Deal with toxic stress before it deals with you

Toxic stress is a cause of depression and suicide – and it is at risk of becoming endemic in Ireland

I HAVE BECOME increasingly convinced of the importance of stress as a cause of major depression, anxiety and suicide.

It has also become obvious to me that persistent chronic stress is harmful to our physical health. If we could learn to recognise when stress is becoming “toxic” in our lives, we might be able to prevent ourselves from getting into serious difficulties both physically and psychologically.

Out of this conviction grew Flagging Stress– a simple handbook to assist us all in identifying and managing early-stage toxic stress in our lives. Using a seven-step holistic approach involving a combination of lifestyle and cognitive therapy concepts, I show a way to deal with it. I have included many everyday cases to show how this would work in practice.

The term “toxic”is used to distinguish the normal healthy stress which we all experience in our daily lives from stress which begins to damage our physical and mental health. Toxic stress, for reasons explained in the book, increases the risk of heart disease, stroke, infection and cancer on the physical side and depression, self-harm and suicide on the psychological.

I have been increasingly concerned about the rise in suicide since the recession has started to bite. Toxic stress is at risk of becoming endemic in modern Ireland. A host of sources of stress include pressures at work, relationship difficulties, bullying, housing and debt issues, to name but a few. So how do we know if we are at risk?

Most people experiencing toxic stress present with a mixture of physical and mental symptoms such as fatigue, reduced enjoyment in life, difficulties with sleep, concentration and libido, increasing incidence of infections like cold sores and mouth ulcers. We may also become irritable with those close to us, more anxious or down, and find we are not performing well at work. The term “tired but wired” has been used to describe the above.

Classic toxic stress behaviours often accompany the above symptoms. We may stop exercising, eat rubbish, imbibe too much alcohol, smoke more, lose the rag on the road and so on. Many of these increase our risk of developing the conditions mentioned above.

The secret to managing toxic stress is, firstly, to identify it in our lives. It is important to distinguish it from physical illnesses such as diabetes or anaemia, and mental health difficulties including general anxiety and depression. This may involve a visit to the family doctor if there is uncertainty.

Once we have recognised our enemy we need to develop the skills to deal with it. I have always felt that we all have an innate capacity to deal with stress if given some simple guidelines and structures.

Many are afraid that treatment may involve drug therapy and do not seek assistance as a result. The good news is that – apart from situations where toxic stress has triggered a severe bout of depression – drug therapy has no place in its treatment.

A sensible holistic package involving challenging our behaviours and thinking is the secret to managing and indeed avoiding toxic stress.

Actions can include changing our diet, exercising more, taking supplements, dealing with alcohol and smoking, going for counselling if appropriate, taking up some useful alternative therapies such as yoga and mindfulness meditation, and applying simple cognitive behavioural therapy concepts. The latter is based on the principle that our thoughts influence emotions, which in turn influence behaviour, so what we think influences how we feel, which in turn influences what we do.

Often, it is not what happens to us in life that upsets us and causes us grief, but rather how we interpret what happens. This interpretation arises from belief systems we develop over the course of our life.

By using a simple ABC model, the books helps us to identify – and learn how to challenge – unhelpful thoughts and beliefs. We cannot change our emotions of anxiety, low mood, anger or shame. But we can learn to change our thinking and behaviour.

Suppose two people work in the same factory. One is let go and the other spends six months in negative speculation over what might happen if he were to be let go. Both might experience similar toxic stress symptoms. The first may feel depressed and possibly ashamed at having no job; the second may feel incredibly anxious. Both may end up not eating or sleeping, drinking too much, eating rubbish, not exercising and spending many hours late at night in front of a TV or computer screen. Both are at risk.

In both cases, learning to challenge their toxic behaviours will be crucial. In terms of thinking, the person who has been made redundant will have to challenge his belief that just because he is not working he is of no value. Nothing could be further from the truth, as all of us are special and unique.

The other individual will have to learn to challenge his desire for 100 per cent assurance that he will not be let go – and his assuming the worst case scenario without any proof to back this assumption up. Both may also feel they are not able to cope and need to challenge this as well.

If we learn to challenge our unhealthy thoughts and beliefs we will often feel much better about ourselves and will be more likely to change our unhelpful behaviours as a result.

This, allied with some problem- solving techniques shown in the book, and an effort to genuinely face our toxic behaviours, can produce profound changes to our emotional and physical wellbeing.

I believe that toxic stress may represent one of the greatest threats to our physical and mental wellbeing for the next five to 10 years, as we struggle to deal with the financial and social difficulties we face. It is my hope that this book may help many from succumbing to this potentially lethal condition.

Flagging Stress – Toxic Stress and How to Avoid Itby Dr Harry Barry, is published by Liberties Press, €12.99