Stress

When our body prepares us for the ‘fight or flight’ response, it releases hormones such as adrenalin and cortisol to help us have the energy and focus to respond to the threat. Our bodies are designed to deal with short periods of threat. However in the modern day we are exposed to longer-term threats or stressors which results in our body releasing these hormones for longer periods of time. This can be really harmful and affect our sleep, concentration, memory and drive us to look for short-term ‘fixes’ such as caffeine, sugar, alcohol, drugs and sex.

How to deal with stress

1. Reduce the amount of stress in your life, for example if your job is highly stressful then consider if there are alternatives.
2. Change how you manage stress, for example can you delegate some tasks or learn that good enough is OK rather than striving for perfection.
3. Look after your physical health, for example eating healthily and doing exercise even if you do not feel like it.
4. Learn to relax, for example making sure you have time to yourself to do healthy things you enjoy, this can be as simple as listening to music or reading a book.
5. Be sociable, even if you feel like everything is getting too stressful and too much for you, one of the best things you can do is to meet up with your family and friends – for example, meeting up for a coffee or going for a walk. Friends and family will be able to provide you a distraction from your stress and they can help you to see the situation from a different point of view.