Stress

What is Stress?

Stress is a normal human response to feeling under pressure or threatened. It usually happens when we have too much to do and not enough time to do it in, or when we are in a situation that we don’t feel we can manage or control.

Types of stress can be classed as ‘acute’ or ‘chronic’:

• Acute stress happens within a few minutes to a few hours of an event. It lasts for a short period of time, usually less than a few weeks, and is very intense. It can happen after an upsetting or unexpected event. For example, this could be a bereavement, assault or natural disaster.
• Chronic stress lasts for a long period of time or keeps coming back. You might experience this if you are under lots of pressure a lot of the time. You might also feel chronic stress if your day-to-day life is difficult, for example if you are a carer or if you live in poverty.

Am I stressed?

Signs of stress:

• Irritable, angry impatient or wound up
• Over-burdened or overwhelmed
• Anxious, nervous or afraid
• Like your thoughts are racing and you can’t switch off
• Unable to enjoy yourself
• Depressed
• Uninterested in life
• Like you’ve lost your sense of humour
• A sense of dread
• Worried or tense
• Neglected
• Existing mental health problems getting worse

Physical signs of stress:

The hormones that our bodies produce to respond to stressful situations can have many physical effects, including:

• Panic attacks
• Difficulty breathing
• Blurred eyesight or sore eyes
• Sleep problems
• Fatigue
• Muscle aches and headaches
• Chest pains and high blood pressure
• Indigestion or heartburn
• Constipation or diarrhoea
• Feeling sick, dizzy or fainting
• Sudden weight gain or weight loss
• Developing rashes or itchy skin
• Sweating
• Changes to your period or menstrual cycle
• Existing physical health problems getting worse

Online therapy and treatment for managing stress

There are many effective ways to overcome addictions, including: CBT, ACT, compassion- focused therapy (CFT), EMDR, and PCT. Several of our online therapists are trained in these approaches and highly experienced in helping people overcome addictions. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you would like to arrange an initial assessment session.

You may also wish to look at our resources page for further ideas of getting help to manage symptoms of stress.