• Question: Why do we get stressed?

    Asked by anon-234393 to Karolina, Debbie, Jack, Liam on 21 Nov 2019. This question was also asked by anon-234364.
    • Photo: Jack Joyce

      Jack Joyce answered on 21 Nov 2019:

      We can get stressed for loads of reasons… I guess what we mean by ‘stress’ is two things: the psychological “pressure” that we feel e.g. when we have an exam, or how our body copes with stress e.g. we get stomach aches, headache, faster heart rate.
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      So in that regard, if we encounter a situation that is ‘stressful’ (like a lion 🦁 running at you) it could trigger the fight or flight response, and our body release hormones and things to get us ready to copy with that lion!
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      Stress as something which is perhaps longer term, or more ‘psychological’ is kinda the same — the body responds to things we perceive as pressure (like exams, lots of work etc.) so it keeps us on high alert (in case there is a 🦁… but it’s just an exam) and that can be tiring, cause anxiety, lose sleep etc.
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      Everyone gets stressed at some point in our lives — it just depends on what we pressures us. A zookeeper might be used to lions running at them so that doesn’t stress them! but a student that has to pass an exam to get into university might feel a lot of pressure to do well, and so is stressed.

    • Photo: Liam Wignall

      Liam Wignall answered on 21 Nov 2019:

      To add to Jack’s answer, It’s also about how we interpret a situation – things that get us stressed might not get others stressed. Sometimes stress (and anxiety) aren’t always logical. While we might logically know it’s okay to give a presentation in a classroom, we can still get stressed by it!

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