Mental Health ~ National Stress Awareness Month ~ (April)

 

National Stress Awareness Month 

April is National Stress Awareness Month. Its important to realise that being stressed is normal and that it is perfectly oaky to be stressed. When we are stressed its important to remember that we all have the tendency to act out when we are stressed too. Its also important to remember that we can lash out and be impulsive as well as thinking irrationally. This is all perfectly normal when stressed and completely normal. Being stressed is nothing to be ashamed of or scared off, its a completely normal experience that everyone will experience throughout their life.

Remember when someone you know is stressed, they can easily become agitated and lash out, so maybe try to be a little patient with them and give them some space but its also important to remember that they often don't mean what they are saying and what they do.

Some key points to remember for when you are feeling stressed.

1. Recognise when you need additional support.
2. Give yourself time to do what you want and what you want to do.
3. Speak to people, they may be able to help.
4. Know your physical and mental limits.
5. Try to get enough sleep every night.

The 30 Day Challenge

Stress Awareness Month has been held every April, since 1992 with the idea of increasing public awareness of both the causes and the cures for the modern epidemic of stress. Despite Stress Awareness Month running for 29 years, there is still a long way to go. According to the Mental Health Foundation at least 74% of UK adults have felt so stressed at some point within the last year that they have felt so completely overwhelmed or felt that they were unable to cope.

Millions of us across the UK are experiencing high levels of stress which is damaging our health. Stress is one of the great public health challenges and problems of our time, but it still isn't being taken as seriously as physical health concerns are. Stress is a significant factor in mental health problems including anxiety and depression. Stress is also linked to physical health problems such as heart disease, problems with our immune system, insomnia as well as digestive problems. It is important for us to be able to understand as individuals what is causing us personal stress and learn what steps we can take in order to reduce stress for not only ourselves but those around us.

The concept behind the 30 day challenge is to encourage you to pick one action each for your Physical, Mental and Emotional Wellbeing to carry out every day. The reason its 'The 30 Day Challenge' is because it takes 30 days to turn actions into habits, which is why its a month-long programme. The 30-day challenge is designed to maximise your chances of turning useful knowledge and techniques into positive behavioural change.

The 30 Day Challenge will help you with regaining connectivity, certainty and control. The theme for Stress Awareness Month 2021 is 'regaining Connectivity, Certainty and Control'. After a recent collaboration with Huawei, to conduct a study on stress, gathering data from 2000 British adults. The research had identified that 65% of people within the UK had felt more stressed since the COVID-19 restrictions had begun in March 2020. The three main causes for concern are the feelings of disconnection, uncertainty and a worrying loss of control. It was decided that the three were going to be weaved together as the three key factors for this year's Stress Awareness Month. The practical approached is aimed to ensure that beneficial resources and effective materials are made available and offered to those who are struggling.

What can you do during Stress Awareness Month?

• Talk about stress and it's effects. - This way we can all work together to reduce the stigma that is associated with stress by talking about the topic openly and freely with friends, family and colleagues.
• Share your coping mechanisms - if something has worked or is working for you, why not share it. It might benefit someone you care about and in the meantime it might help you to take the focus off of your own challenges.
• Be nice to those who are stressed and anxious. - We are all undoubtedly going to experience stress and anxiety in our lifetime so treat others going through it with compassion and empathy.
• Look after yourself. - We all need to think more about self-care. Taking time out of our day to relax or to do something that we enjoy and not forgetting to exercise and eat well, even in the times when we are feeling too stressed.

The most crucial thing that we can do when we are stressed or anxious is to make are that we are continuing to look after ourselves through making time to relax when we need to as well as learning to say no to requests that are too much for ourselves. The constant pressure to over achieve and over work in order to please teachers in schools and the management teams within work places is a huge reason behind why so many of us are feeling stressed or anxious. Especially in schools with the pressure from teachers to achieve the highest grades in exams and with course work, there is no small wonder as to why students are suffering with increased bouts of stress and the anxiety of not being good enough, however the same feelings of stress and anxiousness can carry over into the working environment with the continuous pressure for those who are higher than ourselves within the company to perform to a higher standard and to have a set amount of work completed each day to the same standard throughout. With larger numbers of us experiencing high levels of stress, its important for schools and work places to offer and provide the necessary information and support for all of the pupils and the employees regardless of individuals age or status within schools and the working environment. This information and support should be made available for all students, teachers and employees throughout the time that is spent in school or work.