Stress | Mental Health Foundation

Stress is the feeling of being overwhelmed or unable to cope with mental or emotional pressure. Skiptomaincontent HomeA-to-zSStress Stress Stressisthefeelingofbeingoverwhelmedorunabletocopewithmentaloremotionalpressure. *Lastupdated:17September2021 Whatisstress? Stressisourbody’sresponsetopressure.Manydifferentsituationsorlifeeventscancausestress.Itisoftentriggeredwhenweexperiencesomethingnew,unexpectedorthatthreatensoursenseofself,orwhenwefeelwehavelittlecontroloverasituation. Wealldealwithstressdifferently.Ourabilitytocopecandependonourgenetics,earlylifeevents,personalityandsocialandeconomiccircumstances. Whenweencounterstress,ourbodyproducesstresshormonesthattriggerafightorflightresponseandactivateourimmunesystem.Thishelpsusrespondquicklytodangeroussituations. Sometimes,thisstressresponsecanbeuseful:itcanhelpuspushthroughfearorpainsowecanrunamarathonordeliveraspeech,forexample.Ourstresshormoneswillusuallygobacktonormalquicklyoncethestressfuleventisover,andtherewon’tbeanylastingeffects. However,toomuchstresscancausenegativeeffects.Itcanleaveusinapermanentstageoffightorflight,leavingusoverwhelmedorunabletocope.Longterm,thiscanaffectourphysicalandmentalhealth. Whatmakesusstressed? Manythingsthatcanleadtostress:bereavement,divorceorseparation,losingajoborunexpectedmoneyproblems.Work-relatedstress canalsohaveanegativeimpactonyourmentalhealth.Peopleaffectedbywork-relatedstressloseanaverageof24daysofworkduetoillhealth. Evenpositivelifechanges,suchasmovingtoabiggerhouse,gainingajobpromotionorgoingonholidaycanbesourcesofstress.Ifyoufeelstressedinthesesituationsyoumaystruggletounderstandwhyorbeunwillingtoshareyourfeelingswithothers. Whatarethesignsofstress? Howyoumightfeel Youmayfeel: anxious afraid angryoraggressive sad irritable frustrated depressed. Thesefeelingscansometimesproducephysicalsymptoms,makingyoufeelevenworse. Howyourbodymightreact Ifyou’restressed,youmayexperience: headaches nausea indigestion digestiveproblemssuchasconstipation,bloatingordiarrhea shallowbreathingorhyperventilating sweating heartpalpitations achesandpains. Howyoumightbehave Youmaybehavedifferentlyifyou’restressed.Youmay: withdrawfromotherpeopleorsnapatthem beindecisiveorinflexible betearful haveproblemsgettingtosleeporstayingasleep experiencesexualproblems smoke,drinkalcoholortakedrugsmorethanusual. Ifthestressislong-lasting,youmaynoticeyoursleepandmemoryareaffected,youreatinghabitschange,oryoufeellessinclinedtoexercise. Someresearchhasalsolinkedlong-termstresstogastrointestinalconditionslikeIrritableBowelSyndrome(IBS)orstomachulcers,aswellasconditionslikecardiovasculardisease. Whoisaffectedbystress? Allofuscanprobablyrecognisesomeofthefeelingsdescribedabove.Somepeopleseemtobemoreaffectedbystressthanothers.Forsomepeople,gettingoutofthedoorontimeeachmorningcanbeaverystressfulexperience,whereasothersmaybelessaffectedwithagreatdealofpressure. Somepeoplearemorelikelytoexperiencestressfulsituationsthanothers.Forexample: peoplewithalotofdebtorfinancialinsecurity aremorelikelytobestressedaboutmoney peoplefromminorityethnicgroups orwhoareLGBTIQ+ aremorelikelytobestressedaboutprejudiceordiscrimination peoplewithdisabilitiesorlong-termhealthconditions aremorelikelytobestressedabouttheirhealthoraboutstigmaassociatedwiththeircondition. Howcanyouhelpyourself? Ifyou'refeelingstressed,therearesomethingsyoucantrytofeellesstenseandoverwhelmed. 