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Inside the Body and Mind

Forming a whirlpool, the colors green, yellow, and brown swirl together before my eyes
while I stare out the window of my step-dads red Acura. My step-dad is driving, my mom is in
the passenger seat, while my older brother and I are riding in the back seats, waiting to arrive at
the Buchanan Field Airport. Driving along a gravel road, rocks bouncing against the sides of the
car, were startling, causing us to jump every couple of seconds. Before I know it, a huge, gray
fence looms over my head. The car slows to a crawl and then stops at a gate. My step-dad inserts
his key card and the security gate opens. Once inside, my step-dad drives past rows of hangars
until we finally stop outside his hangar door. Inside the large hangar is my step-dads privately
owned Trinidad Turbo airplane. It is a sleek white and aqua plane with a huge green tail.
We all step out of the car, enveloped in the early June heat. While my brother and I help
get all of our suitcases out of the trunk of the car, my step-dad pulls the plane out on to the black
asphalt. Everyone helps to load the luggage into the airplanes small baggage compartment, and a
few minutes later I find myself strapped into my seat. Rolling down the runway, gaining speed, I
finally feel my stomach drop as I nervously look out the window. I realize I am in the air! My
hands sweating slightly, my face warm, I know if I looked into a mirror, I would see my red
cheeks.
About an hour into the flight, we finally made it over the Reno Rocky Mountains, and we
still have three long hours to go until the plane will touch down in Payette, Idaho. The sky is
overcast, and there are so many white fluffy clouds above me that I cannot see the sun wink at
me. All of a sudden the plane starts to shake violently, the turbulence from going through the
clouds is buffeting the plane as if it were toy. I clutch my brown leather seatbelt for dear life. My
clammy, frozen hands make it hard to hold on to my seatbelt though. As my heart beats wildly in

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my chest, I wonder if it might stop from overwork. I cannot really hear anything because of the
blood roaring in my ears, saying, The plane is going to crash over and over inside my head. By
now, I am having a full on panic attack, I feel paralyzed from the fear. All I can manage to do is
hunch over, put my head between my legs, and breathe slowly. I clutch my head and start praying
to God that I live through this terrifying flight.
This turbulence goes on for the rest of the flight, and only slightly calms down when we
are just thirty minutes away from the Payette airport. It is not until I start to feel the plane
descend that I lift my head from between my legs and see that we are barely an inch above the
ground. When the plane touched down and we have stopped moving I breathe a sigh of relief. I
frantically undo my seatbelt, get out of the plane and step onto the ground, thankful I arrived
safely. Because this flight experience has happened to me many times, I wonder: What are the
effects of anxiety and stress on a person, both mentally and physically, and the types of
therapeutic (non-drug) activities that are most beneficial?
After parking my eggshell Nissan Murano in a cramped parking lot outside a gray brick
building, I decide that talking to a therapist is a good idea. I have my pink and gray North Face
backpack bouncing against my hip while walking the short distance from the parking lot to the
front doors of the building. When I open the big, glass, double doors, clean as the clear Hawaiian
water, I feel a rush of warm air hit my face. The doors close behind me with a soft swoosh. I face
forward and frown when I notice there is no reception desk. I find myself in a state of confusion
as to where I am supposed to go to find the office of my mentor, Marge Joehnk (Psy#15559),
who is a licensed psychologist. Anxious and jittery, I try to stay focused on my task. Finally, I
read the bold, black letters of my mentors name on the wall, an arrow pointing to the left, and
her room number. With hesitation, I softly knock on the door, afraid I have the wrong room.

