With modern life placing more demands than ever on our time and energy levels, it’s not unusual to find ourselves feeling overwhelmed, stressed, or in a state of anxiety as we attempt to navigate many of life’s challenges. Whilst these feelings we experience are not unusual, it can be helpful to understand how to manage them when they do occur.
In this blog, we’ll discover the impact that stress can have on your health and learn how meditation and mindfulness practice can help with stress reduction.
Understanding Stress and Anxiety
As humans, we will have experienced stress at one time or another in our lives. You might associate it with feeling overwhelmed, fearful, or out of your comfort zone. The term ‘stress’ is used to describe a whole range of emotions that we may experience when we feel challenged or threatened.
Stress is a normal human reaction, and each of us will have different stressors or . Our bodies are designed with a stress response that is evolutionary and has kept us safe for thousands of years. This survival mechanism triggers the release of hormones in the body, which helps the mind and body take action.
Anxiety is different from stress and often feels less explainable. Whereas with stress, we usually know what is causing it, anxiety can hit out of nowhere, making it more challenging to control. When we experience excessive worry about things happening around us, or the possibility of something happening in the future, this is anxiety.