Understanding and Managing Stress Response

Philip Pape 0:01

If you're the type of person who feels like your stress response has been stuck in overdrive lately , where little things trigger massive anxiety or where one stressful event seems to cascade into an overwhelming spiral of negative thoughts and physical symptoms , this episode will change how you think about and manage stress . Today , we're talking about why stress can feel completely out of control even when , objectively , the stressors in your life haven't changed much at all . We'll look at stress through an engineer's lens to understand why your mind and body sometimes overreact to minor triggers . Whether you're dealing with daily anxiety , chronic stress that's affecting your training and nutrition , or just want to build more resilience , this episode will give you a powerful new framework to regain control . Welcome to Wits and Weights , the show that helps you build a strong , healthy physique using evidence , engineering and efficiency .

Philip Pape 1:02

I'm your host , philip Pape , and today we're examining stress through an entirely new lens by applying a concept called the Nyquist Stability Criterion , to understand why stress can spiral out of control . And don't worry , I'm gonna explain what that is and you'll see why it makes a lot of sense . Now , I was recently working with a client , michelle . Special shout out to her for inspiring this episode . She is in our physique university and she made I'm going to call it an incredible self-discovery about how focusing on perceived stress versus actual stress helped her finally get a handle on chronic stress that had been plaguing her for years , and that got me thinking about stability in systems and how the same principles explain why our stress response can become unstable . Now what's fascinating is that two different people can experience exactly the same stressor , like a busy work schedule or a demanding training program , but then they react completely differently . One person maintains their cool , the other person gets really overwhelmed . Today , we're going to uncover why this happens and what you can do about it Before we get into it . Of course , if you are struggling with stress , if you want some personalized guidance on managing it while staying on track with your fitness goals , I'd love to help . Just book a free 15-minute rapid nutrition assessment call with me . It is not a sales pitch . It is a focused , fast session where we identify what's holding you back whether that is stress triggers or something related to your training nutrition and then create a simple three-step action plan to help you feel more in control . So click the link in the show notes or go to witsandweightscom and click the big button at the top for that rapid nutrition assessment .

Philip Pape 2:41

All right , let's get into today's topic . What we're covering today is first , we're going to understand how stress works as a feedback loop and why your perception matters more than the actual stressors . A lot of this is in our minds , so if we can control that , or at least understand it , we can go much farther in coping with stress . Second , we're going to look at why some stress responses stay stable while others spiral out of control . And we're going to look at why some stress responses stay stable while others spiral out of control , and we're going to use the Nyquist stability criterion to examine that . And then , third , we're going to use strategies from engineering as an analogy to help you stabilize your stress response . So bear with me as I nerd out a little bit , but it is going to be super practical .

Understanding Stress Response Feedback Loop

Philip Pape 3:19

So I want to start by explaining how stress operates in your body . Going to start by explaining how stress operates in your body , right , most people think stress is just something that happens to them , an external force that they cannot control . But stress is really about how your body and your mind process and respond to those challenges . And it happens through a system , through a complex feedback system , and that's why different people respond differently , and even you might have responded differently to the same types of stress at different points in your life . Now , in engineering , we use feedback systems everywhere , right From the cruise control in your car to the thermostat in your house right , your nest thermostat . These systems are measuring the current state , they compare it to the desired state and then they make an adjustment . That's it , and your body's stress response works the same way . It takes in information about potential threats or challenges and then it adjusts your physiological and psychological state accordingly .

Philip Pape 4:14

What most people miss is it's not the external stressors themselves that determine your stress level . It's how your internal feedback system interprets and responds to them . And this is called perceived stress , and research shows it's actually a better predictor of health outcomes than objective stressors . And it makes kind of intuitive sense , right , like how you feel in terms of stress is probably more important than , objectively , what the stress might be . And another way to think about this think about your thermostat , right ? It doesn't care if it's cold outside because your neighbor left their door open or because there's a winter storm . It doesn't care , it just responds to the temperature change . So , similarly , your body doesn't distinguish between a real threat being chased by a lion right and a perceived one , it initiates the same stress response either way .

Philip Pape 5:03

We've talked about this before and I've had guests on that talk about the sympathetic versus the parasympathetic nervous systems , the fight or flight response . So this brings us to the Nyquist stability criterion . I know it sounds kind of technical , but it's just a simple principle in control systems that helps determine whether the system remains stable or spirals out of control when disturbed . So I want to break this down in a way that will transform how you think about stress specifically . So in engineering , a stable system is one that can handle disturbances and then return to normal .

Philip Pape 5:38

Think about the car cruise control . I mentioned that earlier . Cruise control you turn it on , it goes at the same speed without you having to have your foot on the gas pedal when you hit a hill . You get to a hill , it starts to crank up right . It adjusts the throttle to maintain speed , cranks you up and then returns to normal on flat ground . That is a form of stability . On the other hand , it's going to overreact to a disturbance . Each response triggers a bigger accelerating response and that creates what engineers call positive feedback . It's not the good kind of positive right . It's like when you put a microphone too close to a speaker and then you get that small initial sound that gets amplified , amplified , amplified , right . Or if you ever have like , if you're on Zoom on a phone and then you're near a computer , on Zoom , zoom , and all the sound starts to feed back through the speaker and amplifies that terrible , like screeching noise we've all heard . That's what that is Okay .

