Stress Changes The Way We Think - Part One

Even Dr. Jerry can get overwhelmed by stressful situations and fail to make sensible decisions in the face of real and perceived threats. It’s a bit embarrassing, but I want to use two recent personal experiences to illustrate how stress works on our thinking.

I recently took a trip to Pennsylvania to give a lecture.  I was running late, I had difficulty finding a parking space, and my cell phone kept ringing.  I was in a pretty agitated state when I encountered airport security, which my mind interpreted as a threat to my survival (missing my plane).  As I passed through inspection, my anxiety must have been evident and agents identified me as a candidate for a more extensive search.  Already stressed, now I was being asked to empty everything out of my pockets and to hold my arms away from my body, while this stranger moved his hand down the inside of my pants leg and across my buttocks. This was not what I would label safe touch! 

Immediately following the completion of this uncomfortable search I picked up my items and left hastily. I tried to distance myself from this disquieting situation by running as fast as I could to my gate. Arriving with a few minutes to spare I started to calm down. After boarding the plane I relaxed and regained my sense of safety.

When I arrived in Philadelphia and attempted to rent a car, I realized I had not received my license back from security in Denver. Being without proper identification far from home is not an ideal situation, and I was annoyed with myself for having been so upset by the invasive airport security search that I’d left critical identification behind. However, in this second stressful situation I did not panic. I was able to solve my transportation needs with a train and a taxi, conduct a full-day training and get back to Denver.

In reflecting on my experiences, I was curious about how worry over missing my plane and enduring an embarrassing search had taxed my ability to think clearly, while another situation that also created great difficulty didn’t seem to interfere with my mental functioning.  The two situations, taken together, illustrate the fact that stress is not so much about what happens to you, but how you react to the situation. In one situation I felt totally out of control, while in another I felt stressed but in control.

Stress, when experienced in moderate, predictable ways, and we perceive that we can take action to effectively cope with the situation, can build resilience and improve performance.  When stress is unpredictable and we feel powerless, it interferes with our ability to function, and increases our vulnerability.

Over millions of years of evolution animals have developed a system to respond to real or perceived threats in the environment. This “fight or flight” alarm system functions automatically, with predictable neuronal and hormonal activation patterns, which results in fixed behavioral responses. 

The body’s threat response system is designed to be short-term and to mobilize the body’s resources for action.  In the event of a threat, the body:

• Shifts attention to the perceived threat
• Rapidly mobilizes energy—glucose, proteins and fats are processed and relocated away from non-essential organs
• Increases heart rate, blood pressure and respiration in order to move emergency resources throughout the system
• Halts growth, sex drive, and digestion (the body cannot focus on long-term threats to health when immediate survival is at stake
• Has a diminished perception of pain due to release of powerful endogenous opioids

The body also memorizes and documents threats, so that it will know how to respond in a similar event.  Next time I fly I will probably work hard to get to the airport early and better prepare myself for the inspection. However, I can be sure that memories of this past trip will be present and influencing my behavior. I might find myself getting anxious from the time I book my ticket until I get through security. You can be sure I will check to make sure I have my identification and ticket with me after passing through that check point. As time passes the anxiety about plane travel will probably diminish, but hopefully the lessons learned will stay with me.

(to be continued)