Stress Awareness Month April 2026 – Feeling Overwhelmed and Taking Action #BeTheChange
- Derek Flint BSc (PNCPS)
- Mar 31
- 6 min read
Stress Awareness Month 2026
“Why do I feel wired but tired?”
“Why can’t I relax, even when I get the chance?”
"What do I feel so angry when I shouldn't?"
"Why do I feel guilty all the time?"
These are some of the most common questions people ask during Stress Awareness Month. And the answer isn’t always obvious.
Understanding Stress – It's Not Just What You Think About!
Stress is a full-body experience. Your nervous system is constantly scanning for danger.
Sometimes that danger is real. More often, it’s perceived. It is a flight or fight response to when we feel or perceive some sort of risk to us. How we respond can impact how we deal with it. We talk about an optimum place for dealing with stress and refer to this as the Window of Tolerance. The opposites of this are Hyperarousal - when things are too much and the stress is overwhelming. The other end of the spectrum is Hypoarousal when we have just had too much. Think of your mind like this:
A lizard brain that reacts fast and keeps you safe instinctively, sleeps and drinks etc.
An ape brain that plans and reasons - rational and logical
A hamster brain that looks for danger asking "am I safe?" - emotional and irrational
The hamster doesn’t stop just because you want it to. It keeps going until something interrupts it. That may be doing something to remove, reduce or avoid the situation. Going for a walk; listening to music; taking a shower for instance.
We often talk about an optimum zone for managing stress known as the Window of Tolerance. This is the space where you feel relatively balanced, able to think clearly, respond rather than react, and cope with what’s in front of you. When stress pushes beyond that window, we can move into hyperarousal, where everything feels too much. This might show up as anxiety, irritability, racing thoughts, or feeling constantly on edge. At the other end is hypoarousal, which can happen when stress has been ongoing or overwhelming for too long. Instead of feeling heightened, you might feel shut down, flat, disconnected, or exhausted. Understanding this range helps make sense of why we don’t always respond to stress in the same way, and why bringing ourselves back into that middle ground is often the aim.
Stress as a Build-Up - Looking for Pre-Cursors
Stress in everyday life rarely stems from one big thing. It can and does and that's where trauma may arise form. Normally, in day-to-day living, it is usually lots of small things all building up. It is like a bath. Each stressor adds water and without release, the level rises. Most people don’t notice stress early. They notice it when it’s already overflowing. And it is down to us to notice the taps are on and the plug is in. If we don't do something the bath will overflow.
What Are the Indicators?
When stress goes unmanaged, it often shows up as things 'coming out sideways' in unintended ways like:
Irritability - toward others people or things; maybe a bit of road rage/crying over spilled milk.
Difficulty concentrating or focusing.
Feeling overwhelmed - wanting to stay in bed or avoiding doing the things you enjoy.
Sleep issues - wanting to sleep too much or being unable to sleep/waking up.
Emotional numbness - feeling meh! No joy or excitement whilst feeling bored.
At that point, it’s not about coping better - It’s about reducing the load. Remove/reduce/avoid it.
Practical Ways to Manage Stress
You don’t need to do everything. Just start somewhere.
Create space in your day - Even short breaks matter.
Limit mental overload - Not everything needs your full attention.
Stay connected - Isolation increases stress.
Be realistic - You can’t do everything, all the time.
This can look like taking time out, using an app like insight Timer to do short breaks and breathing techniques/exercises. Reading, taking a shower or calling a loved one.
The Role of Nutrition in Stress
Stress and nutrition are closely linked. When your body is under-fuelled or overstimulated (caffeine, sugar), your nervous system becomes more reactive. Simple changes can help:
Eat regularly
Reduce reliance on quick fixes
Support your body with steady energy
You can speak to a nutritionist for specific advice about mental health and wellbeing and how what we eat can influence it. See this blog or contact Chloe directly here
Counselling and Stress
Counselling gives you space to step back. Not to escape stress, but to understand it. It can help you:
Identify patterns
Explore underlying pressures
Develop new ways of responding
Often, people realise their stress isn’t just about now… it’s connected to how they’ve learned to cope over time.