Philip Pape 6:34

Your stress response can become unstable in the same way . So let's say you have a deadline coming up for work . In a stable system you would recognize okay , this is a challenge , I'm going to mobilize resources to meet it , I'm going to do it and then I'm going to return to baseline afterward . In an unstable system , the anxiety about the deadline is going to increase your heart rate , increase your muscle tension , makes you more aware of your body's stress response . Your anxiety increases further and further and further and it becomes overwhelming . It creates a vicious cycle .

Philip Pape 7:06

So that is an important analogy for the different types of people , but even you yourself , the different ways you handle different stressors . You know I always joke to my wife that like I can handle a high level of stress because I just kind of let it brush off of me , and some people perceive that as not caring or not having a sense of urgency . But it can be helpful as well when others get stressed by something Like , let's say , we're planning to go to um , my in-laws are planning to get , they got a flight to go to a funeral and they were freaking out about all the travel arrangements . So I said , okay , let me just go book multiple health hotel rooms for our family , I'll take care of it , they don't have to worry about it . Right , and that's my way of coping to help their stress . And it can be helpful vice versa . But then other things aren't going to stress them out at all . That might make me anxious , right ? So we all can relate to this .

Philip Pape 7:58

So the big insight from this Nyquist thing is that stability depends on how the system processes and responds to feedback right and in engineering terms which , again , we're going to apply this to us as humans , with our bodies and minds . We are going to look at three factors signal delay , feedback magnitude and system damping . So I hope it isn't getting too nerdy , but it's kind of cool how we map these to your stress response . So first we have signal delay . So in engineering , delays between the input and response often cause instability . So think about taking a shower . If you have a long delay between turning the handle and getting hot water , you might overcorrect and end up scalded . Or for anybody who watched Groundhog Day again , because we just had Groundhog Day , bill Murray gets in the shower , he cranks it up and it's freezing cold , right , and you overreact . But anyway you might overreact and end up scalded . And then your stress response has similar delays . When you try to suppress or ignore the stress , it can lead to bigger emotional response later . We all have been there , right , where we push it deep down inside and it comes out ferociously later on . So that's signal delay . That's basically , you're just procrastinating or you're not dealing with it .

Philip Pape 9:15

The second is feedback magnitude . So a stable engineering system reduces the impact of disturbances . An unstable one amplifies them . Your stress response can go either way . Some people naturally dampen stress , they feel it , they process it , they let it go , and again I feel like I'm more in that camp , just naturally , and you may not be . Others amplify it through ruminating and catastrophizing and you turn small stressors into these major crises . Right , everything is a huge deal . Again , this is not a judgment . This is just something to be aware of . Do you respond this way to stressors ? So that's feedback magnitude .

Philip Pape 9:51

The third one is system damping how quickly these oscillations settle down . So , even when it's been disturbed , do they settle down ? In engineering , we add filters or dampers to prevent this . Your body has natural damping mechanisms , like deep breathing and hormonal regulation right , some that you do on purpose and some that your body does involuntarily . But they can be overwhelmed if the system becomes too unstable . Right Again , you can only cope with a certain amount of stress beyond which it starts to expand out of control . So how do we apply these principles to stabilize your stress response ? So we're going to use three strategies . I know I have a lot of lists in here , one , two , threes , but hopefully you're following . I'm trying to keep it pretty organized . We're going to use three strategies that are based on this control system theory .

Philip Pape 10:42

All right , the first one is we're going to implement a negative feedback loop . Remember we talked about feed , positive feedback in the past being a bad thing . In this case , like it amplifies , like that screeching sound when you have the microphone near the speaker . In engineering , a negative feedback stabilizes a system by counteracting those disturbances , almost think of it like noise cancellation for stress . This means you can develop habits that automatically reduce stress when it starts building . And guess what ? One of the best habits is Regular movement , regular lifting and , in some cases , a brief bit of high intensity activity like sprinting or something like that , but not overdoing it with lots and lots of chronic cardio , for example , because that creates the opposite problem that increases your stress . So lifting regularly , walking regularly , are two huge ways to increase your resilience and create a physiological response that counteracts the stress hormones like cortisol , or helps regulate them . It gives you resilience . There are also other negative feedback loops you can intentionally incorporate , like progressive muscle relaxation . It's a form of mindfulness , a form of meditation , and many , many others breathing meditation and so on . It doesn't have to be one of those techniques and I will say walking alone can be a huge one for a lot of people and it's easy to do . So that is a negative feedback loop , keeping in mind that that's a good thing . In this context , you're counteracting , you're negating the stress that starts to build up .

