Stress
Understanding Stress: Causes, Symptoms, and Support
Stress is a natural response to challenging or pressurised situations. In small doses, stress can be motivating and help you perform better under pressure. However, prolonged stress can negatively impact your mental health, physical wellbeing, and emotional stability.
Everyone experiences stress differently. Some people cope well under pressure, while others may struggle even with minor stressors. For some, stress provides the energy to solve problems; for others, it can feel overwhelming and lead to burnout.
What Causes Stress?
Stress often arises when we feel a lack of control or face major life changes. It can also be triggered by ongoing challenges or emotional pressures. Common causes of stress include:
- Marriage or relationship changes
- Becoming a parent
- Starting a new job or career change
- Divorce or separation
- Bereavement and loss
- Moving house
- Workplace problems
- Financial pressures
Symptoms of Stress
When stress becomes overwhelming, it can affect both the mind and body. Common signs of stress include:
- Anger, frustration, or agitation
- Crying or frequent mood swings
- Feeling constantly overwhelmed
- Low self-esteem and lack of confidence
- Avoiding friends and social activities
- Difficulty sleeping or insomnia
- Excessive alcohol or drug use
- Chest pains or palpitations
- Dizziness and physical tension
The Impact of Prolonged Stress
If left unmanaged, long-term stress can lead to serious mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression, as well as physical health issues like high blood pressure or heart disease.
When to Seek Help
If stress begins to negatively affect your daily life, relationships, or wellbeing, it may be time to seek professional support. Speaking to your GP, a counsellor, or a trained therapist can help you explore coping strategies, reduce stress levels, and regain balance in your life. Please call us on 0333 0096 321, fill in the contact form or email us to find a therapist who can help.
Useful Articles
Here is a list of articles on stress you might find helpful.
TED Talk: Kelly McGonigal: How to make Stress your friend
Stress. It makes your heart pound, your breathing quicken and your forehead sweat. But while stress has been made into a public health enemy, new research suggests that stress may only be bad for you if you believe that to be the case. Psychologist Kelly McGonigal urges us to see stress as a positive, and introduces us to an unsung mechanism for stress reduction: reaching out to others.
His Stress is not Her Stress
Scientists have long known that women are more likely than men to suffer depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and other anxiety disorders, all of which have been linked to chronic stress, says Temple University psychologist Debra Bangasser. But until recently, studies of people’s responses to such stress have focused primarily on men.
Is there too much stress on stress?
About 10 million working days a year are lost to stress. In our age of austerity, zero-hours working and weakened unions, has stress – a term only invented in the 1950s – become a shorthand for more complex problems?
Stress: its surprising health implications
Whether it is down to work pressure, money worries or relationship troubles, most of us experience stress at some point in our lives. In fact, around 75% of us report experiencing moderate to high levels of stress over the past month. It is well known that stress can cause sleep problems, headache and raise the risk of depression. But in this Spotlight, we look at some of the more surprising ways in which stress may harm our health.
Recommended Reading
When the Body Says No: Exploring the Stress-Disease Connection
The bestselling exploration of the effects of the mind–body connection on stress and disease.
The Life Changing Art of Not Giving a F*ck - Sarah Knight
This irreverent and practical book explains how to rid yourself of unwanted obligations, shame, and guilt - and give your f**ks instead to people and things that make you happy.
Poems and Quotes to Inspire You
Dare we hope? We dare.
Can we hope? We can.
Should we hope? We must, because to do otherwise is to waste the most precious of gifts given so freely by God to all of us. So when we do die, it will be with hope and it will be easy and our hearts will not be broken.
Andy Ripley – England and Lions rugby legend, often described as one of the most colourful personalities in the history of English rugby
Helpful articles often written by our fabulous practitioners.