Stress Awareness Month April 2026 – #BeTheChange
This year’s message is about ownership. Not blame. But responsibility. You may not control everything happening around you. But you can influence how you respond.
When Stress Becomes the Background Noise
One of the more subtle problems with stress is that it doesn’t always feel dramatic.
It can become quiet. Constant. Almost invisible. You might still be functioning. Still getting things done. Still showing up.
But underneath that, there’s a steady hum:
A slight tension in your body
A mind that rarely switches off
A feeling of always being “on”
Over time, this becomes familiar. And what’s familiar often gets accepted.
People start to say things like:
“That’s just life”
“Everyone feels like this”
“I just need to push through”
But there’s a difference between something being common… and something being sustainable.
Part of Stress Awareness Month is about noticing that difference.
Why Slowing Down Can Feel Uncomfortable
It might sound strange, but for many people, slowing down actually increases discomfort at first.
When things go quiet, the hamster brain often gets louder. Thoughts that were pushed aside start to come forward:
Worries about the future
Unfinished tasks
Self-doubt
Lingering emotions
So instead of rest feeling restful, it can feel uneasy. This is why many people stay busy.
Not because they want to… but because it feels easier than stopping. Understanding this can be helpful. It’s not that you’re “bad at relaxing.” It’s that your system isn’t used to it yet. And like anything unfamiliar, it takes time.
Stress and the Need to “Keep Going”
There’s often an underlying belief that drives stress: “I need to keep going, no matter what.”
This can come from:
Work expectations
Family roles
Past experiences
Internal standards
On the surface, it can look like resilience. But over time, it can lead to depletion. Because even the most capable people have limits. Recognising those limits isn’t weakness. It’s awareness. And awareness is what allows change to happen.
Turning the Tap Down, Not Just Coping with the Water
A lot of stress advice focuses on coping. Breathing techniques. Mindfulness. Distraction.
These are useful. But they only address part of the problem. If the taps are still running at full speed, the bath will keep filling. So alongside coping strategies, there’s another question worth asking:
What’s keeping the taps on?
That might include:
Saying yes too often
Unrealistic expectations
Avoiding difficult conversations
Trying to meet everyone else’s needs first
Reducing stress isn’t just about managing the symptoms. It’s about gently adjusting what’s feeding it.
Letting Things Be “Good Enough”
Perfection and stress often go hand in hand. The pressure to:
Get everything right
Be available all the time
Stay on top of everything
…can quietly increase the load. Sometimes, reducing stress means allowing things to be:
Good enough
Done rather than perfect
Shared rather than carried alone
This isn’t about lowering standards completely. It’s about making them realistic.
Building Something More Sustainable
The aim isn’t to remove stress entirely. That wouldn’t be realistic. The aim is to build a way of living where stress doesn’t take over.
Where:
You notice it earlier
You respond sooner
You give yourself space before things overflow
This is where small, consistent changes matter more than big, short-term ones.
Coming Back to #BeTheChange
The message behind #BeTheChange isn’t about doing more. It’s about doing something differently.
Maybe that’s:
Taking a proper break without guilt
Saying no where you would usually say yes
Reaching out instead of holding it in
Giving yourself permission to pause
It doesn’t need to be dramatic. It just needs to be intentional.
Final Reflection
Stress has a way of creeping in quietly and staying longer than it should.
But it also responds to attention. Not pressure. Not force. Just awareness, small shifts, and a willingness to do something differently. That’s where change begins.
Final Thought
Stress doesn’t need to control your life. But it does need your attention. This April, take one step. That’s enough to start.
Guest Blog by Derek Flint - Psychotherapeutic Counsellor and addiction therapist - he works in person in Kent and Surrey and online throughout the UK and internationally.
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