{"id":237044,"date":"2025-10-24T13:51:23","date_gmt":"2025-10-24T13:51:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/237044\/"},"modified":"2025-10-24T13:51:23","modified_gmt":"2025-10-24T13:51:23","slug":"be-aware-of-stress-and-how-you-can-relieve-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/237044\/","title":{"rendered":"Be aware of stress – and how you can relieve it"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s Stress Awareness Day on November 2, but who isn\u2019t aware of stress?<\/p>\n

If you ask someone on the street how they are, a probable answer is: \u201cGrand, just wrecked.\u201d Thus, stress has become normalised and accepted, and in some groups even perceived as a badge of honour.<\/p>\n

Yes, a small amount of stress is good – it\u2019s what helps us grow. But constant, chronic stress is not. Not only does it have mental and emotional impacts, but it can lead to long-lasting physiological health problems.<\/p>\n

When the body is in a stress response, all its energy is focused on escaping perceived danger. Heart rate increases and breathing becomes shallow as the body is still hard-wired to the days of needing to escape lions and tigers. And while today\u2019s stressors are usually just the thoughts inside our head, the body experiences them as if they are the tiger chasing us through the forest.<\/p>\n

For this survival reason, when stressed, the body is designed not to maintain its normal everyday functions such as digestion, healing, growth, brain functioning and more.<\/p>\n

\n In a stressed state, these all become severely impaired. Additionally, frequent high levels of cortisol and adrenaline result in inflammation, immune suppression, hormonal imbalances, and cardiovascular strain, leading to physical illness long-term.\n <\/p>\n

This includes fertility problems, migraines, high blood pressure, chronic fatigue syndrome, weakened immunity, heart attack, diabetes, thyroid problems, IBS, and many more.<\/p>\n

On a more uplifting note, addressing stress helps prevent many of these issues.<\/p>\n

As with all mental and emotional difficulties, stress is invisible, it\u2019s not tangible, so there\u2019s a tendency to downplay its severity. However, if you\u2019re frequently on edge, have difficulty breathing, racing thoughts or a foggy brain, or simply feel like you\u2019re running on a hamster wheel and you can\u2019t get off, it\u2019s likely you\u2019re experiencing stress or anxiety.<\/p>\n

It is true that much of modern-day life is stressful: deadlines, juggling life and career, job insecurity, over-stimulation from scrolling, housing crisis, etc. Yet replaying problems over and over in our head does not solve them, and just increases stress and anxiety.<\/p>\n

More often than not, it is not the event or trigger that is the issue, but the thoughts about these that result in stress. Learning techniques for distancing yourself from your thoughts such as mindfulness or CBT, and seeking professional support can be life-changing.<\/p>\n

While stress is built into much of modern living, there are personal choices one can make to minimise it. The most obvious is reducing stressors and recognising that less is more. This might require really challenging your beliefs about what is essential, and recognising what is causing unnecessary stress. Maybe it\u2019s declining an invitation. Maybe it\u2019s working less and going on fewer holidays. Or perhaps it\u2019s not holding yourself to such high standards.<\/p>\n

The next step is boundaries. Especially around work – when you\u2019re off, you\u2019re off. But this also applies to friends and family. While in relationships with loved ones there is compromise, if it\u2019s all one-sided, maybe it\u2019s time to start prioritising you: your time, your self-care, and your needs. Chances are, if you don\u2019t do it now, your body will force you to rest eventually.<\/p>\n

You have a choice: to build a life that prioritises your wellbeing, or the happiness and needs of others. This starts with lifestyle choices. Of course, in some instances it\u2019s not feasible – those living with low income have very real struggles that no amount of lifestyle changes will fix. Without having one\u2019s basic needs of food, shelter, and safety met, mental health is unlikely to come easily.<\/p>\n

Yet, most people have a spare 30 minutes (if not hours) each day that are usually dedicated to scrolling that could be re-prioritised to acts of self-care and wellbeing. Reducing screen time does wonders for stress management, especially first thing in the morning, which affects your energy for the rest of the day, and last thing at night, which impacts sleep. Making the bedroom a phone-free zone can already be a positive step in the right direction.<\/p>\n

\n Introducing mindfulness, movement (exercise, yoga, walking, etc.), saunas or sea swims, time in nature – there are so many activities that help reduce stress. You don\u2019t have to do them all, just pick one, and do it often.\n <\/p>\n

Most importantly, make time to do the activities you enjoy, whether that\u2019s reading a book, painting, dancing, or any other hobby.<\/p>\n

Additionally, there are herbs and supplements that can help reduce stress; but these will only go so far if not accompanied by practical lifestyle changes.<\/p>\n

Stress is a normal part of life, and attempting to completely eliminate it is impossible and unnecessary. Yet chronic stress has a very real negative impact on mental and physical health, and for most people there are many actions they can take to help minimise it.<\/p>\n

When you\u2019re stuck in chronic stress or anxiety, it can be hard to see the wood for the trees, and that is where talking to a friend or mental health professional can be invaluable to help you gain clarity, come up with a plan, and make the changes you need. If that is you, take a pause right now, and based on what you have read: what is one action you can take today or this week to help reduce your stress?<\/p>\n

Mirin Mooney is a trauma-informed neurodivergent-affirming psychotherapist and coach. For more information visit www.wildheart-wellness.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s Stress Awareness Day on November 2, but who isn\u2019t aware of stress? If you ask someone on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":237045,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[49,48,84,393,394],"class_list":{"0":"post-237044","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mental-health","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-health","11":"tag-mental-health","12":"tag-mentalhealth"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237044","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=237044"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237044\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/237045"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=237044"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=237044"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=237044"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}