1.Recognisewhenstressisaproblem It’simportanttoconnectthephysicalandemotionalsignsyou’reexperiencingtothepressuresyouarefacedwith.Don’tignorephysicalwarningsignssuchastensemuscles,tiredness,headachesormigraines. Thinkaboutwhat’scausingyourstress.Sortthemintoissueswithapracticalsolution,thingsthatwillgetbetterwithtimeandthingsyoucan'tdoanythingabout.Takecontrolbytakingsmallstepstowardsthethingsyoucanimprove. Makeaplantoaddressthethingsthatyoucan.Thismightinvolvesettingyourselfrealisticexpectationsandprioritisingessentialcommitments.Ifyoufeeloverwhelmed,askforhelpandsaynotothingsyoucan’ttakeon. 2.Thinkaboutwhereyoucanmakechanges Areyoutakingontoomuch?Couldyouhandoversomethingstosomeoneelse?Canyoudothingsinamoreleisurelyway?Youmayneedtoprioritisethingsandreorganiseyourlifesoyou’renottryingtodoeverythingatonce. 3.Buildsupportiverelationships Findclosefriendsorfamilywhocanofferhelpandpracticaladvicecansupportyouinmanagingstress.Joiningacluboracoursecanhelptoexpandyoursocialnetworkandencourageyoutodosomethingdifferent.Activitieslikevolunteeringcanchangeyourperspectiveandhaveabeneficialimpactonyourmood.  4.Eathealthily Ahealthydietcanimproveyourmood.Gettingenoughnutrients(includingessentialvitaminsandminerals)andwatercanhelpyourmentalwellbeing. 5.Beawareofyoursmokinganddrinking Cutdownorcutoutsmoking anddrinkingifyoucan.Theymayseemtoreducetensionbutactuallymakeproblemsworse.Alcoholandcaffeinecanincreasefeelingsofanxiety. 6.Getsomeexercise Physicalexercise canhelpmanagetheeffectsofstressbyproducingendorphinsthatboostyourmood.Itcanbehardtomotivateyourselfifyou'restressed,butevenalittlebitof activitycanmakeadifference.Forexample,youcouldaimtowalk for15-20minutesthreetimesaweek. 7.Taketimeout Taketimetorelaxandpracticeself-care,whereyoudopositivethingsforyourself.Forinstance,youcouldlistentoourpodcastsaboutrelaxation tocalmyourbodyandmind.Strikingabalancebetweenresponsibilitytoothersandresponsibilitytoyourselfisvitalinreducingstresslevels. 8.Bemindful Mindfulnessmeditation canbepracticedanywhereatanytime.Researchhassuggesteditcanbehelpfulformanagingandreducingtheeffectofstressandanxiety. 9.Getsomerestfulsleep Ifyou’rehavingdifficultysleeping,youcantrytoreducetheamountofcaffeineyouconsumeandavoidtoomuchscreentimebeforebed.Writedownatodolistforthenextdaytohelpyouprioritise,butmakesureyouputitasidebeforebed.Formoretipsongettingagoodnight’ssleep,readourguide‘Howtosleepbetter’. 10.Bekindtoyourself Trytokeepthingsinperspectiveanddon'tbetoohardonyourself.Lookforthingsinyourlifethatarepositiveandwritedownthingsthatmakeyoufeelgrateful. Getprofessionalhelp Ifyoucontinuetofeeloverwhelmedbystress,don’tbeafraidtoseekprofessionalhelp.Itdoesn’tmeanyou’reafailure.It’simportanttogethelpassoonaspossiblesoyoucanstarttofeelbetter. Talktoyourdoctorabouthowyou’refeeling.Theyshouldbeabletoadviseyouontreatmentandmayreferyouforfurtherhelp.Theymaysuggesttalkingtherapiessuchas: CognitiveBehaviouralTherapy(CBT),whichcanhelpreducestressbychangingthewaysyouthinkaboutstressfulsituations briefinterpersonalcounselling,whichcangiveyouthechancetotalkaboutwhatcausesyoustressanddevelopcopingstrategies mindfulness-basedapproaches. Ifyourstressiswork-related,ourpageonwork-lifebalancemayhelp.Ifyoufeelcomfortable, talk toyourmanagerorHRteamabouthowyou'refeelingtoseeiftheycanmakechangestoyourworkloadorhours.IfyourworkplacehasanEmployeeAssistanceScheme,youcouldcontactthemforconfidentialsupportorcounselling. Stress-HowtoCope(rethink.org) Stress |NHS.uk  Whatisstress?|Mind Stressandourmentalhealth–whatistheimpact&howcanwetackleit?|MQMentalHealthResearch StressinmodernBritain-ThePhysiologicalSociety(physoc.org) ShareonFacebook ShareonTwitter ShareonLinkedIn SharebyE-Mail Relatedcontent Stress Helpfulsites Guidetohowtomanageandreducestress|MentalHealthFoundation Gethelpwithstress|NHS