Stress

Learning to recognise when your stress levels are increasing can help you manage stress proactively.

Stress is a normal response to everyday challenges. This isn't always a bad thing – low levels of stress can motivate us to reach our full potential. But too much stress can negatively affect our health and quality of life.

Being able to recognise when your stress levels are becoming unhealthy enables you to take action to manage the stress and stop it from escalating.

Recognising signs of stress

Stress can affect everyone differently, but there are common signs that can indicate when stress levels are increasing.

Signs to look out for include:

• appetite changes
• increased caffeine, alcohol or nicotine use
• headaches, or muscle aches and pains
• nausea
• fatigue
• lack of enthusiasm
• forgetfulness
• impaired judgement or difficulty making decisions
• negative thoughts
• depression.

Managing stress

One of the simplest and most effective ways to manage stress is to maintain a healthy, balanced lifestyle.

Things you can do that may help you manage your stress levels include:

• maintaining a balanced diet
• exercising regularly
• getting quality sleep
• doing planned relaxation or mindfulness activities
• improving your time management skills
• setting effective goals
• keeping a daily journal
• talking to other people.