How does stress affect your mind and body?

Stress is a feeling of being overwhelmed or under pressure. A feeling like there are not enough hours in a day, or that others are making too many demands of you, whether that’s at home, throughout your day, in education or sports. It may be that feeling that life is a bit too overwhelming and it is making you a bit anxious and panicked. 

This can happen from time to time but if it is occurring more often and you are struggling, it is time to seek help to make some changes. 

How does stress affect the mind? 

If you are regularly feeling irritable, anxious, and agitated, and feel like you are not able to concentrate, it could be linked to the stress that you are going through. You may feel like you have brain fog, for example. 

How does stress affect your body? 

If you are experiencing sleepless nights, headaches, dry mouth, sickness, aches and pains, sudden weight loss or gain and even a skin reaction or rash then again, your body could be signalling higher than normal stress levels. You may not be directly able to pinpoint exactly what’s causing stress, but these physical symptoms can be a great indicator for you to slow down and check in. 

Here are a few examples of how to help you during stressful times 

🛑 STEP away from your phone! Put your phone away so you do not keep scrolling through news headlines, or social media, making yourself add more stress in your life over situations you cannot control.  

😴 Get a good night’s sleep Create a space in your bedroom that you feel you can switch off. It should be cool and inviting – a place where you can escape to. Getting 7-8 hours of good sleep will help you during the stressful periods you have in a day. 

😮‍💨 Breathe We cannot stop talking about how important it is to stop and breathe. Wanting to try a new technique? Inhale for a count of 6 and exhale for a count of 6. This will help you have greater control over your lungs, and you will feel your heart rate also slow down. 

🥺 Reach out and ask for help Taking the first step to asking for help is important to connect with those around you as there is always, always someone that will want to help. Don’t keep things bottled up. No one person is invincible and those in your life do care.