From the dawn of time to today’s pandemic, stress has always been with us. Get to know the symptoms, health issues and some potential solutions.
The ‘flight or fight’ or stress response is a useful evolutionary development that helps increase our chances of survival in challenging situations. When this happens, your heart rate increases as it pumps blood to muscles, giving an essential surge of energy.
The downside is that this surge of hormones increases blood pressure and raise the risk of heart attacks and strokes. In 2021, although relatively few women and men live under constant threat from predators, external threats still exist, as we’ve seen throughout the coronavirus pandemic.
Of course, the stress response isn’t always bad news. You may be able to recall times in your life when it’s led to beneficial outcomes. But most people feel stressed sometimes, and some people find that stress can motivate them. Stress can mean different things to different people, so it’s helpful to understand what we actually mean on a physiological and psychological level.
Recognise the symptoms
A good place to start is to identify the symptoms. For example, you might experience physical symptoms, such as tension in your muscles, or a headache. Your heart might beat faster to the extent that you notice it. Psychologically, you might find that you have trouble making decisions and feel pressured and worried all the time. You might even feel overwhelmed by everyday life.
These feelings can spill over into your behaviour and habits, which might alter on account of your level of stress. So you might find that you can’t sleep, or your eating, drinking or smoking habits change to the extent you, your friends or your family begin to notice.
Stress factors and health issues
Stress reactions can stem from a traumatic event, such as the death of a loved one. In some situations, stress may appear because it was a reaction to a specific event, but it could also be a manifestation of an underlying mental health condition, particularly if the symptoms are out of proportion to the initial event, or they last longer than expected.
Sufferers can then experience any of a range of health problems, including skin conditions, gastrointestinal issues, hypertension and susceptibility to infections. So although stress itself isn’t a disease or an illness, it can certainly make you ill. If you find yourself in this situation, now’s the time to act and get back to a place where you feel at ease with yourself again. But where do you start?
Five ways to help to manage stress
Acting now can empower you to get on top of the situation, and there are plenty of remedies. The NHS recommends several different courses of action and we’ve selected five simple ways to help alleviate stress.
- More exercise. For reducing stress, any type of activity can be good for you. During the pandemic, your exercise options may well have been limited, with dance classes, gym or sporting activities suspended. But it doesn’t stop you walking, running or increasing your step count each day.
- Better time management. For many people, competing priorities can spell danger. Life might be busy and stressful, particularly during the pandemic, but there are many strategies for organising your time better. If you’re new to this, here’s a good start.
- Breathe easy. You’ve been breathing since you first came into this world. But can you turn your most natural activity into a stress-relieving solution? Here are some new ways of doing just that.
- Peer support. Talking directly to other people in the same situation as yourself can help, although bear in mind that this might be difficult during the pandemic. You won’t necessarily need a referral from your GP to use some of the services listed here.
- Plan ahead. Making lists for the day ahead can give you a set of priorities to tick-off as they are achieved. In stressful times, simple solutions like this can add value and order to your day.
