SALT LAKE CITY — Stress can impact the body in many different ways for short or long periods of time. According to the American Psychological Association’s 2023 survey, Americans said their stress levels have increased over the past five years, and around 75% of physical and emotional symptoms are related to stress. With this month being Stress Awareness Month, the focus is on managing stress and identifying triggers.
According to Mayo Clinic, exercise in any form can help manage stress. At the "Bouldering Project - The Granary" in Salt Lake City, people file into the gym with different focuses in mind. Some are bouldering, a type of rock climbing without ropes on shorter routes. Others are taking fitness classes, and some are taking yoga classes.
Curran Lemp, the general manager of Bouldering Project, said climbing provides a challenge both physically and mentally that helps manage stress.
"It helps people experience those endorphins and then also social stress relief, like for loneliness," Lemp said.
Interview with trainer Devin Vernick:
There are different kinds of stress: eustress, distress, acute stress and chronic stress. Eutress are the good stresses in life like when you win something or get promoted. Distress is bad stress like injury or work difficulties that have negative connotations. Acute stress is fight or flight and chronic stress is the kind we push down and avoid about bills, jobs or family situations.
"There’s nothing wrong with a little bit of stress but it’s when it becomes acute or chronic that we want to do something about it," Dale Werner with the Huntsman Mental Health Institute said.
Werner said identifying the triggers for stress is important.
"If you’re having a hard time identifying what’s causing that stress, maybe it’s journaling," Werner said. "Breathing helps regulate our nervous system and that can bring us to a greater sense of calmness.”
Beyond exercise, experts encourage people to talk to a professional about any stress that one may be experiencing.
