Stress Symptoms, Signs, and Causes Understanding Stress, its Harmful Effects, and the Best Ways to Cope

Modern life is full of frustrations, deadlines, and demands. For many people, stress is so commonplace that it has become a way of life. Stress isn’t always bad, though. Stress within your comfort zone can help you perform under pressure, motivate you to do your best, even keep you safe when danger looms. But when stress becomes overwhelming, it can damage your health, mood, relationships, and quality of life.

You can protect yourself by understanding how the body’s stress response works, recognizing the signs and symptoms of stress overload, and taking steps to reduce its harmful effects.

What is stress?

Stress is your body’s way of responding to any kind of demand or threat. When you feel threatened, your nervous system responds by releasing a flood of stress hormones, including adrenaline and cortisol, which rouse the body for emergency action. Your heart pounds faster, muscles tighten, blood pressure rises, breath quickens, and your senses become sharper. These physical changes increase your strength and stamina, speed your reaction time, and enhance your focus.

This is known as the “fight or flight” stress response and is your body’s way of protecting you. When working properly, stress helps you stay focused, energetic, and alert. In emergency situations, stress can save your life—giving you extra strength to defend yourself, for example, or spurring you to slam on the brakes to avoid an accident.

Stress can also help you rise to meet challenges. Stress is what keeps you on your toes during a presentation at work, sharpens your concentration when you’re attempting the game-winning free throw, or drives you to study for an exam when you'd rather be watching TV.

But beyond your comfort zone, stress stops being helpful and can start causing major damage to your mind and body.read more

Arctic tern makes longest ever migration – equal to flying twice around the planet

A tiny bird from the Farne Islands off Northumberland has clocked up the longest migration ever recorded. The Arctic tern’s meandering journey to Antarctica and back saw it clock up 59,650 miles, more than twice the circumference of the planet.

The bird, which weighs just 100g, left its breeding grounds last July and flew down the west coast of Africa, rounded the Cape of Good Hope into the Indian Ocean and arrived in Antarctica in November. Its mammoth trek was recorded by a tiny device attached to its leg, weighing 0.7g - too light to affect its flight.

“It’s really quite humbling to see these tiny birds return when you consider the huge distances they’ve had to travel and how they’ve battled to survive,” said Richard Bevan at Newcastle University and part of the tracking team.

The birds survive the vast journey by dipping down to the sea surface to catch fish and other food as they travel. “They live in the fast lane all the time, constantly on the move,” said Bevan. “They have to flap all the time. It is an incredibly energetic lifestyle.”read more

banksy art at school.

at a school in whitchurch,bristol-bridge farm primary - a 6 ft image of a child with a stick chasing a burning tyre was painted over half term.this also had  note beside it from banksy -famous anonymous artist -in thanks for naming a school house after him.

bat under threat from traffic.

researchers  at university of exeter looked at 1,000 bat deaths and found their were avoiding roads which in turn stops them reaching feeding areas.one answer would be more bridges to reduce the toll.

As British gran killed by Great White in Australia how common ARE shark attacks?

As a British grandmother was savaged to death by a giant Great White shark as she dived off the Australian coast we take a look at the number of attacks in the county.

Mum of two Doreen Collyer was killed as she swam in the ocean near Perth.

Her diving buddy tried to save her and a team of fisherman hauled her onto their boat as the 20ft long beast circled.

But her injuries were so severe she died before she was taken ashore.

The university nursing lecturer had emigrated Down Under with her husband Dave, 55, five years ago.read more

fireman go potty.

in london m,ore than 7,500 incidents are kids stuck in objects like potties and others like child head in a potty ,toilet seat on a youngsters head,13 year old trapped in baby swing

Happy 90 th birthday to Queen Elizabeth