Say yes to the stress

Work The secret to success is stress — you just need to channel it. Rosamund Urwin has a 10-step guide to controlling your cortisol

FRAZZLED bankers finalising deals; sleep-deprived doctors in A&E; put-upon commuters stranded by cancelled trains — no wonder the capital is a city of stress. Some Londoners thrive on it, running on adrenaline. But for others, the panic and the pressure can be a catalyst for anger, anxiety, lethargy, burn-out and exhaustion.

Unmanaged, stress can even kill. A study of 10,000 workers published last week found that those in high-pressure jobs die younger. But before you hand in your notice and book a one-way ticket to Hawaii, there’s some good news too: those in stressful jobs who get to manage their own workflow were actually found to be healthier.

“Adrenaline helps get things done,” says Dr Michael Sinclair, a psychologist and the author of The Little ACT Workbook. “However, if stress is left unchecked — and we don’t learn effective ways to handle it — it can be dangerous.”

Aseem Malhotra, a consultant cardiologist, adds: “Chronic — not acute — stress is the problem. Chronic levels of raised cortisol are linked to a number of conditions: type 2 diabetes, heart disease. It also affects genes that control the ageing process.” A recent study by the University of Nottingham even found that women with higher levels of the “stress hormone” cortisol in their hair were significantly less likely to conceive through IVF than women with lower levels.

So how can we learn to handle stress, and curb our cortisol?

1. Don’t Fight It...

“Stress is an inevitable part of modern life,” says Sinclair. “We need to accept it because eradication attempts actually exacerbate it.” One of the worst tension-cutting tactics is to distract yourself. “When we have worries on our minds we try to push them away — by turning on the TV or using drugs and alcohol to block them out — but that’s like throwing a tennis ball against the wall: it will come back to you.”

2. ...Categorise it

Rather than trying to clear your brain’s over-loaded inbox, instead try