You are in: Home > Heart Information > Reducing The Risks > Reduce Stress
Reduce Stress
What is stress?
Stress is an everyday term that is used when you feel overwhelmed with the pressures of everyday life, or if you are faced with a situation that makes you feel anxious.
Stress can be difficult to measure. It may build up quickly e.g.when you are in a traffic jam. Sometimes it is ongoing such as a having a difficult or demanding job.
Stress is not always a bad thing. It is an inevitable part of everyday life and you need a degree of stress to make you perform well. Stress is your body's natural way of preparing you to deal with physical or emotional demands; good or bad.
Stress triggers the release of adrenaline into the bloodstream which increases the heart rate and oxygen levels to the heart and muscles. These physical reactions help the body cope when faced with a 'dangerous' situation, but can also cause the symptoms that make you feel anxious and stressed.
Stress has not been proven to cause heart disease. However, when it begins to affect your health e.g. tension pains in the neck or back, disturbed sleep or increased anxiety, stress can become a trigger for unhelpful behaviours such as smoking, drinking too much alcohol, eating poorly and not getting enough physical activity.
These behaviours can increase your risk of heart disease. To make the necessary lifestyle changes that may reduce your risk of heart disease it is important to be well motivated and to learn to reduce, and control, the amount of stress in your life and to recognise if you are down or possibly depressed.
Back to top
Recognising stress
Some people who have lived with a high level of stress over a long period of time are not really aware of being stressed or their inability to relax. Tell tale signs of stress building up include:
- Feeling frustrated and irritable finding concentrating and decision making more difficult
- Always feeling there are things you have to do or that there is never enough time to do everything
- Not being able to sleep properly for things running through your mind
- Muscles in your shoulders and neck being tensed up or having a clenched fist without realising it
Speak to your doctor if you think you might need some help.
Back to top
What triggers your stress?
Keeping a diary of when you feel most stressed or hassled can be a start to understanding how you cope with stress. This will tell you what kind of situation makes you feel a certain way. It is also helpful to try and think about how you reacted in certain situations:
- Did you feel yourself tense up?
- Did your emotions get the better of you?
- Did you do something to calm yourself down or make yourself feel better such as having a cigarette, an alcoholic drink or eating unhealthy food?
Back to top
Reviewing your life and priorities
Recognising a pattern in the way you behave can help you to look for other ways of coping with stress that are less harmful.
- Once you recognise your stress 'triggers' you can consciously try to relax in these situations by stretching tense muscles, breathing slowly and putting things into perspective.
- At work, take jobs in order of importance and try to plan ahead.
- You may have to make difficult decisions about your future e.g. changing to a less stressful job.
- Use exercise to help you relax.
- Watch your alcohol intake. Having a drink to calm your nerves can be the beginning of heavier and problem drinking.
- Learning breathing exercises and relaxation techniques can help.
Back to top
Advice Line
Latest News
CHSS Campaigns