Stress is part of being human.
It’s woven into the fabric of our daily lives, in the constant juggle of work deadlines, family responsibilities, relationships, finances and everything in between. These are the pillars of our wellbeing, the foundations that hold us steady. However, when one of them starts to wobble, even slightly, it can ripple through the others, throwing us off balance and leaving us feeling overwhelmed, reactive or simply exhausted.
When our sense of balance slips, our resilience and ability to cope start to erode. What many of us forget is that this isn’t just in our heads, our biology is deeply involved. When we experience stress, our autonomic nervous system kicks into fight or flight mode. Our body releases cortisol, our stress hormone, flooding our system and preparing us to react.
In small bursts, this is protective, it helps us focus, move and respond, but when stress becomes chronic, when we live in a constant state of hyperarousal, we start to operate from our limbic brain (our emotional centre), rather than our neocortex, which is responsible for rational thought, decision-making and problem solving.
That’s when small issues start to feel enormous.
That’s when we snap, withdraw or freeze. Not because we’re weak, but because our body has taken the wheel into survival mode.
Understanding self-regulation is one of the most powerful steps we can take toward managing stress. It’s the practice of noticing, really noticing, how we’re reacting in certain situations and asking ourselves: Is this about what’s happening right now, or is something else at play?
That pause, that moment of curiosity, is the bridge between reaction and response.
Sometimes the stress we feel in the present moment isn’t just about the email, the meeting, or the comment that landed wrong. It might be touching something deeper, an old memory, a feeling of inadequacy, or a past experience that shaped how we interpret pressure or conflict. Awareness of self means being able to gently trace that thread and see where it leads, without judgment.
There are small, practical ways to bring yourself back to your body when stress takes over:
Pause and breathe.
Slow, intentional breathing activates your parasympathetic nervous system, the body’s natural calming response. Try inhaling for a count of four, holding for four, exhaling for six.
Ground yourself.
Notice five things you can see, four you can touch, three you can hear, two you can smell, one you can taste. It’s simple, but it brings you back to the now.
Check in with your body.
Ask, “Where am I feeling this?” Tight chest? Clenched jaw? Racing heart? Sometimes, awareness alone begins to release the tension.
Alongside self-regulation, co-regulation plays a crucial role in managing stress. This is where others help us find calm, through empathy, compassion and connection. When someone listens without judgment, responds with kindness, or simply stays present with us, it sends powerful cues of safety to our nervous system. Our breathing slows, our body softens and we begin to return to balance.
This is especially important in the workplace, in fast-paced, creative industries, where deadlines are tight, expectations high and ideas constantly flowing, stress can easily become normalised. However, psychological safety is the soil in which creativity grows, so If we want people to take calculated risks, share ideas and innovate, we need to create environments where they also feel safe to pause, ask for help, or admit when things feel too much.
Awareness of self and awareness of others are both essential in building these spaces. Understanding that past experiences shape how we operate helps us respond to each other with greater patience and kindness. It reminds us that everyone’s threshold is different and that compassion is not a luxury, but a necessity.
As we mark Stress Awareness Day, let it be more than a reminder to manage stress. Let it be an invitation to slow down, to reconnect with our bodies, to check in with our colleagues and ourselves, and to start building the kind of workplaces and communities that allow us to thrive, not just survive.
Balance isn’t something we find once and keep, it’s something we keep returning to, together – Unknown
