The red zone of stress: when we reach the limit

The red stress zone delimits a mental barrier that should not be crossed. It is that horizon in which our sense of control fades, our cognitive resources fray, giving way to problems of attention, memory, reflection… The world then acquires a threatening tone promoted by adverse emotions that feed constant discomfort.

We have all experienced stress on numerous occasions. Something that we must be clear about first is that feeling it, suffering it and going through times determined by its presence is something perfectly normal.

Stress is, after all, a habitual psychological and physical reaction to highly intense stimuli, whether negative or even positive. Sometimes, even something that generates great excitement for us, we end up experiencing it with certain doses of stress.

However, The problem comes when that situation becomes persistent. Our body, our brain, is not prepared to “cohabit” with this psychophysiological activation permanently. What’s more, most of us are unaware of the impact it has on the person, how it changes us and how it alters performance, mood or health.

William James once said that the best remedy for stress is knowing how to choose our thoughts well. However, we know that this is not always so easy. No when our mind has reached that red zone in which it is very difficult to have control over the mind. The brain has already become accustomed to a type of mental pattern dominated exclusively by emotions of the color of fear and constant anguish.

The red zone of stress, when the mind acts as our worst enemy

The red zone of stress defines a state in which we end up responding below our intelligence.. That is, it is reaching a level where we do not act, we react. It is a state in which we do not reason logically but, almost without realizing it, we allow ourselves to be carried away by the most adverse emotions. All of this, as we can assume, has immense risk and cost.

Does this mean that every time you experience stress you will act this way? The answer is no. We insist, The red zone of stress is reached when this dimension becomes chronic.; when we spend months or years suffering its effects without managing it. This can be seen, on average, in people who have been involved in a very demanding job for a long time or in situations of bullying.

Children and adolescents who suffer bullying They can also reach these extremes, just like any of us in that, for whatever circumstances, we end up experiencing this psychological reality constantly. So, Something that should be remembered and kept in mind is that under circumstances of constant stress, the brain changes. And it does it in the following way.

In the red zone of stress, the brain stops receiving the energy it needs.

The brain consumes about 20% of our energy resources. It needs a constant supply of blood flow, glucose and other nutrients. In fact, in relation to other organs, it is, by far, the one that consumes the most. Now, there is a fact that may surprise us. In situations of high stress, the energy supply to the brain is reduced.

The reason? There are other parts of our body that are prioritized, such as muscles. They need more energy to help us escape or defend ourselves. Let us remember that stress activates these responses and therefore, the distribution of nutrients, blood flow and oxygen varies completely in these situations.

The most important thing is not to think or reason, it is to escape, to act on instinct.

Chronic and intense stress doesn’t want you to think, it wants you to react

We pointed out previously that the contribution in this state is distributed differently. One of those effects is the following: In the red zone of stress, priority is no longer given to the prefrontal cortex; The energy contribution received in these situations is lower. Something like this translates into the following:

Cognitive failures: you stop thinking clearly, it is difficult for you to make decisions, concentrate, remember data, reflect…Tunnel vision. You start to focus only on the negative, you see only the problems and you are unable to think of solutions. It’s all threats, concerns, fears, mistrust…The labyrinth of emotions. In the red zone of stress, emotions such as fear, sadness, anguish or helplessness are the pattern and constant in our mind.

Chronic stress and depression: the brain without defenses

If we exceed the red zone of stress and stay in this scenario for a long time, we will fall into a state of helplessness. Not only our physical health will be affected: exhaustion, tachycardia, digestive problems, headaches… Something that they point out to us in studies, such as those carried out at the University of Montreal by Dr. Sonya Lupien, is that It is common to suffer from a depressive disorder.

According to this work published in the magazine Nature Neuroscience, This continuous exposure in the brain to glucocorticoids associated with the stress response is related to depression. It is a relevant issue and one that we should keep in mind.

Given these data we only have to understand one fact. We can all suffer stress, feel it, experience it during a specific period limited in time, it is therefore something normal.

However, we must apply strategies to manage this daily stress, those specific day-to-day worries, that discomfort that today takes away my calm. If you let it go and don’t act, that ball will get bigger, sometimes unreachable.

Crossing the red zone of stress is easier than we may think. And even more so in difficult times. Let’s keep it in mind.

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