Stress

Stress is the feeling of being under emotional or mental pressure. Everyone experiences stress in their lives, and a certain amount of stress can be a good thing in that it helps to motivate us, provides a driver to help us achieve what we want to in life and helps us perform well under pressure. In fact, lack of stress in itself can be a problem. The stress response is your bodies way of protecting you when you sense a real or imagined threat. It keeps you on your toes by enhancing your focus, stamina and reactions to deal with the threat as best you can.

Stress becomes a problem when there is too much for us to cope with, or the stress lasts for too long. When this happens, it is easy to feel overwhelmed and not know which way to turn. Stress stops being useful and starts to affect your health, your relationships, your effectiveness at work and your quality of life.

Stress affects different people in different ways. What one person may find stressful, another may not. When stress does affect you it can impact on your whole life and everything you do. Common symptoms of stress include loss of appetite, difficulty concentrating, and difficulty sleeping. You may feel irritable and lose your temper, or find yourself worrying constantly and mulling things over in your head.

Modern life is full of stress and competing demands. We have high expectations of life and we are leading increasingly busy, complicated and demanding lives, trying to balance our working lives, relationships, and often dealing with money worries. It is no wonder that many people suffer from stress in their lives and look for ways of coping with it or reducing the harmful effects of stress.