Stress isn’t always bad. Stress helped us make smart, speedy decisions throughout human history, keeping us safe from predators and risky situations. The issue, though, is that we usually don’t need to run from snakes or badgers anymore. Today, our stress response doesn’t necessarily encourage us to action. Instead, it often lingers, taking a toll over time. To combat that, we’re celebrating April 16 as National Stress Awareness Day.

Why April 16

The date of this “holiday” isn’t random. Instead, people picked the 16th because it falls the day after taxes are due. With that sizable source of stress behind us, the hope is that we can use the 16th to decompress.

Plus, the 16th falls almost right in the middle of Stress Awareness Month.

But how do you know if you need to take National Stress Awareness Day/Month seriously? Let’s look at some of the biggest indicators that stress is playing an overly large role in your life.

Identifying stress

It’s normal to get stressed out from time to time. But if you have chronic stress — stress that stays persistent for an extended period — you might start to notice its negative effects on your life.

Mentally, stress can make you feel anxious, sad, and irritable. It can contribute to mental health conditions like major depressive disorder (depression) and panic attacks, too.

Physically, stress also wreaks havoc all over your body. You might get:

• Headaches
• Chest pain
• Clenching in your jaw
• Exhaustion
• General aches and pains
• The sensation that your heart is racing
• High blood pressure
• Digestive problems

Plus, stress can make it easier to get sick.

The issues don’t stop there. When you’re stressed, you usually look for ways to soothe yourself. While there are plenty of healthy self-soothing tools, it’s easy to fall into overeating, drinking too much, or smoking. It’s not uncommon for people to struggle with addictions — whether that’s to gambling, shopping, drugs, or something else — because they sought something out to bring them stress relief.

Clearly, stress is a serious issue. In honor of Stress Awareness Day, we want to call attention to all of this. But we also don’t want to leave you empty-handed.

Tips to manage stress

Here’s the good news: researchers have extensively studied stress and we know about a lot of tools that can help. Here are a few ways you can help to reduce the impacts of stress in your life:

Get some exercise.

Even a short walk can help your body make less cortisol, the stress hormone, while creating more endorphins, which help you to feel relaxed. If you’re feeling tense, try even just 15 minutes of your favorite form of exercise.

Practice gratitude.

Sometimes, stress develops because of our frame of mind. In our busy world, it’s easy to get caught up in the continual demands to get things done. Gratitude gives you a way to challenge that.

Try sitting for five minutes and making a list of three+ things you’re grateful for in your life. It could be people, the chance to live on the California coast, your favorite neighborhood coffee shop, the big tree by your house, your pet — anything that puts a smile on your face. By taking a pause to reflect on the good parts of your life, you directly combat stress.

Learn to say no.

We only have 24 hours in the day. That does not mean you should be using all of them for productivity, either. While it’s important to handle the necessities in your life, like meeting deadlines at work or school or grocery shopping so you can feed yourself, many of us add more to our plate than we truly need. If you regularly feel stressed, evaluate your commitments and routines. Look for opportunities to eliminate things, maybe even just for a time until you feel like you’re in a more balanced place.

Take care of yourself.

Doing seemingly basic things, like eating healthily and getting enough sleep, can make stress easier to manage. Check in with your physical and mental needs and make sure you’re not pushing them to the back burner.

These are just a few ideas to get you started. For more stress-management resources, check out this list from the National Institute on Mental Illness (NAMI).

Speaking of extra resources, our team of therapists is here to help. If you want tools to better identify the sources of stress in your life and better manage the stress you’re feeling, talk to us.