Stress Awareness Month 

By: Olivia Carney 

Stress can have a major impact on the public, and the daily lives that people live. So much so that the month of April is the official national stress awareness month. It has been sponsored every April since 1992 by the Health Resources Network (HRN), a non-profit health education organization founded by Dr. Morton C. Orman, M.D.  

Although the thought of a month dedicated to stress may seem futile, stress can lead to many effects on your body and behavior. In which case many people do not notice that they are even affected.  Some effects of stress include headaches, anxiety, overeating, undereating, angry outburst, chest pain, sleep problems, sadness and depression, and more. The human body is made to react to stress however, long term stress can lead to major health problems. In some cases, it can lead to cardiovascular disease. This includes heart diseases, high blood pressure, abnormal heart rate, heart attacks, and strokes.  

Everyone suffers from stress, some more than others. However, it is important to know when it is happening and how to manage it. There are multiple ways to manage stress, Mrs. Boyl, (a math teacher at Lenape Tech) said, “I deal with stress by reading it calms me down, sometimes I will go on a walk.” Some other ways to manage stress include getting regular physical activity, doing a hobby, writing in a journal, etc. Each person has a different way of dealing with stress so, it’s important to find what works. Nevah Yount, (an ADT student), commented that, “I didn’t know that stress awareness month was a thing, but I feel that it is important because everyone gets stressed and needs to know how to deal with it.” 

At the end of it all it is very crucial to provide awareness of stress in people’s day-to-day lives.