This week I stood at the front of a room of ~30 people I like, admire, and enjoy being around and delivered a presentation about myself and my business for about 10 minutes. Not a big deal, right? I normally enjoy talking about fitness tips and knowledge any chance I can. But talking about myself always sends my heart rate and blood pressure soaring. It left me stumbling for words and unable to do simple math right after.
Public speaking for many, including myself, can feel like death is coming. And our bodies react like that's true. When we feel like we're going to die, the stress response is activated.
Looking at the natural world, this response evolved for physical emergencies; making physical movement the most biologically logical way to complete it.
For example, a zebra being chased by a lion experiences the full stress cascade of cortisol, adrenaline, heart rate surge, blood shunted to muscles - and then it runs. The purpose of all that building is movement. The zebra either escapes (stress hormones burned through exertion) or doesn't. We don't get eaten like zebras which leaves us with those stress hormones and nowhere to go.
We activate that same system as the zebra when we wait for medical results, are put on the spot in a meeting, send an email that can't be taken back, receive a bill we aren't sure we can pay, and many more. But, we then sit still with an activated mind and body. The hormones flood in, and there's no physical outlet. The body is primed for a sprint that never happens.
To make matters worse, our stress tends to be chronic, unresolved, and trapped in your body.
After my presentation I taught a class, met with clients, took care of my kids, and still felt it sitting in my chest. That's because I was still on, still performing, still responsible for other people. It wasn't until I did my own workout just for me, breathed slowly, and finally yawned that my body let it go. Movement closes the stress cycle, and it has to be movement that signals safety.
However you find that signal, protect it and practice it.
Two books I recommend about stress response and release are:
- Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle by Emily Nagoski, PhD, and Amelia Nagoski, DMA
- Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers: The Acclaimed Guide to Stress, Stress-Related Diseases, and Coping by Robert M. Sapolsky