Stress has become one of the biggest health challenges of our time. It often leads to mental health issues like anxiety or depression, but it can also cause physical disorders including insomnia, heart disease or digestive problems.
Over the past year, Covid-19 has drastically increased our stress levels, causing extra stress and worry. A statistic by the Mental Health Foundation shows that 74% of adults in the UK have experienced high stress levels in the past year, feeling overwhelmed and unable to cope.
What is stress?
Stress is described as a mostly physical response of the body. When feeling attacked, the body releases hormones and chemicals, triggering either a ‘fight’ or ‘flight’ response to a situation.
Not all stress is therefore bad. Onsets of stress can make us become aware of things like dangerous situations and help us act on them.
The challenge
To be able to de-stress or keep a healthy stress balance, it is vital that we understand the causes of our stress levels. Once we understand what causes stress, we can look at ways to reduce or even eliminate it.
April – Stress Awareness Month
Since 1992, April has been the month of Stress Awareness and encouraging people to spread the word of this fast-increasing modern health issue.
The website of the Stress Management Society offers a wide range of informative content to better understand the causes behind stress. It provides helpful guides and advice to cure and release stress.
If you struggle with your stress levels – take action! Visit the Stress.org.uk website.
Source: Stress.org.uk
