Stress and anxiety

‘Stress is the trash of modern life-we all generate it but if you don’t dispose of it properly, it will pile up and overtake your life.’
Danzae Pace

Stress sure can get in the way of your health and wellness. If stress is a problem for you then you are not alone. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has even called stress the ‘Health Epidemic of the 21st Century’. Stress is linked with many diseases and mental health disorders.

Stress and anxiety have become a lot more common in recent years and more and more people are experiencing the negative effects of stress such as:

• Anxiety
• Fatigue
• Irritability
• Headaches/migraines
• Sleep disorders
• Depression
• Skin problems
• Digestive problems
• Breathing problems

Stress: The bad news

The bad news is that stress has become part and parcel of many people’s life. The rapid pace of the modern world combined with the pressures and demands of everyday living and competitive work environments has resulted in a culture where moderate levels of stress has become the norm.

The human mind and body are attempting to adjust to an environment that is moving at a faster pace than ever before in our history and all this is taking it’s toll on both physical and mental wellbeing. Despite stress becoming so prevalent very few people really know what stress is and how they can tackle high stress levels. Design Your Life Coaching can help change that.

Stress: The good news

The good news is that stress does not necessarily have to be bad for you and there is an awful lot you can do to better manage your stress. Stress is only a problem if you are under too much stress for too long, you simply have to get the balance right.

When you have a good understanding of your stress response, what it is, how it works and the tools and techniques needed to control stress you will be in a great place to effectively manage your stress load.

By getting stress right you can make stress your friend. Rather than dread the onset of your stress response you will be able to use it to help you overcome adversity, reach your goals and adapt to new circumstances.

The positive intention of stress

The positive intention of the stress response is to help you survive (fight or flight) and also to help you adapt to new situations, environments or challenges. Your body is actually well equipped to deal with stress but this is only true if stress is not prolonged or if your overall stress load does not become too great.

Good stress vs bad stress

Bad stress could be described as being under too much stress for too long without adequate rest and recovery.

Bad stress = too much stress for too long without adequate rest and recovery.

Appropriate stress followed by adequate rest and recovery is called eustress and will make you stronger, more capable and resilient in the future.

Good stress = Appropriate stress followed by adequate rest and recovery

The keys to managing your stress

• Learning how to turn off (and turn down) your fight or flight response
• Training your body not to get stressed inappropriately
• Maximising the ‘outflow’ of stress from your body
• Reducing or avoiding unnecessary stressors from your life
• Improving quantity and quality of rest and recovery
• Adopting the correct mindset for stress