April is Stress Awareness Month. Stress is now one of the biggest causes for mental and physical health problems in society.
What Is Stress?
There are many reasons why someone is stressed or feels under stress. They can include:
- the death of a loved one
- disasters
- employment or financial worries
- work or school worries
Whatever the reason, stress is your body’s response to a demanding situation. Not all stress is bad. It can help you perform better in certain circumstances. But overwhelming or prolonged stress can be detrimental to your wellbeing.
Stress can cause:
- depression and other mental health problems
- anxiety, headaches and insomnia
- aches, pains and muscle spasms
- hyperventilation and panic attacks
- high blood pressure, heart attacks and strokes
- increased illness and gastrointestinal problems
If you are having problems with stress, and have any of these symptoms (or others) then please see your doctor for advice.
How To Deal With Stress
Here are some ways that can help you deal with stress:
- Take one day at a time. Try not to think beyond what you can deal with that day.
- Try not to be a perfectionist. Set reasonable standards of what you can cope with.
- Learn how you respond to the stress, and then remove any unnecessary things that can make it worse. This could mean reducing social media or delegating tasks at work or home.
- Procrastination can trigger stress. Try setting a schedule for yourself that can help you in practical ways, such as prioritising tasks.
- Try and keep a balance. This could mean making sure that work and home life is kept separate, making some you-time, or taking time out in the open, somewhere different.
- Take care of your health. A little exercise can be very beneficial, as well as a balanced diet.
- Get help if you need it. It’s not an admission of failure to seek help.
You’re Not Alone
Just recently I was diagnosed with secondary cancer. After allowing a little time for it to sink in, my first response was to take a look at what I was doing in my life and make adjustments. Removing unnecessary things, reducing something else. It allows me to have breathing room to cope with the fact of having cancer again, receiving treatment, anything else that comes along. It helps.
Another thing that helps me is having a backup team of friends and family. Having someone to talk to can help relieve the some of the anxiety and worry so you can focus better.
But however you do it, you are not alone and there is help out there.
If you would like to know more about getting help with stress, then the following links can help you (links not affiliated):
International Stress Management Association
This article was originally published on Medium.
Charlotte Clark 