Stress
Stress is a normal and natural response that has evolved as a survival mechanism to situations within life that get us when we least expect it!
It’s the feeling of being overwhelmed or unable to cope with mental or emotional pressure.
We all feel stressed at times, over different things, which is normal and useful. In fact, some level of stress can be motivating and help us perform better in certain situations.
Put simply, stress is our bodies response to danger. It’s our way of keeping safe.
However, chronic or excessive stress can have negative effects on both our physical and mental health.
It causes us to release hormones that trigger the ‘fight or flight’ response. This can make our breathing and heart rate increase, make us feel sick or even like we’re going to faint! Stress can also have an impact on our emotions, thoughts and behaviours. There are lots of signs that stress can be getting too much.
Stress doesn’t discriminate based on age, gender, background or any other factors.
It can be triggered by lots of things, including school or work pressures, a family breakup, ‘people pleasing’ (saying yes so much it make you feel bad), worrying about issues within the world, personal relationships, health issues and major life changes.
To help understand how stress can build up, imagine we have a stress bucket which collects all of our stress. Too much will fill up our bucket beyond a manageable level and maybe cause it to overflow which can lead to a negative impact on our well-being.
But using tools to manage stress can help when we’re feeling all of those life effects on our mental health. Dealing with stress is essential for maintaining overall well-being.
Everyone can experience stress and how individuals perceive and respond to it can vary greatly, but the earlier we have the tools to respond to stress the better.
Remember it’s ok to have rubbish days when the stressful situations are filling up our stress bucket, but there’s always someone to talk to about this, which may feel difficult but by connecting with other people, we can improve our mood, feel more accepted, share experiences, and support each other.
It’s important to remember that mental health issues like stress are a common part of the human experience, and seeking help and support is a sign of strength, not weakness.
