Stress Alchemy: Transform Pressure into Power

These past few years have been stressful as hell.

Mental health statistics keep getting worse, and it’s no surprise.

Politics, conflicts, inflation—everywhere we turn, there’s something else adding to our stress levels.

But here’s the thing: While we can’t always control external chaos, wecan control how we take care of ourselves.

Your health, both physical and mental, are the foundations of how you think, feel, and act. 

And when you strengthen that foundation, you become more resilient to stress.

In this post, we are going to go over stress, and how to alchemize stress and use it as a tool for forward momentum.

Let's dive in!

The Types of Stress

Firstly, it's important to understand stress, and the types of stress that we experience.

We all accumulate stress throughout the days, weeks, and months, and it can pile up and overwhelm you.

However, stress itself is not the enemy.

Chronic, unmanaged stress is.

The easiest way to look at stress is separating it into two types:

• Eustress - a positive kind of stress that supports growth, helps achieve goals, and can motivate you to take action. This kind of stress brings fulfillment and purpose.
• Distress - a negative kind of stress that overwhelms you, can be caused by stressors like financial issues, loss, and more. This is the kind of stress that can immobilize you, or can lead to anxiety and depression.

Beyond this, we need to understand stress operates on a spectrum.

On one end, it can be a powerful force for growth and transformation.

Think: embracing challenging workouts, pushing yourself to meet deadlines, or stepping into a jiu-jitsu competition.

Ultimately, stepping outside your comfort zone to accomplish something positive.

On the other hand, when you're overwhelmed with many obligations or pressures thrown at you at once, stress can immobilize you, have an impact on your well-being, can make you sick, and more.

Too much stress without proper recovery can lead to burnout, illness, and mental exhaustion.

Also note that something that provides eustress (like exercise) can be pushed to cause distress if you don't allow for proper recovery.

This is why competitive lifters or athletes will prepare for a competition intensely, and then lower the frequency of their workouts before the competition to perform their best.

More on recovery later.

So how do we handle stress and make it work in our favor?

How can we balance our body & mind so that we can handle our stress like a pro?

Let's get into the alchemy.

The 5-Step Stress-Alchemy Recipe

Step 1: Add Good Stress

Not all stress is bad.

The right kind of stress keeps you focused, motivated, and growing.

Think about exercise: lifting weights literally tears you down so they can rebuild you stronger. 

Your brain works the same way.

Consider regular exercise, learning new things (expanding your mind), and incorporating sessions of creative work (business, your interests, etc).

These things allow you to pursue an environment of controlled stress, which can strengthen your mental resilience towards stress.

Remember: get slightly out of your comfort zone and continue to make progress.

As you know, exercise is one of my favorite positive stressors.

A consistent dose of exercise (balanced with rest days and proper sleep) helps a variety of mind & bodily processes, and stress resilience is one of exercise's major benefits.

Research has shown that exercise not only helps you de-stress, but it also helps you build resilience to stress.

Think about the "life-or-death" stress you feel when squatting 405lbs for a one-rep max and compare that to the inconvenient customer that tried to ruin your day.

Nothing compares to symbolically (maybe literally) fighting for your life at the gym.

So go lift some weights and build that resilience.

Step 2: Remove the Unnecessary Stressors

You can’t control all of the stressors in your life, but you can find ways to control some stressors in your life. 

Here’s a simple exercise that may help you find where you can remove stressors:

• Take 60 seconds to brain-dump all your current stressors.

• Identify which ones you can minimize or eliminate.

Maybe it’s reducing social media doom-scrolling.

Maybe it’s cutting ties with negative people.

Maybe it’s changing jobs or changing your job role.

Whatever it is, start taking small steps toward stress reduction.

A simple rule: If it doesn’t add value to your life, it’s probably taking it away.

You may not be able to remove it completely at this moment in time, but you can take steps to remove some aspect of that stressor in some way.

Step 3: Build Better Sleep Hygiene

Out of every recovery practice I will go over in this post, quality sleep is the MOST important recovery tool we have in our arsenal.

Sleep is a recovery process that not only repairs the body, but the mind as well.

Here are a few practices you should implement that will significantly improve your sleep quality:

1. Go to bed at the same time.If you're able to fall asleep at the same time every day, your body will appreciate you for this. You want to shoot for at least 80% consistency here.
2. Shoot for 6-8 hours of sleep.This is an average ballpark range, with some people needing more or less. Personally, 8 hours of sleep is perfect for me. Sometimes it will go into the 10 hour mark if I had back-to-back Jiu-Jitsu workouts and trained myself to oblivion.
3. Fall asleep around 9-11 PM. You want to fall asleep around these times because waking up when the sun is rising and getting that sun exposure is great for the "Sleep-Wake Loop". Sunlight increases cortisol levels to keep you alert and regulates your cortisol throughout the day, making it easier to fall asleep in the evening when cortisol is lowered.

4. Stop technology 1-2 hours before bed. The blue light exposure we get from our phones mimics sunlight, which impairs production of melatonin before bed. Turn off technology or wear blue-light blocking glasses in the evening.

5. Stop drinking caffeine 6-10 hours before bed. This is different for everyone, but I personally have better quality sleep when I stop drinking caffeine before 12 PM.

Doing these alongside some sort of exercise can significantly improve your quality of sleep, enhancing your recovery.

A proper sleep schedule can improve your capability to handle stress and even reduce stress, so make sure you prioritize your sleep!

Step 4: Mental Recharges

Beyond sleep, we still need to find times to unwind and recharge your mental batteries.

This is why it is crucial to utilize other tools to build a stress buffer for yourself.

Here are a few practices you can add to your routine:

1. Set Recovery Time Blocks – Set time away to unwind and get away from media, work, and people. 30-60 minutes of a mental recharge might just be all you need here.

2. Eat for Stress Management – Focus on whole foods, lean proteins, healthy fats, and hydration. Read our Anti-Depression Diet post for an in-depth on this.

3. Mental Recharge Tools – To further expand your mental recharge time, explore binaural beats, outdoor walks, tech detoxes, or spending time with friends and family.

4. Breathe and Slow Down – Deep breathing, meditation, and mindfulness techniques help regulate your nervous system.

Pick some of these and look for other practices or hobbies you enjoy to take some time to recharge your mental batteries.

Step 5: Train Your Stress Response

Your stress response is like a muscle.

The more you train it, the stronger it gets. 

Here are a few ways to improve how you handle stress:

1. Reframe challenges – Instead of thinking, “This is too much,” shift to “This is tough, but I can handle it.”
2. Use stress to your advantage – Turn pressure into fuel. Deadlines, competitions, and even setbacks can be opportunities for growth.
3. Focus on what you can control – When you feel overwhelmed, narrow your focus to what’s directly within your power.
4. Develop a stress buffer – Having strong social connections, purpose, and daily self-care rituals makes you more resilient.

Beyond this, one of the most powerful things I've done for myself is reading psychology, philosophy, and mental toughness books.

Ryan Holiday's stoicism books and Robert Greene's works helped me a lot when I was climbing out of my worst bouts of depression.

I highly recommend exploring their works.

Final Thought: Stress is Inevitable—How You Handle It is Up to You

Life throws stress at all of us.

The difference between those who thrive and those who crumble? 

How they respond.

So take control.

Move your body.

Eat well.

Sleep better.

Recover intentionally.

Flip the script on stress and use it as a tool for growth.

Turn your stress into opportunities for growth and transformation.

This is stress alchemy.

Until next time!