What are micro-stressors?

These are the everyday little stressors. Micro-stresses  flood your body and brain with adrenaline and cortisol,  two hormones that raise your heart rate and set off your  fight-or-flight response. A micro-stressor might be a bad  night’s sleep, a traffic jam on the way to work, a zoom  meeting running overtime, an email that annoys you or  an argument at home. No matter how big or small the  stimulus, these stressors add up. Together, they stand to  jeopardise our happiness, mental health and just about  everything that’s important to us in life.

 

Here’s an example scenario:

When you wake up in the morning you realise you woke up too late for your morning run/exercise routine, so you get out of bed and stand on your phone charger plug. You swear loudly. You realise that you didn’t charge your phone and now your foot hurts. You also woke up your partner who is now grumpy with you because you woke them up with a start. You head downstairs to make breakfast and remember that you didn’t do the pots last night so there are no clean cups for you to have your morning drink. You look at your watch and wonder if you have time to clean one because you’re already feeling rushed. You put some bread in the toaster which you don’t really like because it’s the quickest thing to eat and go and get dressed. On your way up the stairs you catch your hip on the bannister. Once dressed you head down to finish making your toast and rush out of the door. You have to go back inside 3 times because you forgot your phone cos it was on charge, your mask and your keys. Finally on your way to work you realise you managed to get butter down your top and there’s no way of hiding that grease stain. Sound familiar? All of these are micro stressors.

The causes of micro-stress – 3 main categories

Stresses that drain our personal capacity

Your personal capacity is the amount of time and energy that you have to manage your life, and all the demands that you face at home and at work. 

 

Stresses that deplete our emotional reserves

Your emotional reserves are what allow you to manage your feelings, and keep calm under pressure. Most of us have probably had days when we feel so stressed that we are close to either bursting into tears, or starting to shout at everyone around us: that’s when your emotional reserves are low.

 

Stresses that challenge our identity or values.

The final set of stresses are about challenges to your identity or values.These stressors include being put under pressure to do something that is not consistent with your values, having your self-confidence undermined, or having your network disrupted.

 

Causes of microstressors

 

1. Overthinking Conversations

It always feels good when these moments go smoothly. 

But if you encounter a snag, don’t be surprised

 if you overthink it. The best thing is to turn off 

any distractions — TV, phone, laptop, etc. — 

pull out a pen and paper, and write down everything that’s on your mind.

 

2. Using “Negative Labels”

Negative labelling of everyday mishaps increases your stress response. The next time you catch yourself viewing something through a negative lens, try switching up your inner dialogue and giving yourself the grace of a more positive spin. 

 

3. Over-Scheduling Yourself

While you might be under a lot of pressure to get as much done in one day as humanly possible, it’s important to know that an over-packed schedule is yet another cause. This is due to the lack of downtime.

 

4. Running Late

Not only does it release the dreaded stress hormones — think about your heart pounding as you’re late for work. Cue a flood of stress that can throw off your entire day. If you tend to run late, Get stricter with your time, particularly in the mornings.

 

5. Putting Off Chores & Tasks

This can keep you up at night as your body can actually trigger the sympathetic nervous system, or fight, flight, or freeze mode, into activation if your tasks haven’t been completed. This system prepares your physical body for stress-related activities such as running or fighting, which, of course, is the exact opposite of what we’re trying to achieve when attempting to fall asleep.

 

6. Disorganisation

If you have a messy apartment or lack a routine, you’re more prone to feeling stressed.

Think about how you might have trouble finding something, like your keys. This not only causes you to go into the fight-or-flight stress mode of what to do and how to find them, but you may also go into a negative thought spiral in which you beat yourself up for misplacing them. 

 

7. Small Arguments

You might be thinking about what you wished you had said or how you would respond differently to the person. 

 

Here are ways that we can all work to minimise stress. 

 

1. Make Time to See Friends

Friendship is essential to our mental and physical health, so start making time to see friends and watch as your stress levels begin to dissipate. You’ll be amazed by the results.

 

2. Exercise the Right Way

Exercising the right way can give us a huge emotional boost via the release of happy hormones called endorphins. More, exercise can act to reduce stress, elevate energy levels and increase overall happiness.

 

3. Minimise Stress-Inducing Drinks

Making a conscious effort to monitor your intake of stress-inducing drinks like caffeine and alcohol will enable you to remain in a stable mental state, navigating through your day without having to contend with energy spikes, dips and hangovers.

 

4. Make Use of Your Breath

Simply by making the conscious decision to counteract these instincts, taking a long, deep breath during moments of stress, we can work to keep ourselves calm during tense moments.

 

5. Keep Your Gut Healthy

Did you know that your large intestine is home to more than 100 million neurons? It’s like a second brain. Simply making an effort to fill our diet with more whole nutrient-dense foods and less highly processed foods will provide us with a healthy mind-gut connection, working to reduce our overall stress levels.

 

The Takeaway

Stress is something that all of us have to deal with in our lifetime. Many of us attribute our tension to large problems, like financial troubles and marital issues. A bad night’s sleep or lack of social interaction for example, add up. Individually, they often go unnoticed. Together, they can drive us to anxiety, burnout and even an early grave. By making use of the tips above, we can all take action and work to mitigate our stress levels. As a result, we’ll feel happier, healthier and better equipped to handle life’s challenges.