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When no one comes, I nervously reach my hand down, grasp the door handle, and twist until the
lock clicks open. I enter what looks like a sitting room, with another door on the other side of the
small intimate room. Suddenly, the door opens and out comes a middle aged lady, who I assume
is Dr. Joehnk. My assumption is proven correct, because the next second I am being ushered into
a second room. The walls and furniture are shades of green, blue, yellow, and gray. Dr. Joehnk
motions me to sit down on a plush gray chair, and I feel a sense of calm and comfort wash over
and through me. All my anxiety is now assuaged!
Anxiety and stress are universal feelings that everyone experiences both mentally and
physically at one time or other in his or her life. Anxiety has multiple definitions, but a
description of anxiety that my mentor, Dr. Joehnk, has expertly defined to me is, anxiety is a
disorder that shares features of excessive fear and anxiety related behavioral disturbances. Fear is
an emotional response, whereas anxiety is an anticipation of future threat. When those two
overlap, then the fight or flight thoughts abound. To explain stress more simply, Diane
Valentine, owner and head instructor of The Yoga and Movement Center in downtown Walnut
Creek, defines it, Stress is a physiological reaction when we are not in line with our deepest
selves. It is very common when people experience having any kind of anxiety or stress to feel
the fight or flight response.
How this response comes to happen in someone, is a person will start feeling like
they are being threatened, their nervous system responds by releasing a flood of
stress hormones, which can include adrenaline and cortisol, which wake the body
up and prepare it for emergency action. Then your body reacts in multiple ways,
like your muscles tightening, your heart beating faster, and your breath
quickening. (Robinson)
This reaction is a helpful stress response that ones body uses to protect him or her from any
harm. The brain is where all of this action happens: The components of the nervous system
involved in the stress response include the brain, the limbic system, and the autonomic nervous
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system (Kendall-Reed and Reed 17). There are three areas the brain can be divided into, the
forebrain, the midbrain, and the brainstem (Kendall-Reed and Reed 17). One part of the
forebrain that deals with stress and anxiety is the hypothalamus, which is the lowest part of the
forebrain, primarily concerned with survival of the individual and the species. This part of the
brain plays a central role in the stress response by coordinating a complex interaction between
the nervous system and the hormonal systems in the body (Kendall-Reed and Reed 17). The
second part of the brain, the midbrain, is the smallest of the three areas. This part of the brain has
a canal in it called the cerebral aqueduct. This channel carries cerebrospinal fluid from the third
ventricle downward into the fourth ventricle and the spinal cord (Kendall-Reed and Reed 17).
The third and last area of the brain, the brainstem, contains the reticular formation, which like the
hypothalamus, also plays a key role in the stress response. This part of the brain is an extensive
neuronal network that not only controls basic functions such as heartbeatbut also exerts a
profound effect on the overall activity of the brain, behavior, and response to external stimuli
(Kendall-Reed and Reed 18).
The second component of the nervous system is the limbic system. This system is linked
with anxiety and stress because it is central to the control of the stress response. The fight-orflight stress response is triggered in the amygdala and hippocampus by external events. These
events are interpreted in light of both innate behavior and life experience (Kendall-Reed and
Reed 19). The third component of the nervous system is the autonomic nervous system. Unlike
the motor system, the autonomic nervous system is not under conscious or voluntary control. It is
responsible for adjusting such bodily functions as blood pressure, heart rate, intestinal motility,
sweating, body temperature, and metabolic rate (Kendall Reed and Reed 20). Because everyone
has these three components, the brain, the limbic, and the autonomic system, everyone can

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experience anxiety or stress. These systems are the main factors that cause anxiety and stress to
manifest themselves. They are the central core, where stress and anxiety stem from in our bodies.
There are three types of stress people can experience, these are acute, episodic, and
chronic stress. Acute stress, also called short-term stress, is current stress, usually caused by a
recent event. A major change hits your life, and you instantly feel stress (Roberts 8). Acute
stress is the lowest level of stress from all three types of stress; however, one would want to
manage acute stress to prevent it from causing the other two types of stress, episodic and
chronic stress (Roberts 8). Episodic stress is a series of difficulties that weaken your ability to
live life to its fullest potential. One stressful event usually begins the cycle, and then other events
follow (Roberts 9). The last and worst type of stress is chronic stress. This type of stress is
pressure so great over a period of time that you can find no adequate outlet. With chronic stress,
a stressful situation just doesnt get better. In fact, it gets worse because the longer it lasts, the
greater the toll on those involved (Roberts 9). Chronic stress is the most difficult stress to get
over, so the best way to get over this type of stress is to explore support groups, counseling, or
in-home care. There are also big anxiety disorders people can suffer from. Dr. Joehnk states the
most common are separation anxiety, specific phobia, social anxiety, panic, and anxiety disorder
due to a medical condition (e.g.- just finding out they have a terminal disease). Stress and
anxiety can be good and bring about positive effects, but they can also have negative effects as
well and be harmful.
Stress and anxiety have deep effects on the body and mind. Everyone displays warning
signs when he or she has stress. The physical signs of stress and anxiety on ones body can
include: having muscle spasms, panic attacks, headaches, chest pain, dizziness, weakness,
shortness of breath, a change in your appetite, a change in sleep habits, twitching, pacing,

