The first Wednesday of November every year is National Stress Awareness Day (NSAD17). It is a day to raise the awareness of the effects of stress at home and in the workplace. Stress can be caused by work, relationships, family issues, financial problems and day to day living. For some people stress may cause them to develop unhealthy coping strategies such as smoking or drinking. When we feel stressed our bodies release the chemicals cortisol and adrenaline to provoke our ‘fight or flight’ reaction. These hormones can cause us to feel to a range of symptoms, such as a racing heart, headaches and feeling tired. You can learn to manage your reaction to stress and how you deal with it.
National Stress Awareness day encourages people to take a moment to think about their stress levels and emotional wellbeing. By noticing what is causing us stress we can learn how we can deal with it to help maintain our emotional wellbeing. Everyone knows that stress is part of everyday life and how it feels to be stressed. But it’s when you feel overwhelmed by stress, that this can lead to mental health problems or make existing problems worse.
There are things you can do if you’re finding you’re struggling with stress.
- Therapy and Counselling
Talking to a therapist or counsellor can help you learn how to deal with stress and become more aware of your own thoughts and feelings and how to manage them. Just Talk Campaign offers Counselling.
Mindfulness is a way of looking at our thoughts and feelings so that we can react better to them. It involves becoming aware of what is happening in the present moment. Mindfulness can help you to manage unhelpful thoughts, deal with difficult events better, feel calmer and able to manage stress better.
There are some medications that can help you if you are experiencing Depression or Anxiety such as antidepressants, or if you are struggling to sleep, you may be prescribed sleeping tablets.
Please do go and see your GP if you are struggling with stress. Or alternatively you can speak to the Samaritans 24/7 for free at 116 123 if you need to talk.