Pat Divilly: This is how to deal with chronic stress and anxiety

Recognising your body's response to stress, anxiety or fear is the first step to creating a toolbox that will enable us to slow down in an overstimulated world, says Pat Divilly

Pat Divilly: "When in a ‘stress’ response within the body, we are focused solely on the immediate. We are impulsive, often irrational, focused only on survival, safety and comfort."

An analogy shared with me seven years ago by a psychologist began a big shift in how I’ve viewed and approached my mental health and wellness ever since.

During a visit at a time in which I was feeling overwhelmed and in a chronic state of stress and anxiety, the conversation turned to the analogy of a fire alarm.