Stress

Stress is part of everyday life. You can’t avoid it. A certain amount of stress is necessary and vital to health. In fact, stress in small amounts can be positive as it stimulates both the mind and the body and energises us. It is when stress is experienced to an excessive degree that it becomes damaging to our health.

Each person experiences stress in different ways. What may be a stressful incident to one person may be enjoyable to another.

Stress is any change that we must adapt to. Sometimes the stress we experience is as a result of significant life changes or the ongoing effect of worries. It is how we respond to these experiences that determines how stressed we will become.

Stress is experienced from three main sources: our environment, our body and our thoughts.

Our environment often demands that we adjust to things such as the weather, noise, traffic, and pollution. In addition, social stressors such as disagreements, deadlines, financial problems, and presentations - all put pressure on us.

Body changes such as illness, poor nutrition, sleep problems, menopause in women, all place certain stressors on us. Our physiological reaction to our environment can result in stressful symptoms such as muscle tension, headaches, stomach upset and anxiety.

Our thoughts can also be another source of stress. When our brain interprets an event as threatening then this can lead to feelings of tension and anxiety.

We have carefully researched additional information, including Government Health Web sites and specific self help and support groups. You will find those links to other Web sites on our Useful Links page.