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grinding of teeth, lack of attentiveness, causes illnesses such as asthma, ulcers, and auto immune
diseases (Ayer 20). As for the effects of stress on the mind, they include: making you see
difficult situations as threating, interfering with your judgement, making you feel rejected,
unable to laugh, afraid of free time, unable to work, feeling out of control, and mood changes
such as depression and frustration (Physical and Mental Signs of Stress). The way Valentine
describes how stress and anxiety effect the mind is, on the mind we lose ourselves in thoughts
either past or future and the present moments which brings us peace. The reason why one feels
anxious or stressed is because he or she isnt in the present state of mind. Not only do these
effects occur to peoples minds when they are stressed or anxious, but they can also experience
cognitive distortions. Dr. Joehnk explained to me that there are ten different cognitive distortions
that people experience who live with stress and anxiety. These distortions cloud peoples
judgements so people over generalize, all-or-nothing thinking, mental filter, discounting the
positives, jumping to conclusions, magnification or minimization, emotional reasoning, should
statements, labeling, and personalization and blame.
There are a variety of ways people can relieve their anxiety and stress, some of these
methods are bad and some are good in relieving anxiety and stress from ones body. People who
are not able to handle the stress and do not know how to deal with it properly choose harmful
methods of relieving their stress. These negative activities include: smoking or using drugs,
caffeine or sugar consumption, overeating or forced anorexia, impulse shopping, sedentary
lifestyle or excessive exercising, sexual promiscuity, and work-a-holism (Roberts 53). When
people let stress control them, they end up developing and participating in bad activities, and
overall harming themselves. Stress creates more stressors; so it is important to locate where ones

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stress and anxiety are stemming from and to find healthy activities before they get out of control
and he or she does something they might regret and someone gets hurt.
I have experienced and witnessed several of the cognitive distortions at one time or
another. When I get on airplanes, my whole body breaks out in a cold sweat and I never want to
eat when I am in the air. My stomach knots up; I do not feel hungry even if I was hungry before I
got on the plane. I have also had several of the cognitive distortions, such as jumping to
conclusions, and mental filtering in school. If I get a bad grade on a test, my mental filter causes
me to dwell on failing the class even though I did poorly on only one test. As Dr. Joehnk
explained, some of these symptoms are not that disconcerting, but having more than two or
three of these symptoms can be a sign that one is under more stress than she can handle and can
start to be dangerous for her. However, stress can be good for people when you learn to wield
it in a positive direction. Think of stress not as an enemy, but as a friend who tells you that
somethings not right and suggests that you take the time to figure out what is wrong (Roberts
10). The only way to really know how to relieve a piling amount of stress is to know where it is
coming from.
What causes anxiety and stress? This universal question does not actually have a precise
answer because stress looks different for different people. Therefore, to find the root of anyones
stress is to find his or her stressor; a stressor is people or events that cause pressure at any given
time (Roberts 48). Factors that shape a stress response for people include: age, health status,
type of stressor, duration of exposure, genetics, early childhood experience, nutritional status,
alcohol, drugs, some medications, social support, and beliefs (Hamilton, McClellan, and
Reverand 6). For example, Helpguide.org, gives four examples of how some people experience
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Karen is terrified of getting up in front of people to perform or speak, while her
best friend, Nin, lives for the spotlight. Phil thrives under pressure and performs
best when he has a tight deadline, while his co-worker, Matt, shuts down when
work demands escalate. Anita enjoys helping her elderly parents. Her sister,
Constance, helps out as well but finds the demands of caretaking very stressful.
Richard doesnt hesitate to send food back or complain about bad service when
eating out, while his wife, Miranda, finds it much too stressful to complain.
(Robinson)
Once one finds the stressors that are causing his or her anxiety and stress, the next step is finding
out how to manage it. Upon finding out what is causing the stress, they can then find ways to
manage and relieve it. Otherwise, it could get out of hand, and put themselves and others in
serious danger.
There are many different activities and ways to manage and relieve stress and anxiety for
people. Dr. Joehnk has told me that, as a psychologist, the way she helps her patients, who are
having anxiety and stress issues is to help them manage rather than control a situation.
Because they often feel out of control, the best way to help them is to manage the situations they
are in, which helps them overcome their anxiety over their stressors. Doing activities helps
people to relieve their anxiety and stress, because they are focused on one task which takes all of
their attention, so that they do not think about anything else at the moment. Some therapeutic
(non-drug) activities that a person can perform to help relieve his or her anxiety and stress are
yoga, baking, Tai Chi, meditation, drawing, painting, and breathing exercises. Along with these
activities, there are functions in the day-to-day life that can help in relieving anxiety and stress,
such as eating well, sleeping well, and have optimistic thoughts, dont dwell on the negatives in
life (Esherick 104).
Activities where one can control the controllables when performing them is a great stress
reliever and helps the person to calm down. For example, when baking, one controls the
controllables by putting the ingredients for a recipe on the counter, measured and ready to go. By
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having everything ready, one is not stressed about getting the right ingredients or tools, unlike if
he or she is on a time limit. I know first-hand that baking relieves stress and anxiety; at least, for
me it does. My project was to learn how to bake. From taking baking classes, I have had the
experience of feeling a sense of calm in me when I bake. The first class I took was a French
baking class with my mentor. When I was piping the clair mixture onto a baking pan, I was so
focused on my task, I was not thinking about anything else in my life, or what was happening
around me. It calmed me down, and in that moment I did not feel an ounce of anxiety or stress in
my body. As another therapist explains, Remember to use the physical act of cooking and
baking to get out how you are feeling. Focus all of your energy into your food. Push, chop, slice
and knead out your feelings into your food you are preparing (Carver 110). Baking is a great
activity to relieve all the pent up anxiety and stress, because one is releasing all the negative
energy in him or her out and into the food instead, calming oneself in the process.
A yoga practitioner suggests another strategy for managing stress: Yoga postures are a
renowned antidote to stress. They exercise the whole body; and because your mental focus stays
on your breathing while you practice, your body and mind blend together, instilling a deep
feeling of tranquility and calm (Selby 15). I learned from Valentine, a yoga instructor and
therapist, that yoga relieves stress by allowing us to get in touch with ourselves. Another
therapeutic activity I listed above, Tai Chi, is also a great activity to help relieve anxiety and
stress. Scientific research has shown that Tai Chi stimulates the central nervous system,
decreasing heart rate and blood pressure, gently tones the muscles without strain, improves
digestion, promotes regular bowel movements, and diminishes anxiety and pain perception, and
improves mood (Kendall-Reed and Reed 140).

