What is stress and how do we manage it?
We all know what it's like to feel stressed, but it's not easy to pin down exactly what stress means. When we say things like "this is stressful" or "I'm stressed", we might be talking about situations or events that put pressure on us, or our reaction to being placed under pressure.
Did you know?
82% of people said they feel stressed at least sometime during a typical week, while 8% said they feel stressed all the time.
Source: Mental Health Foundation, 2018
Stress isn't a mental health problem, but it's closely linked to your mental health in two important ways:
1. Stress can lead to mental health problems, and make existing problems worse. For example, if you often struggle to manage feelings of stress, you might develop a mental health problem like anxiety or depression.
2. Mental health problems can cause stress. You might find coping with your mental health problem, as well as potentially needing to manage medication, heath care appointments or treatments, can become extra sources of stress.
If you’re experiencing stress you may feel irritable, nervous, have racing thoughts, feel exhausted, have low motivation or feel neglected or lonely.
There are lots of physical signs of stress. The most common ones are: sweating, chest pains, feeling sick, headaches, sleep problems and some people may experience panic attacks.
You might struggle to make decisions, find it hard to remember things, feel restless or fidgety, cry or feel tearful, grind your teeth, eat too much or too little and find it hard to concentrate if you’re stressed.
If money worries are stressing you out, turn to our next article to find out more about money and mental health.
We all experience stress in the workplace from time to time. It can help motivate us and improve our performance, but if it’s happening too frequently it can cause problems. To help reduce stress in the workplace you can:
1. Talk to your line manager about your workload. Ask if things can be delegated or re-prioritised to help you. 2. Make sure you’re physically comfortable. Sitting in an uncomfortable chair or working in a hot room can all make us feel more stressed. 3. Be clear on expectations. Not knowing what’s expected of us can make us feel anxious or confused. Clarify expectations and deadlines. 4. Take regular breaks. Get out for a walk at lunchtime, and have a tea with colleagues in the afternoon. 5. Book in some annual leave and make sure you use your annual leave allowance. We all need regular breaks away from work to help us feel refreshed.
Learning how to manage stress is important for our wellbeing. While you can never eliminate all the sources of stress in your life, there are things you can do to help reduce the impact stress can have:
1. Be kind to yourself. Make time for the things you enjoy and reward yourself for small achievements. 2. Try to find time to relax. This can be hard if you feel you can’t escape a situation that is making you stressed, but even a simple walk in nature can help. 3. Look after you health. While it’s hard to do when we’re stressed, getting enough sleep, some exercise and eating well can all help us cope better with stress.
We have more information and support about managing stress on our web pages.
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