Philip Pape 12:16

The second strategy is reducing signal delay . So notice that these are basically counteracting the problems we talked about before , so you remember how delays . If you delay , it causes instability . Right , and in stress management , this means you want to process your stress in real time instead of suppressing it , instead of pushing it deep down into the core of your stomach . Research shows that mindfulness , meditation , really any form of relaxation , even play , can literally rewire your brain's stress response circuits to respond more quickly and appropriately to stressors . It's like upgrading your processing speed when it comes to the stress and being able to cope with it , to deal with it .

Philip Pape 13:04

And then the third strategy is adding stability margins . Engineers never run systems at the absolute limit . You always have safety margins built in . So for your stress response , this means maintaining what I call psychological redundancy Getting enough sleep , staying hydrated , eating nutritious foods these create a buffer zone . And lifting weights it's a buffer zone . I've talked about this multiple times recently about alcohol and other things . Small stressors , then , won't immediately push you into instability . You've got a lot more buffer zone built in where you can handle these things better .

Philip Pape 13:45

So if you take all this together , where does this approach really shine ? If you measure and adjust , you can put this whole thing on steroids right . Just like we monitor control systems , you need to track your stress response and there is something called the perceived stress scale . It's a validated tool used in research to help you quantify stress levels and monitor improvements . But you don't have to get complicated . Just start by establishing a baseline and rate your stress level on a scale of 1 to 10 or 1 to 5 , whatever makes sense to you . We do that with my clients all the time . As part of our biofeedback tracking In Physique University , we have a biofeedback tracker . It includes stress , among other factors , and you're just going to rate it the same time each day for a week . So normally I recommend people track biofeedback weekly , but in this case , if you're trying to dial in something , you want to do it more frequently and then you're going to implement one strategy right , we're doing this systematically One strategy for reducing stress .

Philip Pape 14:39

I touched a little bit on that today . I didn't want to get into the actual all the possible laundry list of stress details . I actually have a guide for that , called the stress solution guide , with specific things you can do . I think we all know some things that we can do , right ? I mentioned walking , lifting weights . I mentioned being resilient . I mentioned breathing meditation and so on . I mentioned walking , lifting weights . I mentioned being resilient . I mentioned breathing , meditation and so on .

Philip Pape 14:59

Um , I had a guest on who talked about just taking 30 seconds or a minute between things in your day , between meetings , between doing an errand and another errand All of those things can increase your resiliency and your stress response . I like the pillars lifting weights , walking , uh , um , you know , eating nutritious foods , getting enough sleep those are going to be the big ones , but you're going to change one thing and then you're going to see how your stress level changes . If you're wearing an Oura ring or some other wearable , it's kind of cool to see those numbers like HRV , resilience scores and whatnot . You could look at all that , look at how your numbers change and then if the approach hasn't really worked , you could adjust the parameters , just like you would tune any system . For me , right now , the thing I'm working on is my sleep posture and let's see when this comes out , when this episode comes out . Okay , this comes out on Wednesday and this Friday the episode with Dr Peter Martoni comes out . He's a sleep expert who talks about positioning , how to have a neutral spine and use back sleeping to improve your HRV and your sleep resilience quality . So that's the thing I'm working on and I'm going to see how the numbers change . Same thing with you . Pick one thing , measure it , track it before and after .

Philip Pape 16:12

Now , the thing that most people miss about this whole stability thing , this whole stress response thing , it's not about eliminating the disturbances , because we can't control everything outside ourselves . Right , the stoic in me stoicism , ancient philosophy that's still super relevant today says that I can only do it , I can only control what's in my realm of control and I shouldn't really care about the rest . Right , it's changing how your system responds to those stressors . The most stable systems aren't the ones that never get disturbed , they're the ones that handle the disturbances elegantly . The same is true for your stress response . The goal is not to eliminate it , it's build a system that processes it effectively . So , as we wrap up , I want to recap the key points .

Philip Pape 16:56

Your stress response is a feedback system . It follows the same stability principles as any system . By understanding and applying what we talked about today , you can implement strategies to prevent spiraling out of control and then build lasting resilience . And it all starts from understanding your level of perceived stress and then coming up with solutions to mitigate that . And that's it . It's not avoiding disturbances , it's building the system to respond and return to baseline . And , by the way , your baseline can be much bigger and more robust by building in the big pillars , like the lifting weights and having a healthy , active lifestyle , nutritious foods and so on .

Personalized Stress Management Assessment

Philip Pape 17:30

All right , if you're ready to take control of your stress response and you want personalized guidance on some of those big pillars , don't forget I do have this free 15 minute rapid nutrition assessment . Not a sales call , it's just you and me chatting about what is holding you back , what are your specific stress triggers or areas of concern with your training , nutrition whatever and create a simple action plan tailored to your needs . I say here you go , one , two , three . Here's a resource or two , totally free , have fun . If you need any other support , you know where to find me . That's all . It is Low pressure . Click the link in the show notes or visit witsandweightscom and click the big button on the top to schedule your call today . Until next time , keep using your wits lifting those weights and remember , when it comes to stress , stability isn't about never experiencing stress , it's about having a system that returns to balance . I'll talk to you next time here on the Wits and Weights podcast .