What’s your stress signature?
Everyone has a unique stress signature meaning that different stressors will affect each of us differently. Building awareness around your stress triggers will allow you to better manage stress and make things just a little bit better.
It's so easy to feel overwhelmed by the seemingly bottomless pit of stress in your life. But it can be helpful to actually see what areas of your life are most affected by stress. This better enables you to problem solve! Everyone has a unique stress signature; different stressors will affect each of us differently. The stress web can help you identify which stressors are mostly affecting you. Once you've determined what things are adding to your stress, it can be easier to figure out how to make things even marginally better. Think to yourself: what can I do to make this just a little bit better? You can either try to decrease the stressor or, if that's not possible, try and increase recovery.
Although stress drains your tank, recovery can help refill it. Recovery includes elements like: Good nutrition, solid sleep, gentle movement, fulfilling activities, social connections, positive emotions, time outside, and mindfulness. If you can't reduce the stressors (i.e. work stress, relationship stress, loneliness, negative emotions, etc.) try upping the recovery a notch.
At the very least, being more aware of the specific stressors that are impacting you will allow you to be better equipped to deal with them. Instead of thinking "my whole life is a mess" you can reframe and maybe realize that it's really just one particular domain that you need to address. Remember, awareness is the first step towards making change!
Try the stress web exercise below. Review each category of stress and on a scale from 1-10 rank how much each of these are contributing to your total overall stress levels. Once you’ve determined which sectors are adding to your overall stress levels, you can start to address them with a more clear head.
Stress Categories
Physical
Overtraining, poor nutrition, food restriction, lack of sleep, major injury, illness, etc.
Emotional
Loss, grief, anger, guilt, shame, fear, loneliness, etc.
Environmental
Pollutants, noise, extreme conditions, discomfort, chaos, etc.
Cultural
Culture shock, homesickness, language barrier, etc.
Mental
Anxiety, worry, too many cognitive demands, decision fatigue, perfectionism, etc.
Psycho-spiritual
Purposelessness, despair, lack of meaning, poor sense of self, etc.
Financial
Poverty, no financial security, debt, unstable work, etc.
Social
Loneliness, isolation, social rejection, unsupportive or dysfunctional relationships, etc.
Why does this all matter?! Because your body doesn’t know the difference between different stressors. Training stress = work stress = relationship stress. If you’re super stressed at work then your body probably can’t handle additional stress in the gym and mentally you’re probably not in the best place to really focus on your goals. Addressing the stress that is impacting you the most will help ensure that you’re most prepared for additional stressors like more training volume or a cutting phase.
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