Stress Navigation

Now that we have explored the different components of the stress response, we dive a little deeper into another important aspect: timing. The stress response is not a single moment in time. Instead, it unfolds across different phases. “Part of the stress response can actually happen before the stressful event occurs—we call this anticipation,” explains Ellen Stroemer, a PhD candidate jointly at the University Medical Center Groningen and the University of Groningen. This is typically followed by an immediate reactive phase, as we deal with the stressor itself, and finally recovery, as we gradually return towards our normal state.
While we can label these different phases, what they actually look like can vary dramatically from person to person and situation to situation. Through cameo examples from Sara and Marlou, we see how differently these stress responses can unfold in everyday life.
For researchers, all of these phases can provide valuable information. However, Ellen explains how focusing on a particular phase of the stress response can help answer more specific questions, for example, about when and how stress may become harmful.
Finally, she discusses how her own research on age, life phases, and emotion regulation can help us understand why the timing and course of the stress response may differ between people.
Interested in hearing more about the stress response and emotion regulation?
Listen to the dimensions of the stress response with Solomiia Myroniuk (Core Concepts):
https://open.spotify.com/episode/1k1T6CXHn84Rt2HapWU7UM?si=fqO1CmLgQ6aJ0cYz4mRRfg
Listen to the episode with Susanne Scheibe: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1xgkn6XLV23E1rw72cU6kQ?si=3S9Iyi69RiaMRXhtSaOLHA
Listen to the episode with Bertus Jeronimus: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6rux0T5e7t4kaZ8F02jh2k?si=lN5foCR_Qi-WjaiPEF80Cw
Learn more about Stress in Action: https://stress-in-action.nl/
Credits:
Host: Kiera Drake & Marcos Ross
Production: Anouk Weverling
Supported by: Merel van den Berg, Kiera Drake, Camen van Klaren, Marcos Ross and Myrte Schoenmakers
Music: Marcos Ross

In this episode of Core Concepts, we dive into the stress response. In other words, what happens to us after we encounter a stressor.

Within Stress in Action, the stress response is a central concept of our research but also a broad and complex one. Solomiia Myroniuk, a PhD candidate at the University of Groningen, explains that while we cannot directly measure “the stress response” as a whole, we can measure its different components. She takes us through four key components of the stress response: cognitive, affective, physiological, and behavioural. Importantly, these components do not always have clear boundaries. They can overlap, both conceptually and in the way they are measured in research.

A major focus of Solomiia’s work is disentangling this overlap and improving the precision of stress-response measurement. As she explains, “When we measure (the stress response) we need to be precise to know exactly what we are measuring and to communicate this to other researchers.”
We also discuss coping, how it relates to the different dimensions of the stress response, and some of the challenges involved in studying these processes.

Interested in hearing more about the stress response?
Listen to the episode with Bertus Jeronimus: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6rux0T5e7t4kaZ8F02jh2k?si=lN5foCR_Qi-WjaiPEF80Cw
Listen to the core concepts episode with Malin Meyer on Stressors: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2jMky3bxrIw7NJeec9D2hf?si=BOv6PTCqRjm7o4K2Na5kJA
Read more about Stress in Action: https://stress-in-action.nl/
Credits:
Host: Kiera Drake & Marcos Ross
Production: Anouk Weverling
Supported by: Merel van den Berg, Kiera Drake, Camen van Klaren, Marcos Ross and Myrte Schoenmakers
Music: Marcos Ross

What really is stress? In the Stress in Action research program, we distinguish stress into two parts: stressors and stress responses. In the first episode of Core Concepts, PhD Candidate Malin Meyer (University Medical Center Groningen) explains the first component, the stressors. Malin explains: "If somebody says, I'm really stressed, then basically my research is about the question, what is stressing you? So what is the stressor?”.
Malin explains how everyday stressors differ from major life events. She introduces four “puzzle pieces” that shape how we define stressors: their type (event vs. ongoing state or condition), function (demands, constraints, or even opportunities), time (present experiences vs. anticipated or remembered ones), and source (external events vs. internal thoughts, pain, or imagery). She also shows how these definitions directly influence how researchers measure stress—and therefore what they can ultimately discover: “What you measure is what you find."

