With April marking the start of Stress Awareness Month, it’s vital we know and understand leading causes and coping strategies when we are struggling with the challenges of a stress epidemic. Since 1992, April Stress Awareness Month is also a chance to raise awareness of the need to seek support, understand how stress manifests, and acknowledge triggers and threats to manage feelings of anxiety.
Throughout April, our team at OneWellness will share their expertise and top positive coping mechanisms and relievers when they feel stressed.
Stress can cause anxiety, loneliness and isolation, lowering personal wellbeing and impacting people’s health; millions of people around the UK are experiencing high levels of stress, damaging their health. In the past year, 74% of people have felt so stressed they have been overwhelmed or unable to cope: 51% of adults who felt stressed reported feeling depressed, and 61% feeling anxious – 37% of adults who reported feeling stressed also said feeling lonely, according to mentalhealth.org.uk.
Among behavioural effects, 46% had problems overeating, 29% said they started drinking or increased their drinking, and 16% started or increased their smoking. People between 18-and 24 years old who have experienced high levels of stress felt that comparing themselves to others was a source of stress. Younger people also had higher stress issues related to the pressure to succeed, whilst 36% of women related high-stress levels with their appearance and body image, compared to 23% of men. The total number of cases of work-related stress, depression or anxiety in 2020 and 2021 was at a prevalence rate of 2,480 per 100,000 workers, according to hse.gov.uk.
We all perceive stress differently based on how resilient or vulnerable we might feel at a particular stage. Among the first clues about being stressed are physical signs, such as tiredness, increased heart rate, headaches or an upset stomach – or any other anxiety feelings’ telling’ your body to perceive and react to something that could be dangerous. When we feel stressed, we often find it hard to sleep due to the body
struggling to produce our sleepy hormone, melatonin, in the evening. As a result, we might struggle to eat well, resulting in a poor diet. This and lack of sleep can affect our physical health, making us feel more stressed emotionally.
Also, when we feel anxious, our bodies release hormones called cortisol and adrenaline, the body’s automatic fight, flight or freeze response of preparing to respond to a threat. So if you experience stress often, you’re probably producing high levels of these hormones, which can make you feel physically unwell and affect your health in the longer term.
It’s common to mistake stress for pressure or ‘positive stress’. However, when placed under pressure, the adrenaline hormone produced gives us energy and excitement to tackle the many demands. Pressure is a normal part of life, but we might feel overwhelmed if exposed to too much pressure. In addition, we can experience burnout and negative feelings affecting day to day life.
When the body reacts to stress, its response puts us at a higher risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes, generally feeling exhausted, impatient, irritated and anxious. Therefore, you must adopt positive
coping strategies that help activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which is linked to ‘rest and digest’. We recommend remembering this as ‘relax and distress’.
Below, a few factors we should focus on when activating the parasympathetic nervous system.
Please read here our OneWellness team Top Stress-busting tips.
