We all know the obvious stresses like work and money but what are the ones we are surrounded by that often get overlooked.

According to the NHS, stress is the feeling of being under too much mental or emotional pressure. Pressure turns into stress when you feel unable to cope. Here are some emotional signs of stress:

• Depression
• Anxiety
• Irritability
• Low sex drive
• Memory and concentration problems
• Compulsive behaviour
• Mood swings

Patience

I was brought up in the 80’s and I used to play a ZX Spectrum +2. You’d load a game and you could go away and have your tea before it would have loaded up. Sometimes it would crash at 90% and you had to load it up all over again! The point I’m making is that I’ve noticed my own children have terrible patience. If they press a button on the TV and it doesn’t happen instantly, they press it again and again!

I embrace technology but I think it has a lot to answer for. We are living in a modern world where we do expect things instantly. Take fibre broadband as an example, we can surf the internet all day every day and we even stream TV. We have a few spots in our house where the internet can be intermittent and it’s so frustrating! Especially when you’re in the middle of something. So technology and our patience plays a big part in our mental health and sometimes we don’t even realise it.

Notifications

This is also technology related but it’s something that can quite often get out of control. If I ever see a little number next to an app, I just have to see what it’s all about. Most of the time though, it’s nothing exciting (no offence!) but it certainly wasn’t worth me giving up what I was doing and checking straight away. This is why turning off your notifications can be a great thing. I often spend lots of time messaging people in various WhatsApp groups, I’ll send one and while I’m typing in another group there’s a reply in the previous group. I know sometimes it’s easier to message people and we need answers at times but can’t it just wait?

Behind The Wheel

This is probably an obvious one but it’s worth briefly chatting about. Some people once they’re behind the wheel of a car think they’re invincible and hard as nails, haha. I know it’s difficult when someone cuts you up or pulls out in front of you but if it’s not life threatening, try not to get too worked up about it. I appreciate this is easier said than done and I’ve been known to blow my top in the car before but it’s honestly not worth it. Try listening to some classical music as you’re driving, I find this has a calming influence on me.

People have different ways of reacting to stress, so a situation that feels stressful to one person may be motivating to someone else. As I’ve got older and because of some personal issues, I often take a step back and ask myself, is this situation worth stressing over? 99% of the time it isn’t and it really works for me.

Try it yourself! When you can feel yourself getting worked up, think about this article and count to five. Good luck!