Why National Stress Awareness Day could save your life

I know the title ‘Why National Stress Awareness Day’ could save your life sounds dramatic, but it is true.

Stress is called the silent killer

According to the World Health Organisation Of the 56.4 million deaths worldwide in 2015, more than half (54%) were due to the top 10 causes. And the top 2 causes for the past 15 years have been Ischaemic heart disease and stroke. Stress is often a feature of these two causes.

Have you accepted stress as part of your life?

Society has really changed hasn’t it. More families with both parents working, single parent families, caring responsibilities. Expensive houses to pay for, images and expectations to live up to and of course social media to keep up with.

There’s children’s education, clubs, hobbies, social events and physical and emotional needs to attend to.

You might choose to study. Maybe while working, running a home and raising a family at the same time.

Then there is convienience food and spending a lot of time sitting in jobs that require computer work. And a competitive environment for well paid work.

Wow, it’s stressful even writing all that.

Everyone seems to be in such a rush and has accepted that as normal. Have you?

Hence the popularity of retreats!

What impact is this stress having on your life?

You know the drill. Work as hard as possible do everything as listed above. But you are not too worried because yes! You have a holiday to look forward to. Maybe even all inclusive. Everything done for you. You can really enjoy this time to relax and unwind and just ‘be’. You arrive on the holiday and spend the first few days in a vegetated state. Or even worse… ill! You can’t believe it. Where is your energy? And your joy? They seemed to have gone on a different holiday!

This is so common for people who are living in a stressed state most of the time. The body gets a glimpse of ‘stopping’ and it makes the most of it.

Things you may not have noticed as signs of stress

Thing is, when stress creeps up gradually, you don’t always notice it. You take on more and more. Do more and more. And you are so busy you don’t notice some of the symptoms of stress are upon you like:

• Headaches
• Muscular pain in our neck, shoulders or back
• Fatigue and low energy levels
• Raised blood pressure
• Palpitations
• Increased pain thresholds
• Poor sleep patterns
• Poor breathing
• Suppressed immune system  and increased susceptibility to infections
• Increases in blood sugar and cholesterol levels

Don’t ignore the signs

Left ignored these symptoms can build into bigger problems like burnout, depression and anxiety. It is your body and mind’s way of rebelling against the pressure it’s under.

Once you suffer from these they may affect:

• Your relationships with family or friends
• Your hobbies, interests and leisure time
• Your performance at work, school or college

This is the most important point in this blog:

Noticing yourself is the answer to good health. Noticing how you feel. Noticing your energy levels. Your mood. Your interactions with others. How your body feels.

Imagine you had a leaking tap in your bathroom? And you didn’t notice. And it kept dripping and started creating a small flow of water that needed to escape. So it finds a way through a crack in the tiles. And it keeps leaking and leaking. And then there is a funny smell. And you notice but don’t address it. And before you know it you have a damp issue and a big problem to fix. It’s important to notice.

So all I would encourage you to do as a first step is to notice how you feel.

Notice what might cause you stress and then you can work on a plan to reduce the stress in your life. I will be writing a couple of blogs around relaxation which will really help you reduce stress.

Take an easy step to reducing stress and relaxing by joining the 21 Day Wellbeing Challenge

It is called a challenge but it’s easy! I promise you will feel less stressed at the end. Sign up now!