Being stressed is a frighteningly common problem. According to the mental Health Foundation in the United Kingdom, 74% of UK adults have had a moment where they've felt so stressed that they are unable to cope with their current situation. To raise awareness about how big of a problem stress is - as well as the causes and cures - April is known as Stress Awareness Month. It has been observed since 1992. The purpose of this month is for people to focus on their physical, emotional and mental health.
What is stress?
Stress is mainly a physical response. When we are stressed, our body thinks it is in a dangerous situation, leading to a 'fight or flight' response. This response is fine when we actually are in dangerous situations, but the problem is when it happens in inappropriate situations. During a fight or flight response, bloodflow goes mainly to the muscles needed to fight or flee, which means that there is less blood for the brain to function. This can lead to the inability to think straight that is often experienced when we feel stressed.
Stress targets the weakest part of our physiology and mentality. This means that if you are prone to get headaches or have low levels of patience, these areas will become worse in times of stress.
While it isn't possible to avoid being stressed, it is possible to manage it and reduce the root problems before they become too much to handle and you end up in an emotional breakdown. This is one of the aims of Stress Awareness Month, as you have to be aware of the stress factors to be able to do something about it. One way to observe Stress Awareness Month therefore is to simply do one action every day that will benefit your physical, emotional and mental wellbeing. Doing this regularly can help change one's mindset and outlook on stress, as well as finding ways to cope with repeating stress factors.
Some good ways to reduce stress:
Doing breating exercices is one of the easiest ways to immediately reduce stress. No matter the type of breathing exersice, focusing on your breathing helps by simply moving your focus away from the stressful situation and to the breating.
Laughingis a legitimate way to reduce stress as you become more relaxed when laughing - even when nothing is funny.
Exercising is a great way to reduce stress, as it helps the body and mind to deal with the impact of stress in better ways.
You can reduce stress triggers by taking some time to become aware of what triggers tend to cause stress and anxiety. By identifying those triggers, you can then handle the root of the problem and work around the triggers to avoid them.
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