What is a Micro Stressor?
As the name suggests, they are small stressors which can seem small and insignificant BUT they are NOT to be UNDERESTIMATED!
These micro stressors are every day stressors which can add up as we progress throughout our day and they pile up, one on top of another.
When we are exposed to these micro stressors for a long period of time, what happens is that they can morph into chronic (long term) stress.
Chronic Stress is bad stress and it significantly impacts your physical, mental and emotional wellbeing!
Micro Stressor Examples
Here’s an example of how your day could be filled with micro stressors:
- You get up late so you are rushing to get ready which makes you feel stressed!
- In the rush you check your emails and messages and see things that need to be dealt with, but you can’t deal with them until you get to the office, but they are on your mind now and affecting your mood!
- It’s a rush to get out of the door, the children aren’t ready even though you’ve asked them a million times to get their shoes on!
- You get stuck in traffic
- The kids are late for school
- You are going to be late for work
- You’re under pressure at work to meet some deadlines, there’s no time to stop and take a break, you work flat out all day
- Something gets added to your to do list that you weren’t expecting! Aarrgghh!
- You’ve had a confrontational conversation with a work colleague or client which has upset you
- You come home to a messy house
- There’s all these fresh demands at home – teatime, homework, kids clubs etc
- While all this has been going on your phone hasn’t stopped pinging with notifications!
- Your get to the end of the day and you feel wrung out and utterly exhausted. There’s no time (or energy) to reflect on the day or process anything that has happened.
You repeat this day after, day, after day and this is how these micro stressors build up over time and turn into chronic stress!
Are you getting the picture?
This may or may not be an extreme example. I think it’s pretty accurate for many women!
The problem is that we feel like all these micro stressors are part of our lives so we don’t do anything to address them as we perhaps don’t realise what an impact they are having on us.
(Note that this is not an exhaustive list, there are so many things that can cause us these micro moments of stress, this example was merely to illustrate what a micro stressor is).
What can we do to avoid these micro stressors?
Many women think that these hectic stressful days are ‘just the way life is’. I have to disagree!
I used to think the same, but not anymore. When you’ve experienced not one but two burnouts there comes a point where enough is enough.
There are so many things you can do to manage your stress so that chronic stress doesn’t take a hold. Here’s some things you can try:
- Turn Off Phone Notifications – You are in control of when you will check your messages. Turn off your notifications after a certain point in the evening and don’t turn them on until you are ready and at your desk in the morning.
- Set Boundaries – Setting boundaries lets people know what we are and are not available for. It stops us taking too much on and allows us some much needed breathing space
- Say No – As with boundaries, saying no also means we aren’t taking too much on, or doing things we really don’t want to do.
- Be More Organised for the Day Ahead – Get up that little bit earlier in the morning and have some quiet time to yourself before the day begins. Encourage the children to have their school stuff out ready for the morning so there is no running around looking for shoes!
- Find Ways to Manage Stress on a Daily Basis – Incorporate small habits into your day, every day to lower your stress levels such as taking breaks, getting out in the fresh air, stopping to breath