By Nathan Fligelman

Stress is a natural response elicited by the body that enables humans change, adapt, and protect themselves. Stress frequently provides the foundation for both motivation and the desire for any form of necessary self-improvement. It’s the force that propels a student to submit their homework 10 minutes before deadline on a lazy Friday night. It’s the force that powers a firefighter to save people from a burning home. Stress is the force that elicits an athlete’s best performance when their team is playing in the championship round. Stress, to put it simply, is a critical force of life; without this emotion, society, technology, and every other aspect of humanity would not be nearly as advanced as it is in modern times.

Stress is pivotal, but it can also be harmful and can even become a daily hindrance. Many people deal with the symptoms of over-stress, and a large population across the globe has stress-centric disorders that can lead to a deficiency in mental and physical health. For example, gastrointestinal issues, heart-related complications, and chemical imbalances in the brain and nervous system are all possible, and potentially severe, byproduct symptoms of constant stress. Stress can also contribute to mental health disorders, such as anxiety, depression, and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

In order to educate about dangers of stress, and to widely offer a plethora of methods and resources to help deal with this common ailment, the U.S. has designated the first Wednesday in November as National Stress Awareness Day. In order to ‘observe’ this day, people around the country are encouraged to take some time to relax and/or enjoy themselves! In addition, those dealing with a particular source of stress, or an enhanced level of stress are advised to seek help or engage in stress relief activities. These can include going for a walk, exercising, getting a massage, taking a nap, meditating, practicing yoga, or listening to music.

Longer-term, it is recommended that people suffering from interfering symptoms of stress should seek the advice and professional help of a doctor, develop a consistent and functional sleep schedule, ensure that they are partaking in work and hobbies that satisfy them, and, most importantly, identify/recognize and combat the stress on a daily basis. Check out these stress management strategies from the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) to learn more.