Wellbeing | Stress, money and mental health at work

Stress is a completely natural part of being a human. Our stress response evolved to create a series of physiological changes that enable us to react quickly in life-threatening situations.

Fortunately, most of us now face a very low risk of being eaten by a lion or leopard during our day to day lives. We do, however, still come across situations that trigger a stress response. Some can be major, like the loss of a loved one or a car accident; some are less major, like a work deadline or a delayed commuter train.

This is a generally accepted part of modern life and sometimes a stress response is appropriate and can help push through an intense situation. But there can also be points where the stress goes from being a motivator to being more than an individual can cope with. Typically this occurs if an individual's stress response is triggered repeatedly and can lead to the negative feelings commonly associated with stress.

What is the impact of stress?