Ever since 1992 April has been Stress Awareness Month held by the Stress Management Society to raise awareness of one of the biggest public health challenges that we are currently facing. The negative impact that stress has on all individuals has only grown during the last couple of years due to the lasting impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the rising cost of living crisis, unemployment growth alongside personal struggles. We need to take the impact of stress on our mental, physical, and emotional wellbeing a lot more seriously.
Stress can best be described as a physical response to a situation when the body feels that it is under attack, switching to a ‘fight or flight’ mode which releases a complex mix of hormones and chemicals inside of our bodies. As stated by the Stress Management Society, stress should not always be categorised as a “bad thing” as it does have positive uses, “In the modern world, the ‘fight or flight’ mode can still help us survive dangerous situations, such as reacting swiftly to a person running in front of our car by slamming on the brakes.”
Hormones such as adrenaline, and norepinephrine are what give us that extra boost of energy, preparing us to either fight or fly. With our hearts pounding and our breathing faster, we are able to focus our attention where it is needed.
Stress becomes a problem when our bodies go into this state during less ideal situations. With the blood flow being directed to where our body thinks it needs it the most, our brain function is minimised leaving us unable to ‘think straight’ and if kept in this state over a long period of time it can begin to affect several areas of life.
Stress is harmful because it can lead to numerous health problems – both mentally and physically. For our bodies, it can cause digestive issues, sleeping issues and even interrupt our immune system. Mentally, it can lead to or even complicate existing mental health disorders such as anxiety and depression. Physical and mental health go hand-in-hand and are sadly often seen as separate entities.
We are in a modern-day stress epidemic according to Healthcare HCA Today, “The general level of worry and unhappiness in the modern world is creating a national epidemic of stress. It’s (stress) is becoming part of the “new normal” for people, causing a decrease in productivity and health problems that can be initially silent, but after a while can catch up and result in morbidities such as high blood pressure, diabetes, arthritis and inflammatory disease – all of which are made worse by chronic stress.” More open conversations need to be had about the problems that we are each facing. Stress impacts everyone in a different way. There is no shame in opening up about our mental and emotional states and shedding the stigma around speaking up about how we feel with not just family and friends but also colleagues.
Click here to read more top tips on how to manage stress.
At Northern Healthcare we recognise that stress can be a prominent factor that our residents face, especially when first moving into one of our supported living services. We work closely and collaboratively with our residents, their families and the health and social care workers to ensure that each individual has a strong support network to help reduce the risk of relapse and support their recovery journey.
Read more about our support model and how we help to cultivate a strong support network.
Photo by Francisco Moreno on Unsplash.
