Stress and it's impact on your body

There is both good and bad stress in our lives. Early signs of increased bad stress can be that you feel irritable, angry, anxious or unable to enjoy yourself. Physically if you take a moment and tune into your body you may notice signs such as difficulty breathing, sleep problems, feeling fatigued, you may have gained or lost weight.

The combination of emotional and physical symptoms of stress can have long lasting impacts on our bodies and how they function. We can dismiss the effects perhaps when we are in our early years, in our 20s and 30s however we are seeing more and more cases occurring in those in their late 30s, 40s and beyond that have had the compounded effects of stress and not stopped to address them.

Finding the balance both in your work and home life is essential.

So, what can you do if you have noticed signs of elevated stress:

• Seek out support by talking to someone you trust to help you organise yourself.

• Take at least 5 to 10 minutes a day and tune into yourself, how are you feeling? This is important to understand yourself better. In this exercise, close your eyes and ask your body where it feels pain, this will be the first step in listening to your body’s signals. Make a note and over time if a few symptoms continue to show up, reach out for support.

• Journalling is a useful tool as writing out what you have felt or done over the course of a day will help to identify patterns and give you an understanding and even appreciation of what you are up to.

• When in doubt, take a walk. May seem so silly but getting some fresh air is what also helps your body deal with stress in a better way. It can be a quick walk around the block

• Incorporate a daily breathing exercise, just a few deep breathes every 2 hours can do wonders for your body managing stress. We swear by the 4-4-6 Breathe (Breathe in for 4, Hold for 4 and Breathe out for 6)

There are of course many other things that you could be doing to manage stress, but in the first instance, identify the stress that is impacting you is the best place to start.