The Chisel of Stress: How Chronic Strain Shapes Our Health
Reading Time: ~ 7 minutes
In this blog post:
Defining stress & understanding its physiological mechanisms
The difference between acute & chronic stress
How chronic stress impacts our physical & mental health
The importance of nervous system regulation
Is stress taking a toll on you? Tell tale signs
5 effective ways to restore balance
We all know what stress feels like – the racing heart before an important event, the tension headache during a difficult conversation, the churning stomach when running late. These acute stress responses have been with us since our earliest days as humans, designed to help us escape predators and survive immediate threats.
But there's another kind of stress that many of us live with daily – a persistent background hum of pressure, worry, and tension that never quite resolves. As Monty Lyman aptly puts it in "The Painful Truth":
"Stress in the modern world is not a wrecking ball but a chisel, consistently chipping away at our physical and psychological health."
What is Stress?
At its core, stress is the body’s natural response to a perceived threat or demand. It’s a biological survival mechanism that prepares us to deal with challenges — often referred to as the “fight or flight” response. As neuroscientist Robert Sapolsky explains, unlike wild animals who activate the stress response in response to immediate physical threats, humans can trigger the same cascade simply by thinking about a stressful event — past, present, or imagined. Our bodies react as if we’re being chased by a lion, even if we’re just anticipating a stressful event.
When the brain detects a potential threat, it signals the hypothalamus, a small region at the base of the brain, to activate the autonomic nervous system (ANS) and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis.
This sets off a cascade of physiological responses:
The sympathetic nervous system kicks in, increasing heart rate, breathing rate, and blood pressure — preparing the body to respond.
The adrenal glands release stress hormones, primarily cortisol, adrenaline (epinephrine), and noradrenaline (norepinephrine).
These hormones flood the bloodstream, sharpening focus, increasing blood sugar for quick energy, and redirecting resources away from “non-essential” functions like digestion and reproduction.
This response is incredibly useful in the short term — helping us respond quickly to challenges/danger. But when stress becomes chronic, the same chemicals and systems that are designed to protect us begin to cause wear and tear on the body and brain.
Acute vs Chronic Stress
This distinction between acute and chronic stress is crucial for understanding how our modern lifestyle impacts our health – and what we can do about it.
Acute stress is your body's immediate reaction to a perceived threat/challenge. It triggers the "fight-or-flight" response an is designed to be temporary, helping you navigate challenging situations before returning to baseline.
When functioning properly, acute stress can actually be beneficial – helping you rise to challenges, meet deadlines, and perform under pressure. The key is that it resolves once the stressor passes.
Chronic stress, by contrast, occurs when this response never fully deactivates. Perhaps you're caring for an ill family member, working in a high-pressure environment, or dealing with financial insecurity. Your body remains on high alert, continuously producing stress hormones without adequate recovery time.
This is where the "chisel" metaphor becomes particularly apt. Each day of chronic stress may not feel catastrophic, but over time, this persistent activation carves away at both physical and mental health.
How Chronic Stress Shapes Our Health
The impacts of long-term stress are both far-reaching and subtle:
Physical Health Effects
Cardiovascular System: Persistent elevation of stress hormones contributes to high blood pressure, increased heart rate, and inflammation in blood vessels, raising the risk of heart disease and stroke.
Immune Function: Chronic stress suppresses immune response, making you more susceptible to infections and slowing wound healing.
Digestive System: Stress alters gut bacteria balance and can trigger or worsen conditions like IBS, acid reflux, and ulcers.
Musculoskeletal System: Persistent tension leads to chronic pain conditions, headaches, and contributes to conditions like fibromyalgia.
Hormonal Balance: Prolonged stress disrupts hormone production, potentially affecting everything from metabolism to reproductive health.
Mental Health Effects
Anxiety & Depression: Chronic stress creates neurochemical changes that increase vulnerability to anxiety disorders and depression.
Cognitive Function: Research has shown that prolonged exposure to cortisol—the body’s primary stress hormone—can impair memory, concentration, and decision-making abilities.
Sleep Disruption: Stress often interferes with sleep quality and quantity, creating a vicious cycle as sleep deprivation further increases stress.
Emotional Regulation: Long-term stress can reduce your capacity to manage emotions effectively, leading to more reactivity and emotional exhaustion.
Relationship Strain: The effects of chronic stress often spill over into personal relationships, creating additional sources of tension.
Perhaps most concerning is how these effects compound each other. Poor sleep affects immune function, which increases inflammation, which contributes to pain, which creates more stress... and the cycle continues.
