I learned recently that the first Wednesday of November (which is today, November 5, 2025) is International Stress Awareness Day. In fact, this whole week is International Stress Awareness Week. The purpose of International Stress Awareness Day and Week is to raise awareness about the impact of stress on our physical and mental health and to promote stress management strategies.
This is an occasion we should all recognize, as who among us does not experience stress in life?
The International Stress Management Association says that awareness of stress is the first step. We need to understand the impact of stress on our health and recognize the physical and mental symptoms that manifest themselves in our own bodies and minds. We’re each different, so we’ll each have different symptoms. To learn about some of the symptoms of stress, click here.
As a caregiver for my husband, I feel stress daily. I try to recognize it when it comes. My most frequent mental symptom is increased crabbiness. (Can anyone else relate?) But I also have physical symptoms. My dentist asked me at my last appointment if I grind my teeth at night. “No,” I replied. “I clench them during the day when I’m stressed.” Which seems to be a large portion of every day. And I can feel my blood pressure rise when I’m dealing with a difficult situation like unhelpful customer service people.
Once we understand that stress is a serious and frequent problem for many of us, we can talk about it with loved ones and health care providers. Bringing it into the open can destigmatize our stress, which, like so many other mental health problems, is often ignored in our society. Once it’s in the open, we can get help coping with stress.
Some coping techniques are quick and easy—breathing exercises, meditation, and getting outdoors. Some take a little more time—physical exercise, engaging in favorite hobbies, and spending time with family and friends away from the stressful situation. And taking care of your own health is critical—make and keep your own health care appointments and follow your doctors’ orders about necessary treatments and medications. I also use journaling to help me cope. A quick Internet search for “stress management techniques” will give you plenty of ideas.
Prioritizing the self-care you need is important, as any mental health provider or counselor will tell you. But actually following through on self-care is another matter, as any caregiver or other individual living with chronic stress will tell you.
It is really hard when you are in a stressful situation, particularly in circumstances that continue for weeks and months and years, to find a way to escape it for even a short period. How do you abandon the person you are caring for when you have no one else to fill in for you? I see this question asked almost daily in some of the caregiver groups I follow.
In these overwhelming circumstances, it is important to seek the support of family, friends, and mental health professionals. If you don’t do it for yourself, do it for your loved one. Fortunately, I do have support, but too many people do not.
If you have any doubt that stress can impact your health, this statistic should be a wake-up call: Roughly 30% of family caregivers die before the individuals for whom they are caring. Some studies show higher percentages, others lower, but all studies show an increased risk of mortality for caregivers over non-caregivers. So it is important to alleviate stress both for your own sake and for those around you.
What do you do to relieve your stress?
While I’m no longer a caregiver for my father, I’m dealing with my own chronic health issues. I try to practice mindfulness and trips to the dog park with my furry friend really help de-stress.