Stress

Stress is something that we have all heard about and experienced and there is a lot of misinformation about what it is and is not. While there is no agreed upon definition of what stress actually is, there are some widely accepted parts of stress that healthcare professionals across the world agree upon, such as:

  • stress is something we will all experience and cannot love without
  • it is mainly a response to a demand or challenge within the body
  • it can be either bad (distress) or good (eustress) based on one’s experiences and desired response to the stressor (ie. the thing causing the stress)
  • it enables us to ‘sharpen’ our focus and strength levels for short time periods in order to respond to the stressor
  • it causes the release of hormones in the body (eg. cortisol and adrenaline) to make the body respond and if it continues for too long it will break the body down and lead to exhaustion
  • it has been linked to many illnesses such as heart attacks, mental illnesses, high blood pressure, and many more
  • it can cause disruptions to sleep patterns keeping us up at night and/or waking us up throughout our sleep
  • and much more

Stress Related Videos

Managing Stress (2:23)

How to Make Stress Your Friend (13:28)

How Stress Affects Your Body (4:42)

How stress influences your brain (4:15)

Positive effects of stress (4:01)

Can Stress Kill You? (3:07)