Firstly, let’s kick off with the fact that stress is horrible, and unfortunately, we all know what it’s like to feel stressed. However but it’s not easy to pin down exactly what stress exactly means… it comes in all different shapes and forms, sometimes it’s easy to deal with, other times it impacts our mental health.
It’s important to know that EVERYONE feels stress, so you’re not alone and thankfully, there are a ton of resources out there to help identify and deal with it.
“Stress is the body’s reaction to feeling threatened or under pressure. It’s very common, it can be motivating to help us achieve things in our daily life, and can help us meet the demands of home, college, work and family life.”
Let’s try to understand what stress is a bit more:
Stress is the body’s reaction to feeling threatened or under pressure.
When we say things like “this is stressful” or “I’m stressed”, we might be talking about:
Too much stress can affect our mood, our body and our relationships – especially when it feels out of our control. It can make us feel anxious and irritable, and affect our self-esteem.
Experiencing a lot of stress over a long period of time can also lead to a feeling of physical, mental and emotional exhaustion, often called burnout.
You might find that your first clues about being stressed are physical signs, such as tiredness, headaches or an upset stomach.
There could be many reasons for this, as when we feel stressed we often find it hard to sleep or eat well, and poor diet and lack of sleep can both affect our physical health. This in turn can make us feel more stressed emotionally.
Also, when we feel anxious, our bodies release hormones called cortisol and adrenaline. (This is the body’s automatic way of preparing to respond to a threat, sometimes called the ‘fight, flight or freeze’ response). If you’re often stressed then you’re probably producing high levels of these hormones, which can make you feel physically unwell and could affect your health in the longer term.
It’s really important to understand the signs of stress, the sooner you spot them, the sooner you can put something in place to help manage it.
The amount of stress you feel in different situations may depend on many factors such as:
Feelings of stress are normally triggered by things happening in your life which involve:
There might be one big thing causing you stress, but stress can also be caused by a build-up of small pressures. This might make it harder for you to identify what’s making you feel stressed, or to explain it to other people.
There are various steps you can take to cope with being under pressure. This section gives some tips that people have told us they find useful, but it’s important to remember that different things work for different people. Only try what you feel comfortable with.
We really do recommend having a chat with someone you trust though, making other people aware of how you’re feeling is very important and talking really does help!
Working out what triggers stress for you can help you anticipate problems and think of ways to solve them. Even if you can’t avoid these situations, being prepared can help.
Take some time to reflect on events and feelings that could be contributing to your stress (you could do this on your own or with someone you trust). You could consider:
You might be surprised to find out just how much you’re coping with at once. Remember that not having enough work, activities or change in your life can be just as stressful a situation as having too much to deal with.
Making some adjustments to the way you organise your time could help you feel more in control of any tasks you’re facing, and more able to handle pressure.
It’s not easy, but accepting that there are some things happening to you that you probably can’t do anything about will help you focus your time and energy more productively.
Whether it’s a friend, parent, guardian, tutor or one of the KC Safeguarding Team, if you’re feeling stressed, talk to someone about it.
Taking steps to look after your wellbeing can help you deal with pressure, and reduce the impact that stress has on your life. This is sometimes called developing emotional resilience.
Resilience is not just your ability to bounce back, but also your capacity to adapt in the face of challenging circumstances, whilst maintaining a stable mental wellbeing. Resilience isn’t a personality trait – it’s something that we can all take steps to achieve.
There are some general changes that you can make to your lifestyle that could help you feel more able to cope with pressure and stressful situations.
Taking steps to look after your physical health can help you to look after your mental health and reduce feelings of stress.
Learning to be kinder to yourself in general can help you control the amount of pressure you feel in different situations, which can help you feel less stressed.
Remember that whatever you’re going through that’s causing you stress, you don’t have to cope with it alone.
Sometimes just telling the people close to you how you’re feeling can make a big difference – and they might be able to help you out in other ways too.
Reach out to your tutors, KC Student Services or our KC Safeguarding Team; you can email them on stayingsafe@kidderminster.ac.uk
Sometimes sharing your experiences with people who’ve been through something similar can help you feel less alone. Mind’s community Side by Side, and the online community Togetherall, offer supportive spaces where you can talk openly about stress and your mental health.
Here are list of additional resources you can take a look at if you’re feeling stressed: