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You Can’t “Blow Off” Stress──The “Stress” You Think You Know Doesn’t Exist

A note to English-language readers: This article was originally written in Japanese and is published from the perspective of Japan’s labor environment. Japan offers a particularly stark case study: the government has institutionalized stress management as individual responsibility through legislation, and the cultural infrastructure around “stress relief” as consumer product is deeply entrenched. However, the core problem this article addresses──the distortion of stress from a physiological process into a substance you “accumulate and release,” and the structural incentives behind that distortion──is not unique to Japan. If you’ve ever been asked “What do you do to manage stress?” in a job interview, this article is about you, too.

🌀 The Distorted “Stress”

The academic origin of “stress coping”

Stress coping. You’ve heard the term. Corporate wellness programs, health articles, pop psychology──it’s everywhere. But have you ever actually checked what the people who originally defined this concept were saying?

The transactional model proposed by psychologists Richard S. Lazarus and Susan Folkman in 1984──in this foundational text, stress is defined as “a particular relationship between the person and the environment that is appraised by the person as taxing or exceeding his or her resources” [1:sciencedirect.com].

Keep this in mind. Nowhere in this definition do the concepts of “accumulating” or “releasing” appear.

In Lazarus’s model, stress is described as a process of cognitive appraisal. Primary appraisal determines “Is this situation a threat to me?” and secondary appraisal determines “Do I have the resources to cope with this?” [2:ebsco.com]. Coping is defined as “constantly changing cognitive and behavioral efforts to manage specific external and/or internal demands that are appraised as taxing or exceeding the resources of the person” [1:sciencedirect.com].

In other words, it was never about expelling a substance. It was always about cognitive and behavioral processes. From the very beginning.

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Three distortions that occurred during importation into occupational health and corporate training

So why did the “accumulate and release” model become so widespread? Because three structural distortions occurred as this concept was imported into occupational health and corporate training.

The first distortion: reification. Stress came to be imagined as something material that “builds up.” The bucket-filling-with-water model. The balloon-inflating model. What was originally a process of cognitive appraisal in Lazarus’s framework gradually came to be spoken of as though it were a measurable substance.

The second distortion: individualization of responsibility. Even when the cause of stress lies in the work environment or institutional design──that is, in structures──it gets reframed as a problem of individual capacity: “self-care,” “resilience,” “coping skills.” The economic incentive at work here is straightforward: demanding individual adaptation is cheaper for employers than structural reform.

The third distortion: commodification. Consumer behaviors──travel, fine dining, fitness, aromatherapy, supplements──became connected as means of “releasing” stress, turning stress management itself into a massive market. The naive model of “stress accumulates and can be released through consumption” is continuously reproduced as the precondition that sustains this market.

Why the “accumulate and release” model stuck

The biggest reason this model took hold is simple. It was convenient for everyone involved.

For employers, it allows them to avoid structural reform. For media, it makes for easy content. For consumer markets, it establishes the premise for selling products. And for workers themselves, it provides the cognitive comfort of believing “I’m coping because I’m blowing off steam.”

But this comfort is not grounded in medical fact. Let’s look at the physiological reality of stress.

🎭 The True Nature of Stress──Stressors and Stress Responses

Distinguishing stressors (triggers) from stress responses (physiological events)

This is the core of the matter. What people commonly call “stress” is actually a conflation of two entirely different things.

Before the 1960s, stress was defined as either a stimulus (stressor) or a response (stress response), but not both, leaving individual differences in response to identical stimuli unexplained [3:arxiv.org]. Lazarus resolved this by introducing cognitive appraisal as an intervening variable, but the everyday use of the word “stress” has continued to this day without this distinction.

“I’m so stressed out”──is this expression referring to the presence of stressors, or to the persistence of a stress response? The person saying it can’t tell. This confusion is the starting point of every mistake.

Two pathways: the SAM system (immediate response) and the HPA axis (delayed response)

The moment the brain appraises a stressor as a “threat,” two pathways activate in the body.

The SAM system (sympathetic-adrenal-medullary system). This is the immediate response. Simultaneously with the perception of the stressor, the sympathetic nervous system activates and the adrenal medulla releases adrenaline and noradrenaline within seconds [4:ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]. Heart rate rises, blood pressure rises, airways dilate, blood flows to muscles, digestion stops──the so-called fight-or-flight response [4:ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]. The system for running from the bear in front of you.

