We’ve all had those days--the days where nothing goes right and every little thing seems to set you off. When you’re already running on fumes, you don’t have much energy left to deal with small snags and challenges when they arise.

But if that’s the everyday experience for you, you might want to try to find a different path forward.

That’s why, here at Myrth, we’re big fans of working on raising our stress threshold. Raising your stress threshold can help you cope more effectively with both major and minor stressors, relieving some of the anxiety and physical responses to stress and helping you maintain mental clarity. 

Read on for more about what a stress threshold is, why you should raise it, and how to do so.

What is a Stress Threshold?

We like this explanation of the stress threshold from Megan MacCutcheon over on Good Therapy:

During therapy sessions, I often put my hand out in front of me to demonstrate the threshold for stress of the person I’m working with. And as I list all the issues they are dealing with, I raise my hand up, up, and up. When you are dealing with stressors that fall under or meet the original threshold, you are able to cope, keep it together, and effectively manage your various tasks. But as you pile more and more stressors atop that threshold, you may become overwhelmed, run-down, and irritable.

It doesn’t matter how minor or insignificant an event may be. Whether it’s a little aggravation or a major trauma, you can be pushed over your threshold and sent into a tailspin. Negative emotions, such as anger, frustration, depression, and despair, can become heightened, and for some people, physical symptoms such as stress headaches or muscle tension can set in.

You can get a good sense of your current stress threshold using this diagnostic tool developed by Kaiser Permanente. It’s a short quiz that will help you evaluate your reactions to minor and major stressors.

Why Should I Raise My Stress Threshold?

Raising your stress threshold has some serious benefits. If crossing the threshold leads to emotional overwhelm and even physical symptoms, then making it harder to cross that threshold will reduce the likelihood you experience overwhelm or physical symptoms. To make it harder to cross the threshold, you need to raise it.

Raising your stress threshold also allows you to use your stress in a productive way. Dr. Selhub recommends her SHIELD Technique, which is a mnemonic and a visualization. But each person has a sweet spot where the right amount of stress helps them be productive and engaged, and so if you raise your stress threshold, you’ll be able to stay productive and engaged even under higher levels of stress.

Having a higher stress threshold has benefits for those around you, too. Emotions are contagious, and so if you are in a constant state of stress, the people you live and work with will start to feel that stress, too. It can become an ever-intensifying spiral unless somebody decides to interrupt that escalation process.

You can be that person.

By raising your stress threshold, you help contribute not only to a lowering of your own emotional and physical distress responses, but also to a better emotional and physical state for the people you interact with. 

How Do I Raise My Stress Threshold?

Raising your stress threshold takes some work and planning, but it’s worth it in the end. Think of the process like depositing a few coins in your piggy bank on a regular basis. (shoutout to Bethanie Colwell for the awesome infographic) James Garrett, founder of “brain by design” and a teacher at the Digital Wellness Insitute, recommends three daily resilience deposits every day, which may look like:

A ten-minute meditation, 20 minutes in nature, three gratitudes from the day, or a quick phone call with a friend.

Researchers have also identified 5 key factors that may contribute to a raised stress threshold:

1. Social support. Having a number of people you can trust or rely on; socially isolated people are less capable of coping with stress.

2. Self-confidence. The feeling that you are able to influence your own life makes it easier to survive tough times.

3. Mindset. Optimistic people are less vulnerable than pessimists.

4. Emotional intelligence. One who knows how to recognize and manage emotions is more stress-tolerant.

5. Physical condition. Quality sleep, proper nutrition, the level of physical activity (the higher it is, the easier it is to break free from the web of negative thoughts that nurture stress) will help you return to a stable state of mind.

Of course, this doesn’t mean you have to tackle each of these things at once. Trying to do so would probably be chaotic and unproductive. Instead, pick one or two things to focus on.

How Do I Keep My Stress Threshold High During A Socially Isolated Holiday Season?

One last note here. The holiday season is upon us, and in ordinary years, it can be stressful for predictable reasons: too many gatherings, large crowds at all the stores, the pressure to find the perfect gift, lots of excess lights and sounds everywhere.

This year, though, the holiday season might be stressful for you for lots of other reasons.

One of the key factors in maintaining a high-stress threshold is keeping a strong social support network. That’s hard during a holiday season when many of us won’t be able to see loved ones or host parties or even do ordinary holiday shopping in our communities. Try using some new strategies when you start to feel the Zoom fatigue set in, and work on fostering relationships in ways that don’t require physical presence. They’re not a perfect substitute for sitting together around a table and sharing a meal, but they’ll help.

And when we get through to the other side of this pandemic, you’ll find that having an elevated stress threshold will serve you well in whatever world comes next, too.

Have you worked on intentionally raising your stress threshold? What strategies did you use and how did it go? Drop us a note in the comments.

P.S. - You can save and share this post on Pinterest using this image: