-urges greater attention to stress, social media, daily pressures during Suicide Prevention Month
STRESS can be a driving force, the passion that keeps ambition moving, but left unmanaged, it can become overwhelming, with serious consequences for mental and physical health.
As Guyana joins the rest of the world in observing Suicide Prevention Month this September, Licensed Psychologist, Trainer, Educator and Consultant Wil Campbell spoke to the Guyana Chronicle about the challenge of managing stress, its most common causes, and how to cope with it in today’s fast-paced world.
Sitting down with this publication, Campbell shared that while most people consider stress to be an event, or series of events, external to a person, stress is in fact a response mechanism, the way people respond to a potential fear or a stressful situation, and that response is both mental and physical.
“Stress is a bodily response. It is important for us to understand that if we are constantly in a state of stress, it can cause us to malfunction physically. Our immune system gets suppressed, our digestive system is compromised, and also our brain, which is a part of our body,” Campbell said. Being in a constant state of stress for a prolonged period can have far-reaching mental health impacts. “If you are in a constant state of stress, the brain begins to malfunction, and then people can develop mental illnesses,” he added.
Campbell shared that there are several major stressors most adults grapple with. Speaking on what people usually highlight as their leading source of stress, Campbell noted that most may cite finances as their biggest stressor. However, he believes that relationships are the real leading cause of stress.
“Foundationally, the biggest source of stress is relationships, how we relate to people and how people relate to us. That shows up in the workplace, it shows up in our families, and sometimes it even shows up in our own relationship to ourselves,” he said. He added that even financial stress is tied to relationships: “Even our finances are about relationships. Why do we want to dress nicely? Because we want people to like us, we want people to accept us.”
With relationships being the major stressor for most people, Campbell noted that this has been reinforced by the increased prominence of social media and the decline of human connection.
He explained that information overload from the countless images and videos online is a major contributor to stress and poor mental health. “One of the most immediate challenges is information overload. The information that gets peddled the most, the posts that get the most responses, are negative posts. So, we are constantly and consistently absorbing all of the most negative things,” he said.
Campbell also cited the opportunity for comparison that social media brings, and how that comparison can impact self-image and mental health. “We all have a propensity for what we call social comparison. We pretty much compare ourselves with other people, it is the way we know how to dress, we make sure we purchase or create clothes that look like everybody else’s so we can fit in. Social media has created a wider audience against which to judge ourselves,” he said.
Because many stressors are driven by factors that are not easily changed, managing stress has to be done intentionally.
According to Campbell, stress management should be integrated into everyday life, with rest and relaxation as a core component. “Dealing with stress could be for some people as simple as making sure you’re in bed by 9:30 or 10 every night,” Campbell said. Additionally, he noted that limiting time spent online is another key step.
“Managing our virtual presence, how much time we spend online, helps us stay grounded, because you get caught up in a virtual reality that is moving faster than your world is actually moving, faster than your brain can keep up with,” he said.
Along with rest, Campbell cited pacing one’s work and taking breaks on busy days as important tools in managing stress.
He explained that short, intentional breaks throughout the day calm and reset the vagus nerve, which serves as the primary mind-body highway, linking internal organ states directly to emotional regulation, stress responses, and mental health.
“It is also important to take breaks. While you have work to do, not when the work is finished, you need to take a 10-minute break. There is something that happens in the brain when you intentionally decide that for the next 10 minutes, you are going to do nothing, or something that calms you. It gives you what we call a vagus nerve reset,” he said.
Stress also has a biological and physical impact on the body, making self-care and healthy habits significant in managing it. “In order to manage that function, we have to nurture ourselves well, making sure our blood sugar level does not drop too low, that we are not eating at times we should not, that every meal has a little bit of the big three: fruits and vegetables, something protein, and some carbs, without overfeeding or under-nourishing ourselves,” Campbell said.
While maintaining wholesome social connections is important in stress management, Campbell reinforces the importance of community. He was also keen to note the significant role of setting healthy boundaries.
Campbell noted that a lack of boundaries and an unwillingness to say no can create stressful situations. “It is important to set healthy boundaries. We have a bad relationship with the word no. I feel like if I say no, it makes me a bad person, so I feel like I have to say yes, every time, even when I am overwhelmed or it is not convenient. We have to develop a healthy relationship with no. We have to set boundaries,” he said.
Campbell noted that stress itself is not the enemy, in healthy doses, it sharpens focus and keeps people motivated. The danger, he said, lies in leaving it unmanaged until it takes over.
As Guyana marks Suicide Prevention Month, Campbell is urging people to take small, consistent steps to manage stress, which he says can make a lasting difference.
