If the world has you feeling tense and stressed these days, then April is your month, as April has been declared Stress Awareness Month! While some of us these days are likely in a perpetual state of stress, so that the anxious, tense feelings we experience seem “normal,” a chronic and ongoing state of stress can, in fact, wreak havoc on all systems in your body, including your immune, gastrointestinal, and cardiac systems. Chronic stress can also elevate your blood pressure and disrupt your brain function, leading to such mental health issues as depression or anxiety. While anxiety can be common in older adults, anxiety that is ongoing and makes everyday life more overwhelming and seemingly out of control is called Anxiety Disorder, and it can be manifested by such symptoms as obsessive thoughts, feelings of panic or fear, insomnia, trouble with memory or focus, and restlessness. With generalized anxiety disorder, you may feel constant worry and assume the worst-case scenario in all circumstances. Severe anxiety like this is not normal (though perhaps understandable given the current state of the world), and there are several ways to get help, including talk therapy, support groups, better sleep, and managing stress through meditation, mindfulness, or the avoidance of stimulants such as caffeine or alcohol. For some good general resources to help with the stress and anxiety you may be feeling, take a deep breath and read here and here.

Recent research has underscored the negative health effects that stress can cause, along with strategies that appear to greatly reduce feelings of stress. First, a new study out of Minnesota and published in Nature Aging reports that social stress can damage your DNA and can induce cellular senescence (accelerated aging) in the brain, especially in areas of the brain associated with memory and cognitive function. Two other research studies point the way toward stress relief. In a study published in Psychology of Sport and Exercise, researchers in England examined the impact of dance as a way to reduce stress levels. Although it’s been known that physical exercise is a valuable way to control stress and anxiety, dance appears to have a unique combination of music, rhythm, social interaction, and physical movement that combine in a way to powerfully boost mental health and reduce stress. If you add in a partner for physical touch, connections, and social support, you really open up the brain’s reward system, which can help with emotional regulation and resilience. For more on the stress reduction benefits of dance, turn up the music and look here and here. Finally, one other research study has validated the use of transcendental meditation (TM) to mitigate the effects of chronic stress and aging. Published in the journal Biomolecules, this study examined the gene expression, cognitive function, and hair cortisol levels (cortisol is the ‘stress hormone” produced by your adrenal glands) of people who have practiced TM  for 12-40 years. The results of this examination were then compared to similarly situated people who do not practice TM. While not finding a direct cause and effect, the researchers did find that those who have practiced this type of meditation for long periods, involving 2 daily 20-minute sessions, had lower biomarkers for chronic stress and biological aging than those who did not meditate. For more on this study, put your hands together and click here.

What many of us are currently experiencing is stress caused by the current political climate. Some psychologists have specifically addressed this topic and how to therapeutically help stressed individuals cope in this moment. For example, writing in The Conversation, Dr. Jeremy Shapiro commented that the current political polarization is the highest it has ever been measured and is a “bipartisan” concern. People on both sides of the aisle are experiencing stress and anxiety. His suggestions center on taking a longer view of the history of our country and focusing on what you can change rather than what you can’t. He also suggests that you pay attention to the main sources of well-being in your life, including family, friends, hobbies, nature, and acts of kindness. While this all sounds reasonable, some may wonder if it meets the moment we’re in. Writing on her Substack, “Are You Okay?” Dr. Lucy McBride recently wrote a blog post called “How to Manage Anxiety When the World Feels Like It’s Falling Apart.” In a calm and thoughtful way, Dr. McBride acknowledges that worry and stress are perfectly human responses to the moment we’re in, and she provides a strategy to approaching your current stress levels by focusing on three areas: Awareness of what you’re going through; Acceptance of the current reality, including the anxiety you’re experiencing; and Agency, which reviews the tools available to get you through this time. Mostly, she wants you to develop a “relationship” with the anxiety you’re experiencing so that you can continue to function despite high levels of stress. Find out more here. And remember, as Oprah Winfrey has said, “Breathe. Let Go. And remind yourself that this very moment is the only one you know you have for sure.”