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by Liz Walter
For most of us, stress is unfortunately a part of modern life. Today’s post is about words and phrases we use to talk about the experience of stress and our attempts to reduce it.
First, let’s look at the word stress itself. Regular readers of my posts will know that I often focus on collocations – words that go together to make natural-sounding sentences. There are several nice verb collocations we can use with the word ‘stress’. To talk about things causing stress, we often use the verbs induce or trigger:
Pressure at work induced a lot of stress.
It’s not unusual for major life changes to trigger stress.
Something that increases stress heightens it, while common verbs to describe reducing stress include relieve, alleviate, and ease:
Financial difficulties heightened his stress.
Spending time with friends can help us relax and relieve stress.
Something that causes stress is stressful – note the single ‘l’ at the end of this word! When we talk about exactly how stressed someone is, we often use the phrase stress levels:
Most people find public speaking rather stressful.
I was late for a flight and my stress levels were sky high.
If someone is unable to live normally because they have so much stress, we might say that they have become overwhelmed, or that their life feels out of control. More informally, we could say that things become too much or, in UK English, that things get on top of them:
He was overwhelmed with the stress of trying to save his business.
Her marriage was failing and her life felt out of control.
Eventually, the stress became too much and he decided to look for another job.
I’m afraid I let my problems get on top of me.
Our body responds to stress in various physical ways. For instance our heart may race, or the palms of our hands may sweat. Some people also experience panic attacks, where they feel extremely anxious:
My heart was racing and my palms were sweating as I prepared to give evidence in court.
The place was very crowded and he felt as though he might have a panic attack.
People often deal with stress by finding ways to relax or unwind. We sometimes use the rather informal verb de-stress:
I like to relax in a hot bath at the end of the day.
A gentle walk helps me unwind.
These breathing exercises can help you de-stress.
Do you have any good tips for coping with stress?