[00:00] Stress is an ancient superpower 
that is slowly killing you.
[00:06] It evolved as one of the most powerful 
tools for survival but has turned into
[00:10] a double edged sword in the modern world.
[00:12] It grants your wish to rise to a gnarly challenge
[00:15] or to work harder – but claims a 
chunk of your life force in return.
[00:20] Unless you learn how to use it right.
[00:23] What is stress, why is it harmful and what 
can you do to escape its consequences?
[00:29] All living things strive for homeostasis, 
a state where their body is in balance.
[00:34] To maintain this balance they make adjustments 
like moving into the sunlight or eating nutrients.
[00:39] But the world is a cruel place 
with death lurking behind every
[00:42] corner and organisms need a way 
to react to extreme situations.
[00:47] This is how stress evolved – as a physical
[00:49] response to a stressor – which is 
anything challenging or dangerous.
[00:53] Stress is a very fast, drastic change of the 
state of the body that prioritizes survival.
[00:59] An emergency program that lets the organism 
push way out of its comfort zone to survive.
[01:05] To understand how stress works in humans, 
let's visit a scene fifty thousand years ago…
[01:10] The Superpower Awakens
[01:14] A group of early homo sapiens are huddled 
around a fire – when suddenly a desperate
[01:19] and starving sabertooth tiger attacks their camp.
[01:22] Their leader, Urr the Bearsmasher 
jumps up as time slows down.
[01:27] His brain classifies the tiger as a critical 
stressor and unleashes the stress response.
[01:33] Adrenal glands pump out adrenaline that rushes
[01:36] through Urr’s body activating 
“fight or flight” mode.
[01:39] His heart starts beating faster and 
his lungs accelerate, providing an
[01:43] emergency supply of nutrients and 
oxygen to all critical systems.
[01:48] Adrenaline dictates that his muscles 
have energy priority over his other
[01:51] organs and activates them for rapid action 
– their strength and speed are ramped up.
[01:57] Pain and fatigue signals are muted,
[01:59] while his senses become super 
sharp and lock in on the threat.
[02:03] Urr perceives every detail with maximum clarity 
and realizes the tiger is getting ready to pounce!
[02:09] There is only a split second to react.
[02:12] Adrenaline forces Urr to make 
a quick, impulsive decision:
[02:15] Without thinking about it he chooses 
to fight and attacks with full force.
[02:19] But the battle is long and arduous – the animal
[02:22] is desperate and will not back 
down, our humans risk exhaustion.
[02:27] A new hormone joins the battle:
[02:29] cortisol.
[02:30] Cortisol is the slower, more strategic 
hormone that manages a longer stress response.
[02:35] It orders a total shift of all body systems.
[02:38] Ramping up the fuel supply while suppressing 
all non-essential functions like resting,
[02:42] disease defense or digestion.
[02:45] Urr's body isn’t his own 
anymore, it belongs to stress.
[02:49] Finally Urr the Bearsmasher 
deals the killing blow.
[02:53] The tribe gathers in celebration.
[02:55] Their bodies shut down “fight or 
flight” and activate “rest and digest”.
[03:01] Wounds begin to hurt and 
muscles cry in exhaustion.
[03:04] It is time to recover and heal, bond and tell 
stories about how they killed the angry tiger god.
[03:10] Some fall asleep, others eat to replenish.
[03:13] The tribe relaxes and 
homeostasis is being restored.
[03:17] These people are your ancestors.
[03:20] When did this amazing 
superpower turn into a curse?
[03:24] The Deadly Email
[03:27] Our world has changed so quickly and 
profoundly that our biology couldn’t keep up.
[03:32] Stress is still the same it 
was fifty thousand years ago:
[03:36] Sense a stressor.
[03:37] React immediately and with full force.
[03:40] Prioritize present moment survival, 
make sacrifices if necessary.
[03:45] That works well when you have 
to jump out of the way of a car.
[03:48] But most stressors we encounter nowadays 
are abstract, acute and more numerous,
[03:53] often intangible, persist for much longer and 
usually don’t even require physical action.
