April is Stress Awareness Month. We all have levels of stress within our lives. It isn’t possible to live a life with zero stress and actually a little bit of stress can have some benefits such as helping to boost brainpower and build resilience.

However, when we have too much stress, it can be detrimental. Chronic stress can increase the risk of mental health problems such as anxiety and depression, cause sleep problems, headaches, high blood pressure and many other health problems.

There are ways to recognise if stress has become an issue in your life. Do you feel irritable, impatient, wound up, overwhelmed, anxious, depressed, can’t switch off?

Physical symptoms include:- panic attacks, sleep problems, fatigue, heartburn, headaches and indigestion.

Behaviour indicators may include:- not being able to make decisions, trouble concentrating, memory problems, nail biting, grinding teeth, smoking more, using alcohol more, being restless.

As you can see from the list of problems that stress can cause, it is a good idea to practice some stress management techniques on a daily basis to keep stress at a manageable level so that you are not waiting until stress has become too much and has made you ill.

Some stress management techniques include:- guided meditations, deep breathing/breathing exercises, physical exercise, good nutrition, managing social time, connecting with other.

For further information go to www.stress.org.uk or ni.stresscontrol.org have free online stress control courses.