Stress
What is Stress?
Probably the most commonly experienced mental health problem is stress, which almost everyone experiences to some extent at some point in their lives, regardless of their age, gender or race. Stress can be a useful and appropriate emotional experience which we experience at times when we are under emotional or mental pressure, and it signals to us that we are not coping very well.
Some significant triggers of stress for young people can be leaving School or College and having to adapt to a new way of life, changing relationships with friends, parents, colleagues and partners, and rapidly increasing work-loads from College, University, or employment.
What are the Symptoms of Stress?
Stress affects everybody in a different way, however, you may notice that you:
- Are more irritable or anxious than usual
- Are low in mood or self-esteem
- Have racing thoughts
- Worry constantly
- Imagine the worst
- Go over and over things
- Drink more alcohol or smoke more than usual
- Find it very difficult to relax or concentrate
- Eat more or less than usual
- Feel unsociable
- Become forgetful or clumsy
- Headaches
- Muscle tension and pain
- Stomach problems
- Sweating
- Feeling dizzy or out of breath
- Dry mouth