04 Mar Stress Awareness Month
Since 1992, April marks Stress Awareness Month. During this month, health care professionals and experts across the country join forces to increase the awareness about both the causes and cures for our modern stress epidemic.
Stress can be debilitating and can cause, or aggravate already existing health problems and since stress is a normal part of human life, no one is immune, it’s important to arm ourselves with knowledge so that we recognise when stress rears its ugly head.
We don’t always recognise that this is happening to us, so it’s important to learn some strategies for coping with this silent scourge.
Why Stress Awareness Month is Important
Because we’re all feeling it. It reminds us to pay attention to our health.
According to the official website, “Stress Awareness Month is a national, cooperative effort to inform people about the dangers of stress, successful coping strategies, and harmful misconceptions about stress that are prevalent in our society.”
Here’s some of our suggestions we’ve put together to help you relieve the pressure you’re feeling…
Learn to manage your time
If you are juggling a lot of plates, write down everything you are trying to achieve. Work out what you can do, and when – put achievable completion dates. There will be items that you simply cannot complete in the required time-frame, so in that case, relax think about when you can complete it and perhaps get someone to help you with the task?
Exercise
Only 30 minutes of exercise a day boots your metabolism, makes you feel happier and more capable of getting all those other tasks completed. It could be as simple as a walk on your lunch break, walking to and from work or how about an exercise class with friends a couple of times a week?
Mindfulness and Meditation
Why not set aside five or ten minutes a day to sit in a quiet place, close your eyes and concentrate on you. It doesn’t have to be intense – just a simple exercise to help you re-balance your mind.
Fun Fun Fun
Smile and you will fight stress. Have that you time, meet up with friends, enjoy a hobby, and be silly! Then you can get back to responsible life with a positive attitude.
Laugh often
Laughter has the ability to lift your mood no matter what it is that is getting your down. Watch a funny film, surround yourself with friends, watch a funny video, see a comedian. Laughter heals the soul.
Accept the unchangeable
Sometimes we have issues that comes into our lives that make us feel stressed, but there is nothing we can do to fix them. Try to let go of these things that bring you down and accept them as something you have no control over – eventually it will all figure itself out in the end.
Eat Well
They say you are what you eat! What we put into our bodies as a huge effect on how we handle stress. Cut down your sugar, caffeine and alcohol intake and swap it for fruit, eggs, fish, nuts and vegetables – this will fuel your body, lifting your energy levels and motivation.
Avoid unnecessary stress
If there are people in your life that only ever bring your stress or heartache, take steps to avoid them, or at least limit the time you spend with them.
Enjoy a massage
If you can find the time, a massage is the perfect way to relax while someone literally kneads, pummels and rubs the stress out of you. You will be surprised at how rejuvenated you feel afterwards! Here at Hands on at Work we’re ready to play a part, especially when it comes to keeping your people fit, well, rewarded and happy. We offer and deliver a range of relaxing and beneficial ‘at work’ massage treatments and these are valued by organisations right across the UK. To find out about costs and options please contact us directly on 07989 367669 or email info@handsonatwork.co.uk