What is Stress?

Stress is your body’s way of responding to any kind of demand. It can be caused by both good and bad experiences. Stress affects us both physically and emotionally. It can produce positive feelings within us in which case, it can force us to take action; it can take us to a new level of consciousness and give us an exciting new outlook. Understanding your stress level is important. If nothing in your life causes you any stress or excitement, you may become bored or may not be living up to your potential.

When people feel stressed by something going on around them, their bodies react by releasing chemicals into the blood. This ‘fight or flight’ response within us is instinctive. The function of these chemicals is to give us more energy and strength as a survival mechanism. This can in a positive sense help us to cope better, giving us ‘an edge’, helping us to stay focussed and alert, with sharpness and clarity. We each have an optimum stress threshold in which we perform at our best. This is different for everyone - we are all unique in our interpretation of feelings and events.

However, it often produces negative feelings within us. When there is a perception that we are unable to meet the demands placed on us, we feel overloaded and it all seems too much. When stress has a negative influence on us, it can result in feelings of doubt, rejection, resentment and dejection. This emotional response triggers the flight or flight response as our blood stream floods with adrenalin and cortisol. Our heart rate increases to pump blood faster to the lungs, muscles and brain. We breathe more rapidly to increase our oxygen levels, our muscles tense ready for action and many functions not necessary for fighting or escaping, such as digestion or reproduction, slow or stop. If there is no outlet for this extra energy and strength, we find ourselves ‘pent up’ with no-where to run.

Long term stress will eventually wear your body down and may cause damage to your health. Sustained High Blood Pressure, Ulcers, IBS, Anxiety, Depression and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome /ME are all typical manifestations of long term stress.

Recognizing when you are stressed and managing your stress can greatly improve your life. Some short-term stress may give you the extra energy you need to perform at your best, but long-term stress can drain your energy and your enjoyment of life.

Have you ever caught yourself worrying about things you can do nothing about or worrying for no reason at all? This is internal stress and it is one of the most important kinds of stress to understand and manage. Internal stress is when people make themselves stressed.

This often happens when we worry about things we can't control or put ourselves in situations we know will cause us stress.

Stress may also be as a response to things around you that cause stress, such as noise, crowding, and pressure from work or family. Identifying these environmental stresses and learning to avoid them or deal with them will help lower your stress level.

Times of bereavement, moving house, relationship or financial problems, childbirth, job changes and, major physical illness are usually stressful, and we have to learn to adjust our lives accordingly. We live in a fast paced technological age when tomorrow doesn’t come soon enough and the demands and expectations placed on us by ourselves and by others has never been greater. It is vital that we maintain a sense of balance, to keep ourselves steadfast and strong.

Identifying what may be causing you stress and understanding your emotional triggers is often the first step in learning how to better deal with your stress in order to take back control.

Back to top