People know April for Easter, longer days and warmer weather. April is also known as National Stress Awareness Month.
Stress is defined as a feeling of emotional or physical tension. There are two different types of stress: acute stress and chronic stress. Acute stress is short-term stress that passes quickly. Chronic stress, on the other hand, is stress that lasts for weeks or even months. Stress has a lot of causes, such as financial problems, too many responsibilities, working long hours and ending a relationship.
According to a survey done in October 2022, 62% of women between the ages of 18 and 34 reported that they were overwhelmed with stress. 51% of men in the same age category said the same thing. The survey revealed that three-quarters, or 76%, of the adults who did the survey said that some aspects of their lives were negatively impacted by the stress that they experience in life. With teens, it’s a different story. 70% of teenagers in the U.S. say that anxiety or depression are major issues among their peers. Another 75% of high school students and 50% of middle school students say that they are consistently stressed due to schoolwork. The average stress level in teenagers is a 5.8 on a 10-point scale, while with adults it’s a 4.6 for men and a 5.3 for women.
When someone starts feeling stressed, there can be different symptoms or signs that one is stressed. The symptoms can be mental or physical. Some mental symptoms include a hot temper, anxiety, not being able to enjoy activities or even depression. Physical symptoms, on the other hand, include difficulty breathing, panic attacks, sleep problems, headaches and sudden weight gain or loss. If someone’s stress level is high, the symptoms can worsen over time, and can lead to health problems, like Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, also known as ‘Broken Heart’ syndrome, and secondary amenorrhoea. ‘Broken Heart’ syndrome can feel similar to a heart attack, and secondary amenorrhoea is when a woman doesn’t get their period for three or more months.
Stress comes in many different forms, and with that comes different ways of overcoming the stress. Five ways people can overcome stress are balancing work and home, getting regular exercise, eating well, limiting the amount of alcohol and stimulants someone might consume and connecting with people who understand the stress someone is going through. When someone does these things, it can reduce their stress levels, making them feel less stressed or not stressed at all.
People feel stressed all the time, whether it’s due to school or their personal life. With stress comes different symptoms, mental and physical, but there are also different ways to overcome it.
