Stress: Signs that it’s taking over your life

While small amounts of stress can boost performance, staying in "emergency mode" for long periods of time harms your mind and body. If you’re constantly overwhelmed, it is crucial that you rebalance your nervous system. By recognising the signs of chronic stress and taking proactive steps to reduce it, you can protect your wellbeing and improve your mental clarity.

Signs that stress is becoming problematic include:

• Headaches
• Anger
• Impatience
• Irritability
• Shoulder, neck or back pain
• Speech or hearing difficulties
• Chronic fatigue or insomnia
• Poor concentration or forgetfulness
• Frequent colds or flu
• Increased substance use (smoking, drugs, or alcohol)
• Anxiety or depression

Taking time to understand the source of your high stress levels can be a helpful step in managing that stress more effectively. Different people are affected by different stressors in various ways. Nonetheless, certain stressors have been found to affect many people. These include:

• Financial challenges
• Work-related issues
• Parenting
• Stressors associated with personal relationships

Tips for managing stress

• Try an activity such as a breathing exercise that provides on-the-spot stress relief.
• Focus on developing habits and engaging in activities that have shown to be effective stress relievers. This includes activities such as getting enough exercise regularly or making time for regular meditation.
• Developing your skills to communicate more effectively with those around you can also be a helpful step in managing stress levels.
• While not all stress can be eliminated, take opportunities to remove specific stressors from your life where possible, such as ending a toxic relationship.
• Get a sufficient amount of good quality sleep. 
• Follow a healthy, balanced diet.
• Make time to pursue positive activities you enjoy and engage in solely for your own satisfaction and fulfilment, such as reading, gardening, or playing a musical instrument.
• Access counselling support if you are struggling with high levels of stress that affect your ability to cope or lead to unhealthy coping mechanisms.

Remember, while it’s normal to feel somewhat overwhelmed from time to time, feeling stressed out should not be the norm. By implementing various stress management techniques in your daily life, you are building your capacity to respond to stressful situations with greater resilience.