The Importance of Nervous System Regulation
The nervous system is the body’s communication highway. It’s responsible for sensing danger, mobilising a response, and bringing us back to calm once the threat has passed.
When it’s functioning well, it’s like a rhythm—stress, recover. Exert, rest. Expand, contract.
But when we live in prolonged activation (or even shutdown), the system can become dysregulated. We become hyper-vigilant, anxious, numb, foggy, or overwhelmed.
That’s why nervous system regulation isn’t a luxury. It’s foundational to wellbeing.
Is Stress Taking a Toll on You?
Recognising when stress is beginning to affect your wellbeing is the first step in shifting your relationship with it. When stress becomes chronic or overwhelming, it often shows up in the body and behaviour long before we consciously name it.
You might notice:
Persistent muscle tension or tight jaw
Ongoing fatigue, even after sleep
Headaches or migraines
Digestive issues or appetite changes
Increased irritability or mood swings
Difficulty concentrating or frequent forgetfulness
Feeling wired but tired — restless, yet low on energy
Try gently connecting these signs to the pressures or demands in your life. This kind of awareness creates space to respond — rather than simply endure — and opens the door to more intentional care.
5 Practical Ways to Counter the Effects of Chronic Stress
While we cannot completely eliminate stressful factors from our lives (although it is certainly worth thinking long and hard about the ones that we can, such as toxic work environments/relationships etc.) (is the price on our wellbeing really worth paying?), we can change our relationship with stress and build practices that help our bodies recover, thus maintaining (or striving at least!) for some balance. Here are five approaches that research suggests can make a meaningful difference:
1. Create Recovery Rhythms
Our bodies are designed to oscillate between periods of activity and recovery. Yet modern life often demands constant productivity and connectivity without adequate downtime.
Practical steps:
Schedule short breaks throughout your day (even 5 minutes of deep breathing can help reset your nervous system)
Honour the transition between work and home with a small ritual (changing clothes, a short walk, or a moment of meditation)
2. Engage in Mindful Movement
Chronic stress often builds up as held tension. Find a way to move that feels good. This could be rolling gently on the floor, dancing to a song you love, or doing some gentle twists. Movement helps release stress chemicals and restore flow in the body.
Practical steps:
Incorporate gentle, mindful movement like walking, swimming, or stretching into your day, even for 10 minutes
Try practices specifically designed to regulate the nervous system, such as yin yoga
Listen to your body's signals about what type of movement feels restorative versus depleting on any given day
3. Connect to the Ground
Stress pulls us upward—into our heads, into tension. Grounding brings us back. Try standing or sitting with your feet flat on the earth or floor. Gently press down through your feet. Imagine exhaling stress down through the soles of your feet. This simple practice reorients your body to safety.
4. Nurture Social Connection
Human beings are wired for connection, and positive social bonds are one of our most powerful buffers against the effects of stress.
Practical steps:
Prioritise quality time with people who help you feel safe and understood
Consider joining groups based on shared interests rather than just work affiliations
Be mindful of how social media / technology affects your stress levels – does it connect you meaningfully or add to your tension?
5. Make Room for Rest Without Earning It
We’ve been conditioned to believe that rest must be earned. But chronic stress recovery requires proactive rest. This could mean lying down for 10 minutes in silence, taking a hot bath, or saying no to something. Rest is productive, especially for the nervous system. You could try Yoga Nidra, also known as Non-Sleep Deep Rest. You can find a short, free one here.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
If stress is a chisel—quietly shaping our bodies, emotions, and sense of self—then care can be a chisel too.
While each of these approaches can be helpful individually, the real power comes from how they work together to create a more resilient system. Just as chronic stress affects every aspect of health, effective stress management addresses the whole person – body, mind, emotions, and relationships.
If you've been experiencing symptoms that might be stress-related, consider reaching out to healthcare providers who understand this interconnection. Massage therapy, counselling, nutritional support, and herbalism can all play important roles in breaking the cycle of chronic stress and rebuilding health.
You don’t need to “fix” your stress overnight. But you can begin again today—with breath, with presence, with something small that says to your body:
“It’s safe to soften.”
Remember that stress management isn't about achieving a perfect, stress-free existence (which isn't possible or even desirable). Instead, it's about creating the conditions where your body can move through stress when necessary and efficiently return to balance – allowing the inevitable stresses of life to strengthen rather than deplete you.
I hope you found this post helpful. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to reach out using the form here.
Warmly,
Eleni
Holistic Massage Therapist @ Iremia Studio, Glasgow