World Stress Day, 3rd November 2010

Stress is a term we use a lot nowadays, and world stress day (today!) is designed to highlight how many of us suffer from it.  There seem many reasons for this, including  the many pressures we experience  at work and at home (pressure is the term used to define events/requirements that are external to us - these can cause stress if we find them difficult or anxiety provoking in some way or other).  Managing stress, in this sense, is something we can do in addressing how we respond to the pressures we have to deal with.  This can be as simple as introducing coping strategies, such as exercise and relaxation, using techniques to worry less (such as identifying cognitive distortions such as when you are thinking in very unrealistic or catastrophic ways about what might happen) or indeed just planning your time more effectively.  Sometimes though the pressures themselves need to be addressed. It might be that you really do just have too much work to do, or are committed to things in your life that just are unmanageable.  Distinguishing between pressures and stress is important, because it allows you to work out what changes you need to make to feel better, and to combat stress for good.