Take Care of Your Mind this Stress Awareness Month

Stress Awareness Month Tips

This week marked the start of stress awareness month, a month based around lessening the effects of stress and discovering their causes so issues can be tackled head-on. Stress can be experienced in many different ways; it can help to motivate us to achieve things in our daily life, but too much stress can affect our mood and cause us to feel anxious.

Research shows that 74% of the UK felt overwhelmed or unable to cope at some point over the last year following the impact of the pandemic, changes in the ways of working, and the uncertainty of the job market during this period. Although restrictions have now lifted and life is seemingly heading back to some level of normality, the impact of such stresses can be long-lasting. Stress Awareness Month aims to help people pick up on what makes them stressed and address issues head-on before they affect day-to-day life, and now post-pandemic aims to help people feel a sense of normality in the workplace.

Stress presents itself in many ways, therefore needs to be dealt with through different means. Throughout this month, we will be looking at the ways in which stress can be reduced in the workplace. We have listed some ways to face stressful situations, whether they be physical such as going for a walk, doing some exercise, or getting a break away from your computer or phone, or mental, such as talking to a friend or colleague about worries you may have, or making sure you have a clear workspace to focus on your tasks for the day.

Here are some tips to help reduce the feelings of stress to get you through a stressful day:

• Get outdoors for a walk - Fresh air and exercise are both ways of winding down and helping to relieve stress.
• Take a break! - Getting away from your screen for a short break can help massively. Grab a cuppa with a friend or colleague and take 5 minutes to switch off!
• Get some exercise - Exercise releases endorphins in the brain to make handling stress that little bit easier.
• Listen to your favorite music - Make a playlist of your favorite songs and take some time to switch off and relax.
• Make a list of priorities for the day - Tick off each point on the list as they're completed to keep track of what you've achieved throughout the day.
• Clear space, clear mind - Remove any distractions you may have by having a spring clean. This could be your workspace, one room, or your whole house!
• Lessen your screen time - Sometimes our phones can be the biggest distraction day-to-day. Try to take some time away from the screen for a little while each day.
• Talk to a friend or colleague if something is worrying you. Always talk to someone if you’re feeling stressed or anxious and get things off your chest. A problem shared is a problem halved.
• Set yourself a challenge - focus on something completely new, such as taking up a new hobby or sport to keep your mind active.

We are very fortunate at Meridian to have a very supportive team across all of our branches. If you ever find yourself struggling, please reach out to someone you trust; there will always be someone to help. There are also many online resources available such as MIND, NHS Every Mind Matters, ReThink, and Mental Health Foundation.