Tiny stress

Biohacking and managing stress isn’t just about the big ticket events but also the tiny stuff.

The short-lived, intense and stressful events, versus the low intensity stress on a continual, daily basis. Acute versus chronic.

Like, public speaking is super stressful for me. Very intense, but it peaks quickly, and is over in a few hours. You can decompress and recover after.

But the drip by drip water torture of tiny stress is how despite being less intense—almost forgettable—but it keeps going frequently over a prolonged period of time. A few things like:

• Clutter
• Postponed tasks/chores
• Deadlines, being on time

Clutter is the most insidious. It’s there, you see it every day, live amongst it, almost stop noticing it, but it’s always in the back of your head, saying, I got to clean that up some day. Over months, it compounds and eats away at your clarity and calm.

Postponed tasks are another secret killer. I’ll get round to paying that bill, I have to repair that pipe, mow that lawn. Every day, a reminder. Every day, a drop of stress that you had not yet completed it, that you failed that day. Over time, it adds up into a huge rock on your chest.

Deadlines, timelines, or just being on time. It’s the little appointments. Drop off lunch for the kid by 11am, but I leave at 1100. I’m late, so I rush there. Oh my bus is arriving, let’s walk faster. It’s not even a big deal to be late, nor is it something important to be on time for, but every timing we got to meet throughout the day piles on the tiny stress, till at the end of the day, you feel exhausted from rushing around but you don’t know exactly what you rushed for.

So, tiny stress, silent killer.

Watch out for it.