'What is stress and how do I know if I've got it?'
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Q: I've heard a lot of people talking about stress and how it makes them feel and affects what they do. However, I'm not sure what they're really talking about. This might sound like a silly question but what is stress and how do I know if I've got it? Nat, 22. |
our online advisors reply:
Hi Nat, thanks for writing in. No, that isn't a silly question at all. Stress is something natural that helps us to react to certain situations. It could be said that without a 'normal' amount of stress, we probably wouldn't get out of bed in the morning, catch the bus to work, or go out socially. This is known as being 'understressed'.
When we have too many things to do and not enough time or energy to do them, things start to get on top of us. This is known as being 'overstressed'. Both overstress and understress are harmful to us.
There may be things happening at home or work that are sources of stress, or 'stressors', themselves. There also may be stress being brought home by family members from work, school etc.
Too much stress can affect us in many different ways, physically, mentally and emotionally. Some of the emotional and behavioural changes we can experience include a change in the way we relate to other people. For example people can become more withdrawn, not able to listen to others or be less sensitive towards others. Emotions like anger and frustration can become heightened.
Some common early signs of stress include; irritability, headaches, pain in neck and shoulders, dizziness and raised blood pressure. With prolonged or regular overstress, these can lead to or develop into more serious conditions. However, your head is unlikely to explode.
Because of the nature of stress, drugs are not usually used to treat it. There is no quick cure as such. It is generally more to do with managing our lifestyle, fitness, relaxation and attitude. As stress affects us in so many ways, in order to avoid it, we need to manage our lives more effectively, particularly regarding time and energy. Developing our relaxation, time management, exercise, and diet can all help reduce stress levels.
For lots more information on stress, and what to do about it, you could visit our own Stress section and browse through the range of articles.
I hope that this helps Nat. Take care.
