Physiological Stress Response: It’s Not All in Your Head

Have you ever taken your child to their pediatrician for symptoms that interfere with their day-to-day life, and then were told that all of the tests look normal? It can feel frustrating when there are ongoing symptoms but no medical diagnosis, and you just know that something is wrong. Often the clinician may explain that your child’s symptoms are the result of stress, which can feel like you are being told “it’s all in their head.”

It is important to know that it is not all in your child’s head! Stress impacts children and adults in many ways. For this reason, it is critical to know what stress is, how it can impact our bodies, and what we can do about it. 

What Is Stress?

Throughout history our bodies have had a stress response in response to both real and perceived danger. More recently, stress has been at the forefront for many of us, given increasingly difficult daily challenges, social and political unfairness, and continued post-pandemic adjustments.  

Stress is broadly defined as our body’s reaction to challenges, threats, or difficult situations, our body’s way of driving us into action.

Sometimes we may think that kids don’t (or shouldn’t!) experience stress, as they do not have the same responsibilities and burdens of adulthood. However, stress is a normal and daily occurrence for kids and teenagers because many of their life experiences are occurring for the very first time, leading to new and overwhelming thoughts and feelings.

Additionally, while their understanding or responsibilities may be different from those of adults, young people do experience some of the same stressors like finances, health scares, family or friendship issues, school pressure, and loss.

Physiological Stress Response

When we feel stressed, it impacts how we think and behave, and creates physical symptoms, too: our brain and body work together to quickly alert us to danger with an increased heart rate, shallow and fast breathing, increased sweatiness, elevated blood pressure, and/or muscle tension. This combination of symptoms is called a physiological stress response.

When we experience big stressors, or even smaller stressors that are ongoing, it is normal to have additional physical symptoms such as belly pain, headaches, chest pain, dizziness, nausea, and fatigue.

Is Stress Bad?

Stress is often described as overwhelming and negative, which is partially true. However, some people do not know that stress is also the feeling we experience during moments of excitement, joy, and eagerness. So- it’s not bad to have stress!

Even though we tend to believe that we should have little to no stress in order to be healthy, it is a needed and important bodily function. Stress can be a positive experience that motivates our behaviors. Having too little stress can contribute to disinterest and lack of motivation to perform well. On the other hand, too much stress can lead to mistakes, feeling overly anxious, and even a fight, flight, or freeze response. The right amount of stress can help us perform our best.

For example, imagine your child has an upcoming test. If you child has too little stress, they may end up not studying because they don’t see the importance of performing well. On the other hand, if your child feels too stressed, their studying may not be effective. The right amount of stress can help us perform our best on tests and in other situations that cause us to feel stressed.

What Can We Do About It?

While some may think that it is best to avoid or pretend that stress doesn’t exist, this approach can actually lead to the build-up of more stress, resulting in physical and emotional health challenges.

The good news is, there are many effective strategies that can help reduce stress and alleviate the very real physical symptoms your child may be having. Our brains are the central control system of our bodies and can be the most effective tool in managing stress. Oftentimes, the best way to manage a body’s stress response is to engage the body in relaxation exercises that calm our danger alarms and allow the body to return to normal functioning (lower heart rate, relaxed muscles). There are many strategies that we can implement to help control our stress responses, including progressive muscle relaxation, belly breathing, and mindfulness.