[03:59] The tigers of the past are 
now angry emails, deadlines,
[04:03] online dating, rush hour traffic or doom 
scrolling the news and social media.
[04:08] But our brains are built to 
take fear very seriously,
[04:12] so if you experience even a short 
burst of anxiety over an email or
[04:16] because you scrolled through twitter, the 
helping hand of stress springs to action.
[04:20] You can have dozens of these micro stressors per 
day constantly activating your stress response,
[04:25] even if you barely notice anymore.
[04:28] While these micro-threats stack up we also have to
[04:31] deal with bigger stressors like unpaid 
overtime, angry clients, rising rents,
[04:36] inflation and healthcare or tariffs and 
chaos making our future more uncertain.
[04:42] But the boost we get from stress 
can also be extremely helpful if
[04:45] you have to study for an exam, run a 
marathon or complete a big project.
[04:49] It is a proper superpower and can 
feel exhilarating, even addictive.
[04:54] So many of us end up abusing it.
[04:57] Especially if you work in a competitive 
field you may keep pushing and challenging
[05:01] yourselves and others, relying on stress 
to get your best performance possible.
[05:05] The problem is that stress 
was only ever intended to
[05:07] be used in short spurts and critical situations.
[05:11] If it is activated over days, 
weeks and months with no release,
[05:14] it becomes chronic stress, one of 
the deadliest conditions for humans.
[05:19] How Chronic Stress Destroys You
[05:23] The price of chronic stress is the slow 
destruction of every part of your body and brain.
[05:28] As the stress cascade is activated over and over, 
adrenaline and cortisol keep flooding your body.
[05:33] Your „fight or flight“ systems are 
overactivated while your „rest and
[05:38] digest“ functions are constantly suppressed.
[05:41] Your muscles tense up for a fight 
that never comes – instead your back,
[05:45] shoulders and neck scream under the 
tension and you get pounding headaches.
[05:49] Your digestive tract cramps and suffers, either 
holding things in too long or rushing things out.
[05:55] Your fat metabolism is disrupted and 
starts slowing down fat breakdown,
[06:00] while increasing fat build up in your belly area.
[06:03] Your cells become less responsive to insulin 
increasing your risk of metabolic diseases.
[06:08] Your heart keeps pounding, eager to 
supply your body with fuel but your
[06:12] blood vessels aren’t built for this constant 
overactivation and get destroyed in the process,
[06:16] massively increasing your risk 
of a heart attack or stroke.
[06:20] Your immune system gets weaker 
and stronger at the same time,
[06:23] in a way that causes maximum damage to you.
[06:26] The parts that protect you 
from disease are suppressed
[06:28] because who cares about a cold 
if you have to fight a tiger?
[06:31] This increases your risk of infections, 
cancer and autoimmune diseases.
[06:36] Meanwhile cells that cause inflammation 
for wound healing are massively boosted,
[06:40] inflaming your tissue all over.
[06:43] Your brain gets rewired to serve stress.
[06:46] Perceiving an ongoing critical emergency 
it slows down calm reflection and thinking.
[06:51] Instead favoring quick and rapid reactions.
[06:53] You literally get worse at thinking 
clearly and lose wisdom points.
[06:58] You are much more likely to make bad, 
impulsive decisions like breaking up,
[07:02] eating junk food, or using drugs.
[07:04] You become worse at solving your 
problems while creating new ones.
[07:08] Under chronic stress you are 
simply a worse version of yourself.
[07:13] If this persists your memory 
and cognitive abilities get
[07:16] worse as you slide into anxiety and depression.
[07:19] So your chances of getting out 
of a stressful situation in the
[07:22] modern world worsen the longer 
you are chronically stressed.
[07:26] A hellish, vicious circle.
[07:28] If you can’t escape it, odds are that you may 
die earlier and suffer greatly along the way.
[07:34] How to use Stress As Intended
[07:38] Stress can be your friend.
[07:40] In measured doses, acute stress enables you 
to conquer mountains and push beyond your
[07:44] comfort zone, helps you to improve 
your skills and grow as a person.
[07:48] And it can make it feel amazing 
to perform at your very best.
