AUSTIN, Texas — The month of April is recognized as Stress Awareness Month, and a local expert wants to bring attention to the importance of understanding and managing stress.
Dr. Allison Chase, regional clinical director at Pathlight Mood & Anxiety Center in Austin, said stress is a major contributor to mental and physical health issues. In fact, chronic stress is linked to the six leading causes of death, including heart disease, cancer, lung ailments, accidents, cirrhosis of the liver and suicide, according to the American Psychological Association.
"I think that the greatest concern about chronic stress is the impact it has, physiologically, on the body. It can be it can be very concerning, as it creates great problems for all of our internal working systems," Chase said.
Chase said having your body work in overdrive like that, both in your head psychologically and what's happening in the brain, can cause fatigue and sleep problems and eating problems.
Red flags of stress include distinct change in how one is functioning, less energy, constant irritability and exhaustion.
"They are bailing out from doing other activities. If you're hearing it from a friend or a loved one, just how overwhelmed they are and they are having trouble functioning and coping, then it's going to be really important that you let them know that you're there as a form of support," Chase said. "It's not always easy to tell somebody what to do or how to do it, but you can help support them and work with them to figure out what can be most impactful."
To combat this, Chase said, first and foremost, acknowledge that it's going on. If you do have chronic stress, recognize all the parts in which you're being impacted.
"So having that kind of awareness is, first and foremost, going to be very important because then that will help them to be able to look at what they need to change, what they need to do differently, and how they can best take care of themselves," Chase said.
Pathlight Mood & Anxiety offers free assessments to those struggling to make sense of what level of care they need. Chase said it's important that people look at their lifestyle.
"A lot of times, it means taking space for oneself. Sometimes, it means taking five minutes just to stop and sit and breathe. It's not super comfortable, but it's really, really important because the breathing itself, the impact that it has on calming down the entire nervous system, is really incredible," Chase said.
It's also recommended to look into how you can get involved in hobbies that bring joy, as contrast to the other things that bring on stress.
"Looking for ways to spend quality time with people in your life as well, so there are a number of different things that one can do. It's going to be really important to figure out what works for you," Chase said.
Learn more about how to schedule a free assessment with professionals.