Front Office Football Central - View Single Post - Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Course

Radii · 03-02-2015, 11:43 PM

The Physiology of Stress

The instructor talks to us for awhile about the science behind stress. I'm trying to summarize so if any of this is just dead wrong, apologies. We begin by talking about the sympathetic nervous system which controls the fight or flight responses that we are all likely familiar with, coming with increased heart rate, blood pressure, etc. Opposite this is the parasympathetic nervous system which has the opposite effect and is activated when an adrenaline response is not required, it can calm the system, lower heart rate, blood pressure, etc. The fight or flight response is critical, and stress is a part of life. There is no goal of removing stress from one's life.

The instructor gives an example of his drive to work in an area with some woods and frequent deer sightings. A deer hops into the road, sympathetic nervous system activates. Instant reaction, dodge the deer if possible, continue on to work. The hormones secreted by the adrenal glands leave the system fairly quickly, and all is well. However, what about another example? Alarm goes off and you're still tired so you're upset to be waking up. The kids won't get ready for school easily and need a lot of prodding. The dog goes out for his morning shit and goes and digs up something in the garden where he knows he's not allowed. You drive to work and almost hit the deer. Your favorite parking place is taken and you have to park somewhere else when you get to work. You're a little late and your boss notices and points at his watch and gives you a disapproving look. You have a pile of work on your desk and you're already behind. Over time all of these things begin to trigger something of an adrenaline response. A constant state of stress over everything, with no time for these hormones to leave the system and to relax. Longer term stress like this leads to the buildup of cortisol in the system. Buildup of cortisol impacts blood sugar, immune system responses, allows for an easier storage of harmful belly fat, and tons and tons of other things.

What we are learning in this course are ways to break this cycle of ever growing long term stress, to allow the body to return to a relaxed state from time to time.

The instructor didn't mention it, but in the extra reading material is a section on diaphragmatic breathing, something I mentioned having learned in physical therapy. From our reading:

"Diaphragmatic breathing activates the relax-and-digest response by stimulating the primary mediator of the parasympathetic nervous system, the vagus nerve, which trigger a cascade of calming effects. Of all the processes regulated by the autonomic nervous system, only breathing can be controlled consciously"

Hence the focus on this practice both here and in PT, neat. I am 100% sure I learned these details in physical therapy as well. I have learned literally hundreds of things in PT, so hearing this from a second source definitely helps to reinforce it.

Also part of our science lesson is the fact that external stimuli (like the deer) are processed by the amygdala in the brain to decide if the fight or flight response needs to be activated BEFORE being passed to anything we are conscious of. This makes sense and sounds familiar from high school

The point made here by the instructor is "when you become aware of that stress response, it has already happened in the past. It is too late to stop it from happening." The handout talks about work that can be done later on with meditation and other things to work towards changing the ways your body triggers its stress response, and perhaps being able to get your body to avoid triggering a stress response to some of the more minor stresses in life. We didn't talk about that in class yet though.

The instructor also mentions recent studies (study? unsure) talking about a suggestion to take a break from whatever you're doing every 60-90 minutes to allow your body to relax. This can be via some form of mindfulness practice, or by simply doing something different from what you were doing. If you're on the computer, get up and take a short walk. If you were working in the yard for the last hour, maybe sitting down at the computer is the relaxation.

Someone at this point said simply "Netflix?" and got a laugh from everyone. The instructor talked about the difference between distraction and mindfulness, at times distraction can be an effective break, but the awareness that can be learned and examined with mindfulness can be far more beneficial.

Personal Response

First, I am thrilled to get some science talk amidst all of the talk of "lets try this thing that seems a little strange because reasons." This all makes sense to me and resonates with me in a big way.

Second, I find a ton of parallels to this science talk and to all of the physical therapy work I've done. Some of it, like the task of diaphragmatic breathing, are very direct. When trying to improve my posture, its frequently mentioned how much I can benefit from moving around more, even in small ways. Both in the sense of frequently changing between sitting and standing at my desk (I have an adjustable desk), and sitting on my stability ball to build core strength and force movement. Also suggestions to take a quick walk around the house any time i get up for water or to use the bathroom. All things that promote this "taking a break" suggestion.

Third, both physical therapists have talked to me about "resetting" the central nervous system, doing things along with my physical work to try to reset the pain response in the areas that I have it. There have been talks about how physical pain can linger even though the reason for the pain may be long gone, and it can be difficult to get past that. I'm not sure those discussions on pain are exactly the same as the discussions on stress here, but I am able to see and draw some parallels and I really appreciate them.

Honestly, this discussion on science is given in a very clear and engaging way, and it has put me completely all in on the rest of the course. This, along with some mentions of things we'll attempt to learn later, really gives me at least a small sense of the building blocks that are happening here, there is a TON less blind trust (even though that was enough and was working for me), and a lot more sense of understanding now.

03-02-2015, 11:43 PM	#34
Radii Head Coach Join Date: Jul 2001	The Physiology of Stress The instructor talks to us for awhile about the science behind stress. I'm trying to summarize so if any of this is just dead wrong, apologies. We begin by talking about the sympathetic nervous system which controls the fight or flight responses that we are all likely familiar with, coming with increased heart rate, blood pressure, etc. Opposite this is the parasympathetic nervous system which has the opposite effect and is activated when an adrenaline response is not required, it can calm the system, lower heart rate, blood pressure, etc. The fight or flight response is critical, and stress is a part of life. There is no goal of removing stress from one's life. The instructor gives an example of his drive to work in an area with some woods and frequent deer sightings. A deer hops into the road, sympathetic nervous system activates. Instant reaction, dodge the deer if possible, continue on to work. The hormones secreted by the adrenal glands leave the system fairly quickly, and all is well. However, what about another example? Alarm goes off and you're still tired so you're upset to be waking up. The kids won't get ready for school easily and need a lot of prodding. The dog goes out for his morning shit and goes and digs up something in the garden where he knows he's not allowed. You drive to work and almost hit the deer. Your favorite parking place is taken and you have to park somewhere else when you get to work. You're a little late and your boss notices and points at his watch and gives you a disapproving look. You have a pile of work on your desk and you're already behind. Over time all of these things begin to trigger something of an adrenaline response. A constant state of stress over everything, with no time for these hormones to leave the system and to relax. Longer term stress like this leads to the buildup of cortisol in the system. Buildup of cortisol impacts blood sugar, immune system responses, allows for an easier storage of harmful belly fat, and tons and tons of other things. What we are learning in this course are ways to break this cycle of ever growing long term stress, to allow the body to return to a relaxed state from time to time. The instructor didn't mention it, but in the extra reading material is a section on diaphragmatic breathing, something I mentioned having learned in physical therapy. From our reading: "Diaphragmatic breathing activates the relax-and-digest response by stimulating the primary mediator of the parasympathetic nervous system, the vagus nerve, which trigger a cascade of calming effects. Of all the processes regulated by the autonomic nervous system, only breathing can be controlled consciously" Hence the focus on this practice both here and in PT, neat. I am 100% sure I learned these details in physical therapy as well. I have learned literally hundreds of things in PT, so hearing this from a second source definitely helps to reinforce it. Also part of our science lesson is the fact that external stimuli (like the deer) are processed by the amygdala in the brain to decide if the fight or flight response needs to be activated BEFORE being passed to anything we are conscious of. This makes sense and sounds familiar from high school The point made here by the instructor is "when you become aware of that stress response, it has already happened in the past. It is too late to stop it from happening." The handout talks about work that can be done later on with meditation and other things to work towards changing the ways your body triggers its stress response, and perhaps being able to get your body to avoid triggering a stress response to some of the more minor stresses in life. We didn't talk about that in class yet though. The instructor also mentions recent studies (study? unsure) talking about a suggestion to take a break from whatever you're doing every 60-90 minutes to allow your body to relax. This can be via some form of mindfulness practice, or by simply doing something different from what you were doing. If you're on the computer, get up and take a short walk. If you were working in the yard for the last hour, maybe sitting down at the computer is the relaxation. Someone at this point said simply "Netflix?" and got a laugh from everyone. The instructor talked about the difference between distraction and mindfulness, at times distraction can be an effective break, but the awareness that can be learned and examined with mindfulness can be far more beneficial. Personal Response First, I am thrilled to get some science talk amidst all of the talk of "lets try this thing that seems a little strange because reasons." This all makes sense to me and resonates with me in a big way. Second, I find a ton of parallels to this science talk and to all of the physical therapy work I've done. Some of it, like the task of diaphragmatic breathing, are very direct. When trying to improve my posture, its frequently mentioned how much I can benefit from moving around more, even in small ways. Both in the sense of frequently changing between sitting and standing at my desk (I have an adjustable desk), and sitting on my stability ball to build core strength and force movement. Also suggestions to take a quick walk around the house any time i get up for water or to use the bathroom. All things that promote this "taking a break" suggestion. Third, both physical therapists have talked to me about "resetting" the central nervous system, doing things along with my physical work to try to reset the pain response in the areas that I have it. There have been talks about how physical pain can linger even though the reason for the pain may be long gone, and it can be difficult to get past that. I'm not sure those discussions on pain are exactly the same as the discussions on stress here, but I am able to see and draw some parallels and I really appreciate them. Honestly, this discussion on science is given in a very clear and engaging way, and it has put me completely all in on the rest of the course. This, along with some mentions of things we'll attempt to learn later, really gives me at least a small sense of the building blocks that are happening here, there is a TON less blind trust (even though that was enough and was working for me), and a lot more sense of understanding now. Last edited by Radii : 03-03-2015 at 12:16 AM.