there's occasional tears running down your cheeks, your energy decreases, and there's a general sense of discouragement and demoralization.
In this situation, if your friend tries to instill courage and power, or she tries to shake you up or put things into perspective, you'll only feel more depressed.
Ideally, she should try to mirror your pose - if you're sitting down, she should sit down beside you. If you're laying down on the bed, maybe she should lay down as well. She should try to put herself on your level and be respectful of your feeling; maybe sit down beside you in silence for a while; put an arm around your shoulder and offer you a hug, when you feel like it; offer shelter and protection. Freeze stress is all about seeking protection, so maybe she should offer comfort.
What's your Stress Language?
We all have a preferred stress language, yet our body would choose a different one based on the situation. For example, if your stress language is Fight, but you're in the company of people above you in the social hierarchy, your body would certainly skip the fight language for a Flee or a Freeze. But once you're back in your comfort zone, your body would remind you to release your aggression to feel better.
Now, if you want to identify your stress language easily, we've created a short quiz or Culture, as we call it on Placetime. You just have to click this link, and it will take you there. If you're a member of Placetime, you can log in with your details. If you're not yet a member, you can easily do your free registration. Once you submit your details, you'll be redirected to the Culture page, and once you finish your Culture assessment, you'll be shown your reports page.
And in this case, you'll know what your stress language is. And you'll also see what the do's and don'ts are for your stress language. We also recommend that you share this report with your people so that the next time you're stressed they know exactly what to expect!
Download
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