IN TIMES LONG long past, a threat would produce a “fight or flight” response. A large wild animal arrives in your village, or your nearest rivals decide to attack with spears, and your adrenal glands produce a surge of adrenaline.

You become instantly more vigilant, your heart rate and breathing quicken, blood is diverted to your arms and legs, your gastrointestinal tract tries to empty, you perspire to cool down, and so forth. The net effect is that you fight the enemy or run away so that you live to fight another day.

Our ability to do this has helped us to survive as a species for millions of years. Enter the Industrial Revolution some 250 years ago and, barely ten generations later, our daily threats are no longer wild animals or soldiers with spears; they are stressful jobs, PowerPoint presentations, financial problems, time-management pressures, social gatherings and relationship issues. But ten generations is very short in evolutionary terms. No species can fully adapt that quickly.

Internationally, April is Stress Awareness Month. Observed annually every April since 1992 and championed by organisations such as the UK-based not-for-profit Stress Management Society, its mission is to help individuals and organisations recognise and reduce stress to foster happier, healthier and more resilient communities. It aims to achieve this by increasing the understanding of stress, creating open conversations, empowering individuals and organisations with practical tools, and offering guidance and resources.

But what is stress exactly? It has been defined in the technical sense as “a negative emotional experience accompanied by predictable biochemical, physiological, cognitive, and behavioural changes that are directed either toward altering the stressful event or accommodating to its effects”.

In simpler terms, the World Health Organization (WHO) regards it as a natural human response to challenges and threats, with the American Psychiatric Association (APA) adding that it is often linked to significant social and economic stressors. Indeed, “stress” is a commonly used term by people who feel overloaded or overwhelmed.

Stress is usually triggered by an external situation, in contrast to anxiety, which often originates from within us. Stress can be acute (when you get a fright) or chronic (for example, in a........

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