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It is to everyones knowledge that anxiety and stress are not easy to cope with. Anxiety
and stress put a major toll on ones body and mind. If the body is experiencing any amount of
anxiety and stress, one can have muscle spasms, headaches, dizziness, and weakness. The effects
of anxiety and stress on the mind, however, can include making one feel out of control,
experience mood changes, and can interfere with ones judgement call. And the best way people
can alleviate these effects on their body and minds is by participating in (non-drug) therapeutic
activities. Some of the most beneficial therapeutic activities are baking, yoga, drawing, and
breathing exercises. When one has learned to manage a situation, rather than control it, is when
one has beat their anxiety and stress.
From researching about the effects of anxiety and stress on the body and mind, I have
discovered that I experience a copious amount of stress at times. I have exhibited some of these
symptoms, such as sweating, jumping to conclusions, and self-doubt. However, these symptoms
do not frighten me, because I know now how to handle them from my research. When I get
really stressed out, I am going to bake. From the baking classes that I am taking for my project, I
have learned that I love to do the activity, and it does indeed reduce my anxiety and stress levels
tremendously. I am so glad that I had the opportunity to research this topic, because I believe it is
important for everyone to know when he or she is stressed, so one can manage it properly.

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Works Cited
Books:
Ayer, Eleanor H. Everything You Need To Know About STRESS. New York: The Rosen
Publishing Group, INC., 1998. Print.
Carver, Allison. Cooking Therapy. United States of America: ASD Publishing, 2013. Print.
Esherick, Joan. Balancing Act A Teens Guide to Managing Stress. Philadelphia: Mason Crest
Publishers, 2005. Print.
Hamilton, Beth, Stephanie McClellan and Diane Reverand. So Stressed. New York: Free Press,
2010. Print.
Kendall-Reed, Penny and Dr. Stephen Reed. The Complete Doctors Stress Solution
Understanding, Treating, and Preventing Stress and Stress-Related Illnesses. Canada:
Robert Rose INC., 2004. Print.
Roberts, Melissa. The Everything Guide to Stress Management. Massachusetts: Adams
Media, 2011. Print.
Selby, Anna. Quick & Easy Stress Busters. London: Duncan Baird Publishers, 2009. Print.
Electronic Sources:
Physical and Mental Signs of Stress. Understanding and Dealing With Stress. Understanding
and Dealing With Stress. Web. 2 Feb. 2016.
Robinson, Lawrence, Jeanne Segal, Robert Segal, and Melinda Smith. Stress Symptoms, Signs,
And Causes. Helpguide.org. Helpguide.org, Jan. 2016. Web. 2 Feb. 2016.
Primary Sources:
Joehnk, Marjorie. Licensed psychologist, Walnut Creek CA. Personal Interview. 1 March 2016.
Valentine, Diane. Studio owner, yoga instructor, teacher, trainer, and therapist, The Yoga and

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Movement Center, Walnut Creek CA. Email Interview. 14 March 2016.

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