What Happens to the Body Under Pressure?
The mind and the body are inextricably linked, and there is no greater evidence for this fact than our ability to imagine and recreate events in our minds, causing bodily changes that reflect the imagined situation.
You can illustrate this easily by using a heart rate monitor (free and widely available these days using smart phone Apps). Get nice and relaxed, and look at the heart rate reading. Make a note of it. Now think back to a time when you were under immense pressure. Muse on this situation for a minute. Now check your heart rate reading! Typically, there will be a significant increase in heart rate (more about this in chapter 8).
Alternatively, look forward to an upcoming high pressure situation you are facing. Most probably, your heart rate is higher when thinking about the situation compared to when you were completely relaxed.
The body’s reactions to pressure are not limited to the heart. Most professional performers - from athletes to singers - will talk about experiencing a vast, and highly individualized, array of physical feelings when they perceive a pressure situation. These often include stomach butterflies, sweaty palms, tense muscles, nausea, and lethargy (or sometimes, in contrast, hyperactivity and restlessness). David Hemery, prior to his World Record in the 1968 Olympic Games, recalled: “Standing behind my blocks, I put my hands on my knees and tried to take as deep a breath as I could. I could not completely fill my lungs… My mouth and throat were dry, it was impossible to swallow. I wished I could be anywhere else.”
>> The brain rapidly evaluates the nature of the situation and organizes the body’s responses accordingly. <<
This next point is very important to our understanding of bodily responses to pressure: these physical symptoms are normal and are designed to help us out.
The symptoms are all part of what is known as the ‘stress response’, or commonly “fight or flight” mode, which occurs in demanding situations where success has positive consequences for our careers or lives, and where failure has negative consequences. When faced with such a situation, the brain very quickly evaluates the personal meaning of success and failure and then rapidly organizes our physiological reactions.
The stress response has been programmed through generation upon generation of evolution to make sure we can respond quickly to dangers to our survival. Joseph LeDoux, neuroscientist and author of the acclaimed book “The Emotional Brain” describes this evolutionary point excellently, on The LeDoux Lab website, explaining that…
“…early on (perhaps since dinosaurs ruled the earth, or even before) evolution hit upon a way of wiring the brain to produce responses that are likely to keep the organism alive in dangerous situations. The solution was so effective that it has not been messed with much... Evolution seems to have gone with an “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” rule when it comes to the fear system of the brain.”
So, our biology has not developed as quickly as our living circumstances, and we have been left with a fear response that is triggered by (comparatively) minor challenges. That is, instead of having to escape or kill a sabre-toothed tiger, we now have to speak in front of others and be evaluated and judged!
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