April marks Stress Awareness Month. Started in 1992, it was created to bring awareness to the subject and focuses on people’s physical, mental, and emotional health. From promoting healthy outlets to encouraging people to check in on their own health, it has gone from strength-to-strength and continues to be an important topic to raise awareness on. Stress and poor mental health are one of the biggest public health challenges in society today and we want to ensure we are doing our bit by shining a light on the subject.
Although some stress can be useful, such as motivating you to prepare for a presentation or perform in life-saving situations, prolonged exposure to stress can be the start of a long list of problems. It is quite literally sickening, making you more susceptible to headaches, insomnia, high blood pressure and heart disease, and often stems from problems with money, work, family, or relationships. This modern-day stress epidemic is on the rise, with 76% of UK adults stating they have felt so stressed at some point over the last year they felt overwhelmed or unable to cope.
By bringing awareness to this ever-rising issue, we want to show that there are a variety of ways to reduce the levels of stress in your life and that help is out there for anyone who needs it. Below are links to helpful tips on how to manage stress, from getting active to connecting with friend/family, and also a link to a page of useful contacts if you want to talk to a trained professional, or have a conversation anonymously:
10 stress busters – NHS (www.nhs.uk)
Useful contacts – stress – Mind
If you are struggling, please reach out for help. There are many resources available for help and advice. If you are struggling at work, please let us know via email or give us a call so we can put something in place to assist you.