Where did stress come from?
As long as humans have been around - there has been stress.
Perhaps we called it different things, gave it labels like tension, over-work,
or strain, but it has definitely been there. Cave men and women knew
stress well. When danger lurked, their adrenalin flowed, their hearts went into
pitter/patter high drive, their breathing got
faster, they perspired more, they were in a state of physical arousal and
readiness to go into battle or make haste when needed. If it weren’t for stress
- we humans would not have survived long - we’d have been eaten by sabre tooth tigers early on in our evolution. Had we not
had the sense and the ability to run away, we’d have been a Big Mac for a huge
tiger, or some other equally fierce and hungry beast. This reaction is called the FIGHT or
FLIGHT syndrome.
Throughout history, people have reacted to danger by going into
“high gear” physically, to be safe. We were programmed to react this way so we
could continue to exist as a species. Fight or flight
was critical to survival back in caveman times when we were chased by tigers
and other hungry wild creatures. We are buffered
and protected, we no longer walk 10 miles daily looking for food, nor do we
have to fight the tribe down the road for access to the water hole. We’ve
evolved as humans, we live in a sophisticated world where our water pours from
the tap and the fish for dinner was found on a tray at IGA. Our bodies haven’t
really evolved in a reasonable manner. There are no tigers chasing us today,
yet we are still ‘wired’ as if there were. In terms of practicality and health,
we’d be better off if our systems had evolved with less fight or flight and
maybe they will ...in another million years or so. However, we still
need the fight or flight, just not so much or so often. For example, in today’s
world, if your body didn’t react to stress signals - the basketball coming
straight for your head when the neighbour’s kid is
shooting hoops and misses, would give you quite a headache. However, your body
responds and you quickly get out of the way. Stress reactions save you many
times.