Stress!!!

‘Hosted by the Mental Health Foundation, this year for Mental Health Awareness Week (14-20 May), we’re focusing on stress. Research has shown that two thirds of us experience a mental health problem in our lifetimes, and stress is a key factor in this.‘  (Mentalhealth.org, 2018)

Stress plays such a huge roll in our ability to maintain our own personal well being.  Stress can make every little problem seems be magnified, give us trouble sleeping, cause mood swings, and really make us feel genuinely unwell.

Although, stress in itself is just a natural physiological function, when our bodies feel stressed our brain releases the hormones adrenaline and cortisol, which are responsible for igniting our ‘flight or fight response’.  This response begins to build up oxygen in our blood streams to fuel the fight we are about to have with our modern day ‘dragons’, that build up causes things such as breathlessness, lightheartedness, and elevated blood pressure, but long term it can increase our likelihood of developing stroke and heart attack!

There are so many things that can draw out this response in us, just to name a few…

work pressure
family issues
kids
financial worries
uncertainty about life or direction
Study or exam stress

The best thing we can do to address the issue of stress in our lives is to identify the main causes, try to adjust our behaviour to ease that situation, accept the things we have no control over, organise our time into something manageable that includes time set aside for self care, and identifying possible triggers so we might be able to avoid further pressures.

We also need to make sure we are eating well, moving our bodies, socialising with people that bring us joy, and sleeping well.  On top of this it is so important to get things out and not to bottle them up, this might look like journalling, art or talking to friends, family or your therapist.  The most important thing is to know that you are worthy of living a life that is whatever you need it to be and that looks so different for each one of us.  Honouring your true self and living to your most authentic way of being is such an important part of developing healthy emotional resilience that keeps us safe from the affects of stress.

We will all live through some sort of distressing experience in our lives and that is OK!  Give yourself a break and try to be kind to you.  Feeling happy all the time is an unrealistic expectation of society, sometimes we are going to feel low or anxious, but that is our bodies way of getting us to attune to something inside of us that is interfering with our ability to live to the fullest.  Give yourself a break today, tomorrow is a new day.

 

References

McLeod, S. A. (2010). What is the stress response. Retrieved from www.simplypsychology.org/stress-biology.html

Mind (2017) What is stress? Retrieved from https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/stress/what-is-stress/#.WvtSAIgvzIU.

Glenda (2015) National Stress Awareness Month. Retrieved from http://dcplive.dekalblibrary.org/2015/04/08/national-stress-awarness-month/