The HPA axis (hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis). This is the delayed response. The hypothalamus releases CRH (corticotropin-releasing hormone), which travels via the pituitary gland to trigger ACTH (adrenocorticotropic hormone) secretion, ultimately causing the adrenal cortex to release cortisol [5:pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]. Cortisol is a hormone with broad effects including energy mobilization, immune regulation, and metabolic regulation.

Under normal conditions, when cortisol rises sufficiently, negative feedback acts on the hypothalamus and pituitary, automatically calming the system [6:my.clevelandclinic.org]. It goes up, then comes back down. A transient event that resolves itself. This is a healthy stress response.

Where “blowing off steam” reaches and where it doesn’t

Let’s be clear about one thing.

Karaoke, travel, exercise, hot baths──the behaviors recommended as “stress relief” can potentially affect the subjective level of discomfort (mood). They may ease transient SAM-system arousal or promote cognitive reappraisal through a change of scenery.

But chronic activation patterns of the HPA axis──elevated basal cortisol secretion, disrupted diurnal rhythm, reduced glucocorticoid receptor sensitivity──these behaviors cannot reach.

A stress response is not “accumulated substance,” so the operation of “releasing” it is fundamentally incoherent. Hold onto this point.

🔥 The HPA Axis──The Reality of Stress Response and Its Staged Collapse

Normal stress response (transient negative feedback)

Let’s first confirm the normal state. A healthy HPA axis goes up and comes back down. Cortisol is released in response to a stressor, mobilizes energy, suppresses inflammation, and then quiets down through negative feedback [5:pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov].

Cortisol has a normal diurnal rhythm. It peaks 30–45 minutes after waking (the cortisol awakening response, or CAR), gradually decreases through the afternoon, and reaches its lowest point at bedtime [7:nature.com]. This rhythm supports energy metabolism, immune function, and sleep quality.

So far, this is the story of an ally. The problem is what happens when this ally breaks.

Mild stage (diurnal rhythm disruption, decreased sleep quality)

The stage where stressors are repetitive or sustained at low intensity. Subtle perturbations begin to appear in cortisol’s diurnal rhythm. The morning peak blunts. The evening decline doesn’t fully complete.

Flattening of the diurnal cortisol slope has been studied as a marker of chronic stress, and systematic reviews and meta-analyses have reported its association with worsened physical and mental health outcomes [8:pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov].

The subjective symptoms at this stage amount to “I don’t feel rested” or “I sleep but don’t feel like I slept.” Daily life more or less continues to function, so the person doesn’t think of it as “stress.”

This is the “I’m fine because I’m blowing off steam” zone.

Moderate stage (GR sensitivity decline, hippocampal atrophy, prefrontal cortex dysfunction)

As stressors persist, the HPA axis’s regulatory mechanisms themselves begin to malfunction.

Chronic stress reduces the sensitivity of glucocorticoid receptors (GR)──the brakes on cortisol. Cohen et al. tested a model in which chronic stress induces GR resistance, leading to failure to suppress inflammatory responses [9:pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]. Cortisol is being produced, but the brakes aren’t working.

The impact on the brain is even more serious. According to McEwen (2004), neurons in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex show atrophy in response to repeated stress, while neurons in the amygdala show a growth response [10:nyaspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com].

What does this mean? The hippocampus is involved in braking the HPA axis──in terminating the stress response. When the hippocampus shrinks, the brakes become even less effective [11:pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]. When the amygdala enlarges, minor stimuli trigger overreactions. When the prefrontal cortex weakens, judgment and emotional regulation decline.

Subjectively, this manifests as “I’ve been getting irritated easily,” “I can’t concentrate,” “little things make me anxious.” But most people attribute this to personality or aging.

Wrong. These are organic changes in the brain.

Severe stage (system failure, organ damage across immune, cardiovascular, and metabolic systems)

When the HPA axis’s regulatory mechanisms have effectively broken, organic damage extends to multiple organ systems.

Cardiovascular system. Chronic stress is an independent risk factor for atherosclerosis and increases both the incidence and mortality risk of coronary artery disease [12:pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]. Chronically elevated cortisol significantly predicts cardiovascular mortality risk [13:sciencedaily.com].

Immune system. Due to GR resistance, cortisol’s anti-inflammatory action ceases to function. The result is chronic elevation of inflammatory cytokines (IL-1, IL-6, TNF-α, CRP) [9:pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]. This goes far beyond “catching colds more easily.”

