Professional Advice

April is National Stress Awareness Month

By: CDC

Stress is a normal part of life; we experience it every time we deal with challenges in our lives. Feeling a healthy dose of stress can even be a blessing as stress is our coping mechanism and allows us to learn to deal with and solve challenging problems. However, in the world today we have more stressors than we can deal with, often compromising our health, such as work, school, health, and relationships. 

In addition, technology, while making life more convenient, also impacts our health if not used in moderation. We are so concerned about staying in touch with our phones, news, and social media that we put strain on ourselves. And some of us are just unable to keep up with the changes in technology, causing feelings of frustration. 

Stress, like many things, can be good in moderation but bad if it is constantly affecting us. Chronic stress, which is also known as long term stress can be debilitating to our health in increasing severity as more time passes. Stress is associated with feelings of fear, anger, sadness, worry, numbness, and frustration. 

Health problems caused by stress are headaches, body pains, stomach problems, skin rashes and worsening chronic health problems, including mental problems. There are other changes associated with stress such as appetite, desires, interests, constant nightmares and trouble sleeping, and trouble concentrating and making decisions. Unfortunately, often, this can lead to substance abuse, which we know to have deadly consequences. 

Managing stress is possible and though everyone is different, minding your stress triggers and finding a combination of healthy techniques for dealing with it can help in maintaining a healthy mindset and lifestyle. Some ideas for dealing with stress are disconnecting from your phone, news and social media, making time for yourself to unwind, connecting with others, eating healthy, exercising, sleeping at least 8 hours every day, meditating, keeping a journal, making time for hobbies, engaging in relaxing and happy activities, and limiting your alcohol intake. 

Chronic stress can be detrimental to us and if we are struggling. The first step is to ask for help. There is a stigma on mental health problems and seeking help for those health problems is seen negatively. However, having the resources to help ourselves and not taking the opportunity to seek treatment for mental health problems as we would for physical health problems is unfortunate. Psychological problems are too often taken for granted. Mental health is part of our overall health and just like any other wound, it needs to be treated in a timely manner with the resources available to us. One such resource available for immediate need is calling or texting 988 or using the chat function on 988lifeline.org. Resources and support links can be found at the bottom of the page for anyone to use. 

Stress can be challenging and unhealthy to live with, but there are ways to cope with it and keeping a healthy lifestyle is part of that. There are plenty of resources available for us to use. We are not alone, and we need to keep that in mind when things get too overwhelming. Don’t contribute to the stigma on mental health and don’t hesitate to ask for help.