1. What is Stress?
2. Signs of too much stress, or ‘burnout’
3. How to cut stress & burnout
1. What is Stress?
As the UK NHS says, “Stress is the body’s reaction to feeling threatened or under pressure. It’s very common, can stir us to help achieve things in our daily life, and can help us meet the demands of home, work and family life.
But too much stress can affect our mood, our body and our relationships – especially when it feels out of our control. It can make us feel anxious and irritable, and badly affect how we see ourselves”.
Experiencing a lot of stress over a long period of time can also lead to us feeling totally exhausted. This is often called ‘burnout’. Read what a worker in finance said about his stress. So we could need to reduce stress!
2. Signs of too much stress, or burnout
If you are stressed again and again, you may:
3. How to reduce stress & burnout
3.1. The UK NHS tips on dealing with stress and burnout should help you, but if you have been experiencing stress for some time and it’s affecting your daily life or causing you distress, you should seek further support.
3.2. So you can call NHS 111 or talk to your GP. In the UK you can refer yourself for ‘Talking Therapy’ through the NHS IAPT service without seeing your GP.
3.3. Regular exercise helps you reduce stress and improve mental health.
3.4. Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a digestive and gut disorder that affects about 20% of people around the world. It’s the most common gastrointestinal diagnosis and the second most common cause of absence from work. “IBS is a long term condition that you’ll need to manage,” says Dr Roshaan Saloojee, a Livi GP. it’s widely accepted that there is a strong link between gut health and mental health, as a result of what’s known as the gut-brain axis. By learning to manage your anxiety and stress levels, you may be able to minimise your IBS symptoms too. A survey of IBS patients found that most of them also suffered from depression.
Common IBS symptoms include: Cramping, Abdominal pain, Bloating, Gas, Diarrhoea and/or constipation. “Symptoms tend to come and go,” says Dr Saloojee. “They can last days, weeks or months and can vary in severity.” Dr Saloojee’s tips for reducing symptoms are:
3.5. And here are 12 extra ways to reduce stress and cut blood pressure, without drugs.
page updated 2 March 2022. © 2022 social enterprise Diabetes-cutmyrisks.co.uk.™ Ltd.