Interested in stressors and stress theory? Listen to our interviews with experts here:
Listen to the episode with Susanne Scheibe: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1xgkn6XLV23E1rw72cU6kQ?si=3S9Iyi69RiaMRXhtSaOLHA
Listen to the episode with Bertus Jeronimus: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6rux0T5e7t4kaZ8F02jh2k?si=lN5foCR_Qi-WjaiPEF80Cw
Learn more about Stress in Action: https://stress-in-action.nl/
Credits:
Host: Marcos Ross
Production: Anouk Weverling
Supported by: Merel van den Berg, Kiera Drake, Camen van Klaren, Marcos Ross and Myrte Schoenmakers
Music: Marcos Ross

Hoe herstellen mensen van stressvolle situaties? En hoe gaan mensen om met stress in het dagelijks leven? Thomas Vaessen, universitair docent aan de Universiteit Twente en KU Leuven vertelt over stressherstel en copingstrategieën. Coping is de manier waarop mensen met stress omgaan. De een gaat piekeren, de ander zoekt afleiding om er maar niet aan te hoeven denken, en andere mensen pakken het probleem actief aan. Welke copingstrategie voor jou het beste werkt is afhankelijk van de intensiteit van de stress die je ervaart, en de context waarin dat gebeurt.
Thomas vertelt over zijn onderzoek met het gebruik van experience sampling (korte vragenlijstjes op de telefoon) en wearables zoals smartwatches. Ook duiken we in interventies zoals Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) en de mobiele interventie ‘ACT in Daily Life’.
Waar hebben we het over?
(02:56) Stressherstel en coping
(10:20) Onderzoek naar stress in het dagelijks leven (met EMA)
(12:32) Relatie van verschillende stressmaten
(16:14) Psychische klachten door stress
(21:20) Acceptance & Commitment Therapie (ACT)
(31:00) Toekomstvisie behandeling psychopathologie
Meer weten? over Thomas zijn onderzoek?
Het werk van Thomas aan de Universiteit Twente: https://www.utwente.nl/en/bms/daily-life-lab-twente/
Het werk van Thomas aan de KU Leuven: https://gbiomed.kuleuven.be/english/research/50000666/50000673/cpp/ccp-dutch/onderzoek/stress-beloning
Podcast met Matthijs Noordzij over wearables: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6TAmVFpfWoIlDWIYWOZOLz?si=3lamyPDoSP6Ls8Z_18fuzA
Stress Navigation is een initiatief van Stress in Action. Meer weten over het onderzoek? Neem een kijkje op de website Stress in Action – Innovation in the understanding and application of daily-life stress.Credits:
Host: Myrte Schoenmakers
Productie: Anouk Weverling
Redactie: Myrte Schoenmakers, Merel van den Berg, Carmen van Klaren
Muziek: Marcos Ross

While birthdays are worth celebrating, ageing is the single biggest risk factor for the development of diseases like Alzheimer’s, heart attacks, and blindness. Our guest, Dr. Laura Han, Assistant Professor at the Amsterdam University Medical Center, specializes in biological aging, the way our bodies grow older, and connects it to psychiatry. Why? Because people living with mental illness show more signs of bodily wear and tear compared to peers of the same age. Understanding why they deviate from typical age-related biological patterns opens new paths to treatment and prevention. In this episode, we explore the difference between calendar years (chronological age) and biological age, how stress shapes the ageing process, and the growing role of wearables in this research landscape. This conversation offers an intuitive perspective that could reshape how we approach personalized medicine. We hope you enjoy the episode.

What do we discuss?
Chapter 1 (02:12) - Chronological vs. biological age. How do we determine how our body is aging?
Chapter 2 (14:39) - Biological age markers and depression. From anatomical to DNA markers.
Chapter 3 (19:02) - Factors affecting biological ageing and talks of using it in clinical practice.
Chapter 4 (26:28) - Stress and biological ageing.
Chapter 5 (34:16) - Wearables (Garmin, Oura, Fitbit) and their approach to biological age
Want to know more about Laura's work at Amsterdam UMC?https://psychiatryamsterdam.nl/personen/laura-k-m-han/

Credits:
Host: Marcos Ross
Production: Anouk Weverling
Supported by: Myrte Schoenmakers, Carmen van Klaren, Merel van den Berg, Kiera Drake
Music: Marcos Ross