Feeling Stressed?

Today is National Stress Awareness day but it just so happens to also be National Youth Work week.

We sat down with Katie Douglass a youth worker, counsellor and hypnotherapist to talk about stress and how it affects young people.

ZILLO: Hi Katie, what actually is stress?

Put very simply, stress is our body’s natural reaction to feeling under threat or pressure. Stress is normal but if we have too much for too long it can have negative affect on our physical and mental health.

ZILLO: How does it affect us?

There are different ways it affects us. Low level stress is helpful and motivational. For example, when we want to win a game or pass an exam a stress response helps us to focus and do our best. The impact of higher stress levels is not so positive. Too much stress can affect your emotional health it can make you feel pretty grumpy, anxious and feel out of control.

You know your feeling stressed out when you start to feel: overwhelmed, struggling with confidence, having trouble sleeping, feeling tired all the time, getting snappy with people, your appetite is changing and you may just feel really emotional and feel like you really just can’t cope.

ZILLO: Why is it important for young people to manage their stress?

Life is hard. Everyone experiences their own levels of stress, so I can't say that someone should, or shouldn’t feel stressed. What I can tell you is that being in a constant state of stress is bad for you emotionally and physically. Stress can give you headaches, tummy aches, an aching jaw or a fuzzy mind. It might make you bite your fingernails, self-harm, drink alcohol, use drugs or smoke. These things all help you to change the way you 'feel', but there are also more positive ways to manage stress.

ZILLO: Why do you think young people are affected by stress so much?

Being a young person is full of complicated feelings, choices and pressures. If I asked you I bet you could make a list really quickly of why you and your friends feel stressed. Everyday I speak to young people who worry about big serious life changing things, but also little everyday things. TikTok, Instagram, and snapchat, can be fun, but can also cause massive anxiety. Pressure to look a certain way, be a particular size, have straight hair, big lips, perfect eyebrows, or a six pack. Pressure to act in certain ways – go out with your mates or stay in with your family, do your homework, get a job, look after your little sister – the list is endless. It also unique to you which is why we shouldn’t compare our lives to our friends, everyone deals with stuff in their own way.

ZILLO: If a young person is having difficulty managing how they respond to stressful situations what tips do you have to help them?

Talk to an adult that you trust. Don’t worry about things on your own. Make a plan to feel more organised. List all the things that are stressing you out and decide what you can do about them. Walk outside. Play a sport. Do a craft. Don’t let things become too big to handle. Trust in yourself. Support your friends and ask them to support you. Count your breath in the moment. Be organised. Tidy your room. Meditate or complete a daily app. Whatever you do find the way that works best for you.

ZILLO: What advice would you give a young person reading this who might be having trouble with their mental health?

Don’t panic. Talk about it to an adult that you trust. If you go to a Wirral secondary school you can speak to your HSIS Youth Worker. If not ask a sports coach, youth worker, form tutor, counsellor, uncle, older cousin, or foster carer. Basically, just find the person that you trust will listen to you. Believe me, it might not work straight away (there’s no such thing as magic wands) but it does help. It’s a start and every journey starts with the first step. It might feel scary, unmanageable or just plain stupid, but really it’s not. Your mental health and wellbeing are important and need to be taken care of just as much as your physical health.

Katie is a Health Services in Schools Youth Worker. To find out more about Health Services in Schools check out local services.