Stress is the body’s way of responding to demands or pressures. Everyone feels stressed from time to time, and not all stress is bad. Prolonged exposure to stress, or intense stress, can have negative effects. People respond to and recover from stress differently.

The three different types of stress that carry physical and mental health risks:

Routine stress: Related to the pressures of work, family and other daily responsibilities

Stress brought about by a sudden negative change: Experienced when losing a job, divorce, or illness

Traumatic stress: Experienced in an event like a major accident, war, assault, or a natural disaster where one may be seriously hurt or in danger of being killed.

What can be done?

It’s important to know your limits when it comes to stress to avoid more serious health problems. Many things can trigger stress, including changes to your lifestyle or working environment.

There are a range of treatments, health professionals and services available to help and many things that people can do to help themselves. Tackling the underlying source of the problem, good time management and relaxation strategies may help.

What help is there?

Using relaxation and monitoring apps may also help to calm the individual. See: https://eapassist.com.au/wellness-apps/

Grounding Techniques help to keep someone in the present. They help reorient a person to the here-and-now and in reality. Grounding skills can help manage overwhelming feelings or intense anxiety. They help someone to regain their mental focus from an often intensely emotional state. Grounding skills occur within two specific approaches: Sensory Awareness and Cognitive Awareness. For digital Stress Management programs see: https://eapassist.com.au/digital/