[07:52] But to get the good without the bad,
[07:54] it’s critical that you properly wind down 
your flight or flight response and relax.
[08:00] Listen to your body.
[08:01] If you feel stressed, you are stressed, full stop.
[08:04] There is no universal threshold you have to reach 
before you’re allowed to do something about it.
[08:09] Next, ask yourself:
[08:10] Is your stress response productive in your 
situation and is there an end in sight?
[08:16] If you are studying for exams or 
moving house stress is a superpower,
[08:19] helping you unlock your full potential.
[08:22] But your health needs breaks 
from “fight or flight” mode.
[08:25] Be it meeting friends, working 
out or going for a walk in nature.
[08:29] Relaxation is not being lazy, 
this is serious self care.
[08:33] If you relax actively and regularly 
you will keep stress from claiming a
[08:37] price on your body and mind and 
still be able to use its power.
[08:41] If you can’t do this at the moment, plan 
active relaxation time as soon as you can.
[08:45] Without this stressing you out.
[08:48] Ok, but what if you suffer 
from constant unhelpful stress?
[08:52] You can’t control your body’s stress 
response, but you can influence it.
[08:56] As annoying as this is:
[08:58] mindfulness, like meditation or yoga, 
is scientifically proven to take the
[09:03] edge off stressful situations and to tell your 
brain that this email is not a deadly tiger.
[09:08] But the single most effective way to remove stress 
from your life, is to remove the stressor itself.
[09:14] Become your own personal assistant and assess
[09:17] where tiny bursts of stress are 
coming from during your day.
[09:20] Do you feel stressed when you doom scroll?
[09:23] Social media doesn’t show us what 
we want, but what makes us engage.
[09:27] And negative emotions make us engage the most.
[09:30] So simply getting rid of the apps 
or unfollowing stressful people can
[09:34] actually remove a lot of stress from your life.
[09:38] Especially with the really big problems, 
removing the stressor is extremely effective.
[09:42] If you live in a dangerous neighborhood:
[09:44] move.
[09:45] If you are bullied at school:
[09:47] see if you can change your environment.
[09:49] While this is drastic advice and may not be easy,
[09:52] it will have the biggest impact 
on your chronic stress levels.
[09:56] So think about what you 
can change in the mid term.
[09:59] Of course there are situations 
where you can’t just eliminate
[10:01] the stressor or meditate the chronic stress away.
[10:04] If your brain is stuck in stress mode for too long 
it will get worse and worse at solving problems.
[10:10] You may not be able to think clearly 
to get out of your situation.
[10:13] In these cases the most powerful 
move is to ask for help.
[10:17] Open up to friends or family 
or get professional help.
[10:20] An extra pair of hands can make a huge difference.
[10:24] In the end, life will throw stressors 
your way, this is unavoidable.
[10:28] And that’s ok.
[10:29] Stress is your superpower.
[10:32] Use it.
[10:33] But never forget to get to the other side of it.
[10:37] That’s why we created a Health Journal.
[10:40] We’ve collected all the latest health 
science and designed a framework to help
[10:44] you figure out what actually works for 
your life – without pressure or guilt.
[10:47] If you want to reduce stress, start 
with the Rest & Mental Health chapter.
[10:52] Or dive into Nutrition or Physical Fitness.
[10:55] Each chapter is packed with 
real science, lots of examples,
[10:58] and inspiration to get you started – but you can 
make it completely your own to fit your needs.
[11:03] In the end, you’ll have built a 
custom health mix that works for you.
[11:07] We also made it as beautiful and fun as possible
[11:10] (as taking care of your health should always be).
[11:13] And you’re not doing this alone!
[11:15] We’ll check in from time to time, 
and we’d love to hear from you:
[11:18] share your progress and inspire 
other birbs on their health journey.
[11:22] After the Gratitude Journal and the Habit Journal,
[11:24] this is the third part in our 
bestselling journal series.
[11:28] To kick-start your health journey, we’ve also 
created some exclusive Health Club Merch for you.
[11:33] Wear them as companions to 
remind you of your goal.
[11:37] Just give yourself one month.
[11:39] Try it.
[11:40] See where it takes you.