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When the body encounters a stressful situation, the brain activates to preserve physical and mental health. The Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) prepares the body’s hormones for a flight or fight response. In short, the amygdala sends a signal to the hypothalamus, which activates hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, which tells the adrenal gland to produce cortisol. Consequently, cortisol levels in the whole body rise significantly above resting levels.

Important facts to know about the stress response.

• The stress response is adaptive as it prepares the body to act in order to keep it safe.
• It can also useful to trigger immediate and long-term behaviour change as people act to avoid ongoing stress.
• Ongoing high levels of cortisol caused by chronic stress can affect many aspects of the body’s health and functioning.
• If activated too frequently, the body can become on high alert and will over respond to stressful triggers and circumstances.
• Pre- performance nerves and anxiety produce a stress response.

When to seek help

When the stress response remains on high alert, it can be important to seek help from a professional to help recalibrate. If nerves or anxiety are affecting focus or skill execution, psychologists and sport psychologists can provide specific stress management strategies, and help identify and explore psychological aspects to what is causing and maintaining the stress response.

You might consider…

Checking your stress levels regularly through the day (and especially in the week prior to a significant event, performance, competition or presentation) and using strategies to help yourself relax can help you feel a little better, and perform better, but it will take consistency and time. It is also important to find relaxation strategies that work for you.

Some people find different variations and combinations of abdominal breathing, thoughts challenging, progressive muscle relaxation, talk therapy and mindfulness. There are many ways to do theses strategies and many more to try.