What is stress?

Stress is a reaction to a stimulus that disturbs our physical or mental balance. A stressful event can trigger the "fight-or-flight" response, causing hormones (adrenaline and cortisol) to surge through the body. A little bit of stress, known as "acute stress," can be exciting—it keeps us active and alert. Long-term, or "chronic stress," can have detrimental effects on health leading to burn-out.

Chronic stress often results in depression, anxiety, increased fear of failure and an overall sense of doom. It has been linked to other issues physical symptoms such as chest pain, panic attacks, stomach aches, cancer, high blood pressure, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, digestive diseases, and deterioration of the immune system.

An individual who is under stress may become more quick-tempered and easy to anger or they may withdraw from the people around them and struggle with their daily activities. People who are under stress tend to find it harder to concentrate and have greater difficulty making decisions, are less efficient in memory recall and have a lowered objectivity. The results can leave the ability to sort life’s daily challenges in a rational way to diminish. This often leads to moodiness, anger, feelings of injustice and other consequences that can hurt inter-personal and social relationships.

If you are struggling to manage stress and burnout make sure to get support from a specialist.

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