What's Your Stress Type?

Being strung out can wreak havoc on your health. Here’s how pinpointing your stress type can help you to cope better with life

- Clair Weaver

There’s no getting away from stress. It’s an unavoidable part of life. But life is even more stressful than usual these days thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The are more things pushing our stress buttons – anxiety about getting sick or worry about loved ones who are sick, juggling working from home with kids, anxiety about finances due to retrenchment or having to take a pay cut, to name a few.

We’re also bombarded by a constant stream of news and information about Covid. Technology has so infiltrated our lives that many of us now spend more of our downtime on our phones or tablets than with our partners or families.

The accumulation of relentless stressors in our lives has spawned a new phenomenon: “superstress”. This occurs when we get so overwhelmed by stress that we can no longer function normally or happily in our lives. But no matter how good we think we may be at multitasking, our bodies are simply not designed to cope at this level, says Dr Roberta Lee, author of The Superstress Solution.

“Our bodies are hardwired to respond to stress the same way our ancestors did, and under acute conditions that response did [and still does] protect us,” she says in her book. “But today’s society has increased chronic stressors to assault proportions, and we’re left dealing with the fallout.”

Short-term stress prompts the body to release a flood of hormones to prepare you for fight or flight. When stress is chronic and prolonged, the body keeps producing these hormones – and they start to have a toxic effect.