APRIL: Stress Awareness Month

April is Stress Awareness Month, held to create awareness about the causes of stress and how to help manage it. It’s important to acknowledge if you are feeling stressed and to identify the causes and symptoms. Stress is a normal human response triggered by challenging situations that we all experience and it can be helpful to some extent in order to overcome challenges and motivate you. However, stress can be damaging if it is continuous or growing over time.

The World Health Organisation defines ‘stress’ as “…a state of worry or mental tension caused by a difficult situation”. It can be felt emotionally (e.g. anxiousness or anger) and/or physically (e.g. headaches or muscle tension). Stress can also affect our relationships, our concentration levels and our appetite. Additionally, it can lead to sleep issues and burn out.

Responding accordingly to stress is therefore paramount to our overall well-being.

In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, it has become even more timely that we continue to ensure that we’re taking care of ourselves in our personal lives and in the workplace. Practicing self-care is essential to help fight stress and its implications. A balanced lifestyle and coping strategies can help with its management.

Ensuring a work/life balance is also vital in combatting stress. Finding a successful combination of family life, personal life and work is always a constant struggle but getting it right is important for one’s overall health and well-being and also for one’s family and friends.

A continuing issue is the amount of time an individual spends at work whereby long hours can affect health and safety and increase levels of stress. Did you know that approximately 13% of employees in Australia, work in paid employment for very long hours which is above the OECD average being at 10%? (https://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/ ). Having a good work/life balance means that you have met the state of equilibrium between the demands of your work and personal life and the benefits gained from one are able to support the other.

Stress at work is common and can be due to many different factors such as conflict, workload pressures and feelings of isolation. Stress levels people feel are often determined by whether they can accept that not all things in life will be sorted to their levels of satisfaction. For example, an employee may be stressed because of the behaviour of their work colleague. Sometimes, their stress can be resolved by addressing the behaviour in question. However, it’s important to note that sometimes, some problems will never be completely resolved and one may just have to accept it. For example, you may feel disgruntled after missing out on a promotion that you felt entitled to. Continuing to feel stressed about it will become problematic unless you can let go of the grievance and move on.

Remember that many organisations have procedures to deal with workplace problems, some of which are underpinned and enforced by legislation and industrial instruments - including harassment, victimisation or unfair treatment. Guidance and support can be sought from managers, HR, unions, employee assistance programs and government bodies such as the Fair Work Commission and the Office of the Commissioner for Equal Opportunity (SA).

Let’s take a closer look at some of the common causes and symptoms of stress and some ways we can help manage it.

Causes of stress:

·??????Financial issues

·??????Relationships

·??????Work overload

·??????Fear of failure

·??????Change

·??????Divorce

·??????Death in the family or of a friend or work colleague.

Symptoms of stress:????????

·??????Concentration issues

·??????Nervousness

·??????Anger

·??????Frustration

·??????Forgetfulness

·??????Indecisiveness

·??????Loss of appetite or overeating

·??????Sleeping troubles

·??????Headaches and stomach pains

·??????Muscle tension

·??????High blood pressure

·??????Fatigue

·??????Anxiety

·??????Depression

·??????Exacerbated existing health conditions

·??????Behaviour including excessive drinking/smoking and gambling.

What to do and how to cope:

·??????Take the time out to relax

·??????Do something you enjoy (e.g. read a book, play an instrument, watch a movie, listen to music)

·??????Drink a glass of water

·??????Get plenty of sleep

·??????Eat healthy

·??????Exercise regularly

·??????Manage time wisely

·??????Take deep breaths

·??????Talk it out

·??????Look at the positives

·??????Surround yourself with positive and supportive people

·??????Meditate

·??????Write a journal

·??????Clean

·??????Detox from the news and social media

·??????Get some fresh air

·??????Connecting with others

·??????Practice forgiveness, self-forgiveness and compassion

·??????Remembering that issues that cause stress cannot always be resolved but changing your expectations of a problem may help

·??????Practice under stressful conditions (e.g. if you have an upcoming presentation, simulate the environment with family and friends)

·??????Seek professional help such as from your GP, Lifeline and Beyond Blue.

Do you have a particular strategy or coping mechanism that you use when you’re stressed? Does it work? Let us know in the comments below ?? so we can all try it and help each other in battling the negative health outcomes associated with stress.

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