Stress

Stress is often described as feeling overloaded, wound-up, tense and worried, and occurs when we face a situation we feel we can’t cope with.

While stress is usually referred to as a negative experience, not all stress is bad. Some stress can be helpful, motivating us to get a task finished, or spurring us to perform well.

However, if stress is ongoing or the stress response continues over a long period, the effects of stress can impact negatively on our physical and mental health.

A number of treatment approaches have been found to effectively reduce stress. These include cognitive behavioural stress management, stress inoculation training, mindfulness-based stress reduction, and a range of relaxation-based approaches.