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Do you know how to deal with stress?

Do you know how to deal with stress?

05 April 2018

Do you know how to deal with stress?

Stress is something we all experience, we’re able to withstand a certain amount of pressure and stress as it is implemented into everyday life through work, family, money, and health. However, if you have had to deal with significant stress for a long period of time this can have a serious effect on your mental and physical health.

Often, we push ourselves until we burn out resulting in our recovery period being much longer than if we had addressed and admitted to our problems at an earlier stage. You should never feel as though you can not admit that you’re stressed. With an alarming rise in employees admitting to being stressed – a staggering two-thirds of UK employees – many workplaces have begun to put procedures and support systems in place to help you cope with the pressures of work. Speak to your manager or a member of your HR team for what your work can do to help.

A lot of people don’t know the physical signs of stress beyond the feeling of irritation and panic and many people are completely unaware that there are physical consequences of stress. The feelings associated with stress are that of:
depression, lack of interest in life, feelings of anxiousness and an inability to switch off. The physical manifestations of these feelings are problems sleeping, headaches, chest pains, feeling dizzy or sick. If you experience any of these symptoms alongside stress always seek medical advice. For a full list of symptoms see: https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/tips-for-everyday-living/stress/signs-of-stress/#.WsTH-ExFyUl

Health and wellbeing is hugely important and there are many simple things you can do in day to day life to manage and reduce stress levels.

1. Locate the source of your stress
Figuring out what it is that is causing your stress is the first step to ending it. Sometimes you may find it is a combination of things, but this allows you to start work on each contributor and taking control of how it makes you feel to find a balance that you feel able to cope with.

2. Don’t sweat the small stuff
It’s easy to let small things build up and seem overwhelming but taking a step back to analyse them individually can help you see that on their own they’re not worth the stress they create. Try writing your problems down in a list form to get a clear image of what stands in your way.

3. Time Management
Managing your time is a great way to manage stress, it allows you to prioritise and manage yourself and your tasks. Make sure you don’t try and put too much into one day and make a realistic timeline of how to manage your goals.
 

4. Avoid coffee, cigarettes, and alcohol
Coffee, cigarettes, and alcohol are often what we reach for when we’re stressed to ‘destress’ however, caffeine and nicotine are stimulants and therefore increase your stress level instead of reducing it. Alcohol is a depressive and if you’re already struggling with a low mood this can make it worse.

5. Make time to sleep
Sleep can be difficult when stressed as it can cause you to wake up and prevent you from going back to sleep, the more sleep you get, the more rested and energised you are. Maximising your relaxation time before you sleep can be incredibly helpful, as can creating a routine you stick to, to get your body in a habit of sleeping.

6. Don’t be afraid to say no
Often, we feel pressured to take on too much, this can be in our personal and work lives. Accepting you can only do so much and ensuring you don’t take on more than you can cope with will help minimise your stress.

If you feel as though your stress is affecting every aspect of your life and you are unable to cope do not hesitate to contact your GP, or ring/ contact any of the free services below:

Support Line Telephone Helpline
01708 765200

International Stress Management Association:
www.isma.org.uk

Stress Management Society
0203 142 8650
www.stress.org.uk

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