Almost everyone has felt this way. Stress is a normal reaction to the challenges we face in our lives.
If you learn to understand stress and how it makes you feel and act, you can learn to manage it. And when you can manage your stress, you’ll be able to feel better.
Think for a moment about the last time you felt stressed, or saw somebody else who was stressed.
Now see if you agree or disagree with these statements.
When you learn to manage stress, you’ll feel better.
When you learn to manage stress, you’ll feel better.
In small amounts, stress can help to motivate us.
It’s also your body’s way of staying safe when something gives you a fright.
If a dog barks at you on the way to school, a special part of your brain called the hypothalamus will set off an alarm in your body.
When your alarm system goes off, your body will respond by giving you the energy, speed and reflexes you need to keep yourself safe. This is called the flight or flight response.
Stress is a common, everyday part of life! Everyone feels stress from time to time
Stress is a common, everyday part of life! Everyone feels stress from time to time
Some people get stressed very easily, while others don’t get stressed very often.
One person might become quiet and want to stay in bed when they are stressed, while another person might find it hard to sit still and choose to go for a run.
Knowing what stress feels like in your body will help you to know when to take extra care of yourself.
At the end of this program, you will have some ideas of what stress feels like for you.
Eg: One person might feel really upset and teary when they are stressed while another might feel irritated.
Eg: One person might feel really upset and teary when they are stressed while another might feel irritated.
Everybody has different signs and symptoms of stress.
Knowing the signs and symptoms for your body can help you manage stress.
The ways your body changes when you are stressed are sometimes easy to notice, but sometimes they are harder to spot. For example, some people clench their jaw when they are stressed, but they don’t realise they were doing it until their jaw becomes sore. Other people feel their heart beating really fast, or they start to sweat and turn red. These signs and symptoms are easier to notice.
As you read on, you will learn about things you can do in the moment and every day to support your mental health and wellbeing.
When others are stressed, especially close family and friends, it can make you feel stressed too. If you notice someone around you is stressed, make sure you take extra good care of yourself so you avoid becoming too stressed.
Even if you don’t get stressed very often, knowing how to support others who are stressed can help to build a supportive community.
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