Stress: Perception and Respose
Fight-or-Flight Response
Stress is defined as the physiological processes that result from the reactionary causes to external or internal stimuli. Stress affects the sympathetic nervous system by inducing the fight-or-flight response. This precautionary measure, observed by Walter Cannon in 1915, enables us to respond to a perceived danger through combative or escapist behaviours.
Although modern-day western society rarely requires a defensive response to a life-threatening situation, it continues to be activated by relatively benign stressful stimuli. These responses have a variety of affects on the mind and body, many of which are acutely deleterious to our health should stress become a chronic condition of the body. Heightened awareness is one of the benefits that allows us to respond to emotional or external events with acuity and conviction. However, a calm and level-headed response may be more appropriate rather than an overreaction to the perceived threat. Although stress is at times a beneficial and necessary action, it is generally not an appropriate or required response of a trader.
Altering the environment to reduce precursors will limit the contributing factors to stress, but it is our perception of them that will bring about the most effective and long-lasting changes. Observance of the yamas and niyamas will cultivate the love, trust, and knowledge needed to successfully pursue any endeavor. If our self-worth is not defined by objects, then a threat cannot be perceived if there is nothing worthwhile to destroy or fight for. Our house, car, and occupation may all be things we find affinity with, but the lesson is not to be so attached to them that we feel attacked when our “ownership” of them is challenged. By focusing on the breath, as we do in asana and pranayama, we may learn to still the mind, mitigate the harmful emotions that unnecessarily arise in defense to external conditions, and return the body to a state of homeostasis.
Effects of stress on the Body
At times we need to be physically responsive to such threats as muggers, bear attacks, or fire. However, when we misinterpret a relatively harmless episode as life threatening (the market trend going in the opposite direction of a trade), we needlessly suffer the consequences of the body’s attempt to defend ourselves. Fight behavior may be employed to hostile perceptions in the form of anger or aggression; whereas fleeing reactions may appear in a variety of escapisms, such as withdrawal from social situations, abusing alcohol or drugs, or perhaps through excessive time allocated to television watching, internet surfing, or game playing. The sympathetic nervous system’s arousal suppresses the parasympathetic system leading to digestive and sexual issues. If unable to effectively neutralize the level of stress in our lives, this chronic will deplete the immune system and leave us susceptible to disease and infection.
Theories of Stress Response and Relief
There are many approaches to classify and deal with stress and we must find the language which facilities our understanding of the body and mind’s processes. Ensuring a functional and inspirational workspace; knowledge and experience in sound trading strategies, which have proven to be profitable; and maintaining our health and vitality through a daily asana and pranayama practice will contribute to an environment devoid of stress and fear. However, when a glitch arises, such as the internet connection going out before we could put in our stop-loss order, we should respond to the matter without inflationary measures of fear, panic, or frustration. Calmly picking up the phone and making a call to our broker to put in our stop-loss order, rather than throwing things across the room in anger and frustration, would be an appropriate measure to take in such a situation.
Of course, common sense assumes that we are protecting ourselves as much as we possibly can. Trust in a positive outcome does not imply blind faith ignorant to the information that is presenting itself in our environment. Psychophysiological markers of stress are warning signs and need to be acknowledged if noticed within our body. If our trading methods do not include accurate indicators, then a relaxed calm state will do nothing to improve our profitability. The stressful responses we seek to decrease are those that repeatedly, and needlessly, reveal themselves from similar triggers day after day, and run interference with our health and judgment.
General Adaptation Syndrome
Hans Selye’s (1936) General Adaptation Syndrome outlines the various stages of the stress response. First, there is alarm when we become aware of the threat. Adrenaline is released to induce the response by the sympathetic nervous system while simultaneously disengaging the parasympathetic nervous system; cortisol is released by stimulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA) axis. If the perceived threat remains, we proceed to the second stage: resistance. All attempts at adaptation will be made until the stressor is either no longer a threat, or until the body depletes all available resources. The ensuing exhaustion is the third phase, incapacitating normal bodily functions. The automatic nervous system is reactivated, causing the initial symptoms of the alarm phase: increased heart rate; rapid, shallow breath; sweating; increase of body temperature; digestive and endocrine irregularities. If the exhaustion stage continues, gland capacity–notably that of the adrenal gland–and immune system are compromised, which may lead to physiological and psychological decompensation.Digestive disorders, cardiovascular problems, depression, anxiety, ulcers, erectile dysfunction, irritable bowel syndrome, poor judgment, pessimism, irritability, moodiness, as well as other imbalances may arise as a result of this response.
Selye also introduced the terms “eustress” and “distress.” Eustress differentiates positive stress– such as studying for an exam, practicing for sport, or any challenging factor easily adapted to–from persistent, long term distress which leads to depression and anxiety disorders. Both states may either be of a real or perceived threat. Our reaction to them is a result of our ability to cope and adapt to the stressor (another of Seyle terms used to the cause, rather than the effect of the causeitive agent).
Trading may be seen as eustress, but over time may lead to distress. Our ability to perceive non-profitable trades as a constant threat to our security may pose serious deleterious consequences to our phyisical, emotional, behavioural or cognitive health. Yoga is a proven method to combat stress and should be used by any trader in need of suitable responses to extermal or interal stimuli.
Emotional and Cognitive Control
Refuse to express a passion, and it dies.
~James, 1890
In Robert B Zajonc’s “Emotion and Facial Efference: A theory reclaimed” published in volume 288 of Science, he perceives stress as an uncontrollable and automatic function that is first made manifest as emotional responses in the body and then interpreted cognitively—this is especially in regards to facial expressions which communicate emotions non-verbally. This theory is at odds with other ideas on reactivity: controllable and volitional responses, verses uncontrollable and automatic responses; or a simultaneous rather than a sequential response approach.
If we assume emotion, or affect, precedes cognition, then we may condition ourselves to become aware of our body’s adaptive responses to stress before the ensuing flight-or-flight response disarms our capability to maintain our composure in the marketplace. Conversely, somatic markers, subconscious information revealed by the emotions, may be observed as fear, anxiety, irritation, or other forms of anxiety. However, the mind must be willing to isolate them, which may be quite difficult to do amongst all the idle prattle of our thoughts. This further highlights the value of stilling the mind with a yoga practice.
Transactional Model
Richard Lazarus and Susan Folkman published Stress, Appraisal and Coping (1984) and defined stress as an “imbalance between demands and resources,” or when “pressure exceeds one’s perceived ability to cope.” The resulting Transactional Model focuses on the ”stress-stressor link” to provide a coping mechanism by altering the perception of the stressor, instilling the confidence in their ability deal with the threat, thereby alleviating the stress response.
Heath Realization Model
The health realization/innate health model, developed by Roger C. Mills and George Pransky, targets self-depleting thoughts as the precursor of stress, viewing reality in a negative, critical, and helpless way. Rather than look for external resources as coping strategies, this model promotes nurturing a “quiet mind” and “inner wisdom” to replace bad thoughts with good ones. This model was outlined by J.A. Sedgeman’s “Health Realization/Innate Health: Can a quiet mind and a positive feeling state be accessible over the lifespan without stress-relief techniques?” in the Medical Science Monitor. This sense of a confident, capable self is found through the successive meditative practices of the upper limbs of pratyahara, dharana, dhyana and Samadhi.
