What is Stress ?
Stress is what we feel when everything seems too much.
We all know what it's like to feel stressed, but it's not easy to pin down exactly what stress means.
When we say things like "this is stressful" or "I'm stressed".
We might be talking about situations where we have lots to do and think about, or don't have much control over what happens.
Our reaction to being placed under pressure – the feelings we get when we have demands placed on us that we find difficult to cope with.
It's overwhelming, sometimes you can't see beyond the thick fog of stress.
There's no medical definition of stress, and health care professionals often disagree over whether stress is the cause of problems or the result of them.
This can make it difficult to work out what causes the feelings of stress, or how to deal with them.
Whatever our personal definition of stress is, it's likely that we can learn to manage your stress better by: managing external pressures, so stressful situations don't seem to happen to us quite so often developing our emotional resilience, so we are better at coping with tough situations when they do happen
Is stress a mental health problem?
Being under pressure is a normal part of life. It can be a useful drive that helps you take action, feel more energised and get results.
But if you often become overwhelmed by stress, these feelings could start to be a problem for you.
Stress isn't a psychiatric diagnosis, but it's closely linked to your mental health in two important ways:
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Stress can cause mental health problems, and make existing problems worse.
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if you often struggle to manage feelings of stress, you might develop a mental health problem like anxiety or depression.
Coping with the day-to-day symptoms of a mental health problem, as well as potentially needing to manage medication, heath care appointments or treatments, can become extra sources of stress.
This can start to feel like a vicious circle, and it might be hard to see where stress ends and your mental health problem begins.
Stress 'the fight or flight response'
Everyone needs a certain amount of stress or pressure to live well. It's what gets you out of bed in the morning and motivates you throughout the day.
However, stress becomes problematic when there's too much or too little stress causes a surge of hormones in your body.
When your body detects stress, a small region in the base of the brain called the hypothalamus reacts by stimulating the body to produce hormones that include adrenaline and cortisol.
These hormones help you to deal with any threats or pressure you are facing - which is often referred to the 'fight or flight' response.
Adrenaline increases your heart rate, raises your blood pressure and provides extra energy.
Cortisol, known as the stress hormone, also temporarily increases energy by triggering the release of glucose into the bloodstream, to help the person fight or run away.
At the same time, other bodily functions which are not immediately needed, such as digestion, are suppressed.
The body's response to stress usually regulates itself as hormone levels fall, heart and blood pressure will return to normal.
Whilst a lack of stress means your body is under-stimulated, stress that is too intense or prolonged, causes your body to release stress hormones over a long period.
This increases the risk of a range of physical health problems including headaches, stomach upsets and high blood pressure, it can even increase the risk of having a stroke or heart attack.
More often, stress leads to psychological problems, it can make people feel distrust, anger, anxiety and fear, which in turn can destroy relationships at home and at work.
Stress also plays a key role in the development of anxiety disorders and depression.
Long-term stress can play havoc with your immune system, it increases the chances of developing viral infections.
Also people who suffered from chronic stress at work are at greater risk of developing metabolic syndrome, which is a combination of diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity
If you are recognising these signs in yourself, you may be experiencing the effects of prolonged stress and you should continue to keep an eye on your stress levels,
If you’re not sure consult your Doctor.
The Signs of Stress
If you struggle to cope with stress, you can develop some unhealthy habits.
For example, you may eat unhealthy food as a form of comfort or smoke or drink more to help you deal with how you feel.
Some of these habits can increase your chance of developing chronic heart disease, the signs of stress can be exhibited psychologically, emotionally, physically and in the way we behave.
Learn to manage your time more effectively
We waste a lot of time doing unimportant tasks, especially when stressed, so prioritise your day and do the important jobs first.
The unimportant ones can wait, and often they will disappear completely leaving you time to do other things.
Also, do not put off the unpleasant tasks – avoidance causes a great deal of stress. Give unpleasant tasks a high priority and do them first.
Adopt a healthy lifestyle
If we eat a healthy diet, exercise regularly and ensure we get adequate sleep and rest our body is better able to cope with stress should it occur.
If this is not the case, then this may be a warning sign so don’t ignore it.
Engaging in some form of physical activity may help you by working off the biochemical and physical changes that occur within your body due to stress.
Relaxation also helps your body return to its normal healthy state.
Good relaxation techniques include breathing exercises, massage and a variety of complimentary therapies.
Know your limitations and do not take on too much
We can cause ourselves a great deal of stress because we do not want to let people down. We then end up doing more than we should.
Learn to delegate effectively and be assertive so that you can say ‘No’ without upsetting or offending.
Find out what causes you stress
Take time to discover what is worrying you and try to change your thoughts and behaviour to reduce it.
A stress assessment can help you to fully understand the causes, the implications to your health and how to manage, cope and make necessary changes.
Avoid unnecessary conflict
Do not be too argumentative. Is it really worth the stress? Look for win - win situations.
Look for a resolution to a dispute where both parties can achieve a positive outcome.
Find out what the real cause of the problem is and deal with it.
Accept the things you cannot change
Changing a difficult situation is not always possible.
If this proves to be the case, recognise and accept things as they are and concentrate on all that you do have control over.
Managing change effectively is essential or else performance will be reduced.
Take time out to relax and recharge your batteries
You will perform more effectively during work if you regularly take a short 10 / 15 minute break, easily making up the time you used relaxing.
Alongside this, at least one annual break of at least 10-14 continuous days is recommended.
Find time to meet friends
Friends can ease work troubles and help us see things in a different way.
The activities we engage in with friends help us relax and we will often have a good laugh.
It boosts the immune system that is often depleted during stress.
Try to see things differently, develop a positive thinking style
If something is concerning you, try to see it differently.
Talk over your problem with somebody before it gets out of proportion.
Often, talking to a friend/colleague/family member will help you see things from a different and less stressful perspective.
You may also need to consider professional help in order to achieve the desired outcome and prevent ill health and / or burnout.
Avoid alcohol, nicotine and caffeine as coping mechanisms
Long term, these faulty coping mechanisms will just add to the problem.
For example, caffeine and nicotine are stimulants – too much and the body reacts to this with the stress response increasing or even causing anxiety symptoms.
Alcohol is a depressant!