Stress is such a common thing in humans that it’s medically recognised as a symptom and cause of many illnesses and ailments from pimples to pneumonia. Why is it that it’s so in our nature to stress?

There’s an infinite number of reasons that vary from person to person. I honestly believe that the 21st century is home to an anxious and busy population. One reason for this is the increase in rapidly fast communication technologies that all of a sudden turn a 9-5 work day into a 24 hour one. Emails, your phone and the internet don’t close after the cleaners leave, they follow us from the minute we leave the office, school or uni to the minute we get back the next day.
Personal relationships have much greater expectations; “why didn’t you call me today?” “Why did you take an hour to reply to my text?” – all of this meaning it’s virtually impossible to switch off.

I’m not saying technology is the only reason the western world is generally full of a bunch of work crazy stress heads, but it’s one of them. Communication is so immediate that we can no longer be completely alone. The network follows us everywhere.

I’ve never met someone who has never been stressed out (understandably) but for those who find themselves constantly stressing about everything (such as yours truly), the affirmation I tell myself everyday is “treasure yourself, don’t pressure yourself.”

In other words, I’m constantly reminding myself that I’m a living, breathing, feeling human, not a work robot completely void of emotions and social needs whose sole purpose in life is to finish essays and reading logs.