Why stress is an issue and three stress busting solutions

Today marks National Stress Awareness Day.

Stress awareness is high on the radar right now. At Co-Creation we know that stress can be an issue for many people every other day of the year too. We are passionate about helping people to better understand their own mental health and wellbeing so that they can live a fulfilling, enjoyable life which is important to them.

Co-Creation Consultant, Naomi Dake explores how stress affects us and shares her 3 favourite tips to reduce stress in our lives. Read her insight below.

Actually, our physiological stress response goes back to the beginning of time and is a healthy survival mechanism designed to detect potential danger or threats.

The issue today is that most of those old threats (wild animals, a lot of disease/illness, lack of food/safety) have been replaced by threats that are much closer to home. Like our own thoughts, beliefs, behaviours, emotions and how we relate to others and the world around us.?

As modern-day humans, we’ve taken on more challenges, more responsibility, more stimulation, more expectations, more opportunities. And of course, how we experience this stress is unique to each of us.

Society tries to prove that –

·????????Almost anything is possible if you work hard enough!

·????????We can have it all!

The result is a level of chronic stress that doesn’t have a definitive end point and our bodies are not designed to live in this state for any length of time.

When our physical, mental and emotional reserves become depleted, stress can become our normal state. Sometimes we may not even feel stressed because we’ve become so accustomed to it.

When it shows up in multiple areas of our life, it can feel like we have no refuge from it. We may turn to coping strategies to escape or deal with the stress and pressure.

We may overwork, drink/eat more (or less), distract ourselves with shopping, TV, social media.

We may overthink or catastrophise situations, replay past events or blame others, finding ourselves in regular conflict with our loved ones because our systems are running high on a stress/adrenaline cocktail. Most of us find ourselves doing at least one or more of these.

You are not alone!

Here are some ideas and tips on how we can develop different resourceful ways to be aware of and reduce stress in our lives. This will help us feel happier and find healthier ways to take care of ourselves.

Naomi’s Top 3 Tips for Stress-busting

So we’ve looked at stress and the ways in which it can impact on us. Now, let’s explore some ideas for what we can do to equip ourselves with further resources for reducing stress in our lives.

Tip 1 – What is Stressing Me Out?

Write a list of, or draw out on a piece of paper, all those things you have on your plate and are dealing with at this point in time. It can help to reflect on and recognize your overall ‘stress load’.

Sometimes just doing this can help get it out of your head and onto paper, making it something tangible you can work with.

From here, you can look at each of these items and consider:

·????????What is in your control?

·????????What can you influence?

·????????Is it right that it is sitting with you?

·????????What level of priority is it right now - high medium or low?

·????????If it is yours, what do you need to do with it in the short, medium or long term to reduce its impact? What /who could help with this????

Tip 2 – Am I Allowing Time to Just Be?

Looking at a typical day or week, identify how much time and space is there for you to have balance, downtime, play, rest?

Time that isn’t committed to anything, where you can switch off, ‘just be’ and where you’re NOT ‘doing’.

·????????How could you increase the benefit of this even further?

·????????Could you take a mindful walk instead of scrolling on your phone or watching TV?

·????????Could you do a meditation, yoga, something creative/playful or sit mindfully and quietly for 20-30 minutes in your day?

Did you know that our nervous systems don’t just wind down on their own. When our stress levels are higher, we actually have to consciously bring it down the gears to access the slower brain waves and reach a calmer, internally relaxed state.??

Tip 3 – How is My Emotional Bank Account Balance?

Recognising what tops your reserves up and lights you up is key to ensuring you’re in the best place in your mental, physical and emotional health.

Tuning in and growing your awareness of your typical thought patterns and how you relate to your emotions opens up greater choice and control over your internal stress state and your mindset.

The more resilient we feel, the better decisions we make. The more we take care of ourselves and others, the kinder we are and the happier we feel.

It is an investment in yourself and your ‘emotional bank account’.

Being aware of and knowing we can cope when tough times come, we are far more likely to show up as ourselves and engage with the world around us in a more resourceful way.

Organisations can play a crucial part in role modelling this, creating mechanisms and support for people to have greater autonomy in their own choices, ways of working etc and reducing constraints wherever possible.

If you want to know more about how to develop greater stress awareness for yourself and your people, please drop us a line at?[email protected] or send Naomi Dake a Direct Message