April is Stress Awareness Month, a time to take a closer look at how stress shows up in our lives and impacts our health.

Being constantly busy has begun to feel like the norm for many people. Between work responsibilities, family demands, and the everyday tasks that fill our schedules, it can feel like you’re jumping from one busy season straight into another without time to recover.

Many women move through their day carrying an invisible checklist. Appointments to schedule, meals to plan, reminders to send, emotions to manage, problems to anticipate. Even during quiet moments, their minds still run through what needs to happen next and who needs their support.

There’s no doubt that we’re living in extreme times. From Minneapolis and across the country, social media feeds are filled with intense, highly distressing news about community protests, fatal shootings by immigration agents, children and families being detained, and other stressful events. These events have rightly sparked public outrage, protests, and a broader sense of tension permeating many facets of everyday life.

Between the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, repeated school shootings, and the growing spread of Monkeypox, managing stress during the fall 2022 return to school is no easy feat. Parents, kids, and teachers may all be experiencing psychological stress during this challenging transition. How can parents support their children while managing their own stress? And when are anxiety symptoms a sign of a mental health issue that needs addressing vs. typical transition-related stress? In