Stress Awareness Month 2022

April is Stress Awareness Month and it’s more important than ever to recognise the signs of stress and take action to help you live a happier life.

The past two years have been challenging. The pandemic left many of us feeling isolated and lonely and because of this, the Stress Management Society, who organise Stress Awareness Month, have decided the theme to be ‘Community.’

During the pandemic, many of us found support through our community and the community spirit, so it is vital we keep this going as we adjust to a new way of living. The Stress Management Society will be looking deeper into the way trust, diversity and inclusion build successful relationships, which are the basis of a strong community.

Community aside, this blog will help you spot the signs of personal stress, get tips on how to handle it and where to get further help.

 

Types of stress

There are four types of stress that each of us may face during our life. These are broken down into Cognitive, Emotional, Physical and Behavioral, and it is important to be aware of the signs in yourself.

  • Cognitive stress can present us with memory problems, indecisiveness, brain fog, poor judgement and self-doubt.
  • Emotional stress can lead to depression, anxiety, frustration, self-doubt, panic, moodiness and irritability.
  • Physical stress can show itself through chest pain, rapid heartbeat, indigestion, high blood pressure and skin complaints.
  • Behavioral stress can be seen as drinking and smoking more, isolating yourself from others, sleeping too much or too little and feeling demotivated.

 

5 tips to reduce stress

If you’re feeling symptoms like those listed above, it is so important to be able to de-stress. Many people will manage stress successfully without help or guidance, but if you do feel you are becoming overwhelmed, we have 5 top tips to help you:

  • Be active

Although exercise wont make your stress disappear, it will make it feel more manageable and give you a chance to clear some of the emotions you may be feeling. This will help you clear your thoughts and make decisions to fix problems you may be facing.

  • Take control

The act of taking control of a situation is empowering and finding a solution to a problem which satisfies you and not someone else is key to reducing stress.

  • ‘Me’ time

We all need time to socialize, relax or partake in exercise that we enjoy. It has been proven that taking just two hours a week to do these things can have a huge positive impact on our stress levels.

  • Avoid unhealthy habits

Try not to rely on alcohol, smoking or caffeine as a way of coping with stress. In the long-term, these quick solutions may lead to bigger problems. Try to make healthy choices instead.

  • Positivity

Try to look for the positives in life and the things in which you are grateful for. Journaling or writing down three positives from your day can really help turn your mindset around and reduce stress.

 

Work place stress

Stress continues to be one of the main causes of short- and long-term absence in the work place. It’s vital to spot signs of stress in a workplace quickly to reduce the chance of serious stress related illness occurring.

Stress amongst staff can also lead to high staff turnover, increased sickness levels and low productivity and efficiency, which are not helpful to any business.

If you feel you need help with work-related stress or any aspect of your mental health, there are many organizations you can turn to and we have listed some below:

www.mind.org.uk

samaritans.org

stress.org.uk

If you or your business is looking for courses and support regarding mental health training or stress management, visit www.bnsheconsultancy.com, call us on  07584 125665, or email info@bnshe.co.uk and we will be happy to help.

Back to news >