Metabolic system. Chronic cortisol elevation promotes insulin resistance and accumulates visceral fat. These metabolic changes are associated with increased risk of metabolic syndrome.

Chronification (accumulation of allostatic load and irreversibility)

McEwen and Stellar (1993) proposed the concept of allostatic load: cumulative dysregulation across multiple physiological systems resulting from long-term exposure to everyday stress [14:frontiersin.org]. In plain terms, the accumulated wear and tear on the body from stress responses.

What this accumulation produces──immune dysfunction, atherosclerosis, obesity, bone demineralization, and atrophy of brain neurons [10:nyaspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com]. The hippocampus, amygdala, and prefrontal cortex all undergo structural rewriting through stress [14:frontiersin.org].

At this point, “removing the stressor” may no longer be enough. Because the HPA axis’s set point itself has shifted, stress responses may continue even in the absence of stressors──the accelerator is stuck, and the brakes have burned out──a state that can become fixed.

💀 “I Don’t Feel Stressed” / “I Blow Off Steam”──You Will Die, You Know?

The two possibilities behind “I don’t feel it,” and the reality that the latter is overwhelmingly more common

Some people say they don’t feel stress. Logically, there are two possibilities.

First: stressors genuinely do not exist.
Second: stress responses are occurring, but the sensors that would make them conscious are broken.

Given the working and living conditions of modern society, the first possibility is extremely limited. The overwhelmingly more common case is the latter.

Blunted interoception, amygdala habituation, and dissociative coping

Why do people “stop feeling”? Multiple neurological mechanisms are involved.

Blunted interoception. Interoception is the ability to perceive the internal states of the body──heartbeat, breathing, muscle tension, fatigue. Chronic anxiety and trauma can blunt this awareness of bodily signals──defensive attenuation or dissociation of signals occurs, making it difficult to recognize emotional states early [15:simplypsychology.com].

This impairment is also associated with alexithymia. Reduced activity in the anterior insula──a brain region essential for both interoceptive monitoring and emotional processing──has been reported [16:pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov], and individuals with alexithymia show heightened sympathetic nervous system and HPA axis activation alongside elevated inflammatory cytokines such as IL-6 [16:pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov].

In other words, they “don’t feel it,” but their bodies have been responding the entire time.

Amygdala habituation and prefrontal cortex dysfunction. When the amygdala issues alarms continuously, this state becomes redefined as “normal operations.” Simultaneously, as prefrontal cortex function declines, the ability to accurately monitor one’s own physical state also declines [10:nyaspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com].

“Not feeling it” is not recovery. The sensors that would let you feel it are simply broken.

Removing the smoke detector doesn’t put out the fire.

The illusion of completed coping that “blowing off steam” creates

The more serious problem with “stress relief” is that subjective satisfaction creates the illusion of “completed coping.”

After karaoke, after the sauna, after returning from a trip──the feeling of “I feel refreshed” genuinely arises. But what this feeling processes is subjective discomfort (mood), and it has zero effect on chronic HPA axis activation.

Yet this “refreshed” feeling constructs the cognition that “I am coping with my stress.”

The structure where the problem persists but the motivation to address it disappears

Why is this structure the most dangerous? Let’s lay it out.

Stressors have not been removed──the work environment, relationships, and financial situation remain the same. Chronic HPA axis activation continues──cortisol keeps being produced. Allostatic load continues to accumulate──blood vessels, the hippocampus, and the immune system are all sustaining damage.

But the person perceives themselves as “coping.”

The problem continues to exist, but the motivation to address the problem vanishes. Structurally, this is the same as using painkillers to suppress symptoms of a disease without treating it.

The outcome: one day, they collapse. Myocardial infarction. Stroke. Acute onset of depression. Panic disorder. The person and everyone around them says “But they seemed fine” and “They didn’t seem stressed at all.”

They weren’t fine. They simply couldn’t perceive the process of breaking down.

🌊 Your Cognition Has Been Distorted

Conditioning through occupational health system design

In Japan, the government has gone so far as to legislate individual-level stress management. The Stress Check System (sutoresu chekku seido), enacted in December 2015 following an amendment to the Industrial Safety and Health Act (Rōdō Anzen Eisei Hō), mandates annual stress checks for workplaces with 50 or more employees [17:avenir-executive.co.jp].

At first glance, it looks like a well-designed system. But look carefully at the design.

For workers assessed as high-stress, physician interviews are conducted based on the worker’s own request (Article 66-10, Paragraph 3 of the Industrial Safety and Health Act) [18:stresscheckmark.jp]. Noticing is on you. Requesting is on you. The subject of institutional action consistently points at the individual.

What was the result? The rate of physician interviews for high-stress workers is extremely low. In a 2017 survey, the year after the system began, the proportion who received physician interviews was a mere 0.6% [19:pca.jp]. Nearly all workers assessed as high-stress never saw a physician.

And workplace environment improvement remains a “best effort” obligation only [17:avenir-executive.co.jp]. Even when the cause of stress lies in the work environment, there is no legal obligation on the employer to correct it. The entire system is designed as “notice it, and figure it out yourself.”

This is not merely a Japanese problem. It is a particularly transparent case of a universal pattern: when governments and institutions address occupational stress, the architecture defaults to individual responsibility because structural reform is politically and economically costly.

The commodification of “stress relief” by media and consumer markets

“Stress relief” is a massive market. The relaxation industry, travel, fine dining, fitness, aromatherapy, supplements──all of it is built on the premise that “stress can be resolved through consumer behavior.”

The reason media continuously reproduces the naive model of “stress accumulates and can be released” is that the incentive to sustain this market exists. If they accurately reported that “stress response is chronic HPA axis activation and cannot be intervened upon through consumer behavior,” the market would collapse.

Convergence with the ideology of individual responsibility

“People who are strong against stress vs. people who are weak against stress.” This classification circulates as though it were self-evident.

This is a framing that attributes stress tolerance to individual qualities, and structurally, it follows the same logic as “poverty is self-inflicted.” The intensity, type, and duration of exposure to stressors differ entirely from person to person, yet differences in response are reduced to individual “strength.”

Telling someone who was broken by a brutal environment that they’re “mentally weak”──this isn’t just scientifically meaningless. It strips from people who are breaking the behavior of seeking help──their lifeline.

The consequence of distorted cognition──delayed medical access and “sudden death”

The result of triple conditioning──individualization through system design, commodification through consumer markets, internalization through the ideology of personal responsibility──is a cognitive set that has been installed in most people’s minds:

Stress is something you should manage yourself. You can resolve it by blowing off steam. If you can’t, it’s because you’re weak.

This cognitive set functions exclusively to delay medical access for people whose HPA axes are on the verge of collapse. “I can still push through.” “I’ll be fine if I blow off steam.” “It’s not bad enough to see a doctor”──these are all phrases that this distorted cognition is making people say.

And meanwhile, cortisol continues to flow, the hippocampus continues to shrink, blood vessels continue to sustain damage, and one day they suddenly collapse.

If you believe “stress can be blown off,” that is not your own judgment. Society has been designed so that you would think this way. And that design was not created to protect your health──it was created so that the structures wouldn’t have to change.

👨‍💼 By the Way, If You’re Asked “What Do You Do to Manage Stress?” in a Job Interview

If you’ve read this far, you already understand.

This is a question you’re entitled to be angry about.

“What do you do to manage stress?”──the premise of this question is that stress is something the individual should self-manage, and that a person who lacks such methods is a hiring risk. This is precisely the triple distortion we’ve dismantled in this article, condensed into a single interview question.

The interviewer asking this probably has no malicious intent. But they are uninformed. What they’re asking is not “What pharmacological or environmental interventions do you employ against chronic HPA axis activation?” They’re expecting “I go to karaoke” or “I go for a run.” And they’re reassured when they hear it.

So the structure of this question is: “Our company has stressors. But we’re not going to change that. You’ll handle it individually, right? You have methods for that, right?”

Translated: “Our work environment has problems, but we have no intention of fixing them, so we’d like to screen for people who won’t break.”

The side generating stressors offloads stress management entirely onto the individual. And then uses it as a hiring criterion. The interviewer doesn’t recognize the violence of this structure. Precisely because they don’t recognize it, they ask this question with a well-meaning face.

Of course, launching a structural critique at the interviewer during a job interview is probably not strategically advisable. But at least being able to accurately perceive, when this question is asked, that “this person doesn’t know what stress actually is”──that has meaning.

Adapting to distorted cognition and recognizing the distortion while behaving strategically are completely different things.

📚 References

#stress #mentalhealth #society #stressmanagement #HPAaxis #occupationalhealth #Japan