When we say things like ‘this is stressful’ or ‘I’m stressed’, we might be talking about:
Situations or events that put pressure on us – for example times where we have lots to do and think about, or don’t have much control over what happens. Our reaction to being placed under pressure – the feelings we get when we have demands placed on us, that we find difficult to cope with.
And stress can cause physical symptoms as well as mental symptoms and changes in behaviour.
Recognising individual signals of a body’s stress responses and learning to respond to those signals in new ways can help build the emotional, intellectual and physical strength that comprise resilience, which can help you tackle future stressors. (National Institutes of Health)
Managing Stress
Accept the things you can’t change and address some of the causes of stress: Focus your time and energy on these things and accept that there are some things that you can’t do anything about.
Identify your triggers: Even if you can’t avoid some stressful situations, anticipating them and being prepared can help.
Write a list of the things that are bothering you. Remember that not having enough work, activities or change in your life can be just as stressful as having too much to deal with.
Ensure that you don’t become obsessed by the News and A Slave to Tech
Stay connected with loved ones
Take care of your emotional and mental health by relaxing, eating well, staying active, having a good sleep routine etc.
And here are some resources from Able Futures:
Click on the picture below for some more ideas.
Building Resilience
Resilience refers to how effectively you handle difficult experiences in your life. It is often described as the ability to ‘bounce back’ and comfortably carry on in the midst of adversity. It also involves being able to effectively regulate your thoughts and emotions, as well as perceiving challenging situations as an opportunity, not a personal threat.
This video explores 5 top tips to improve your resilience.
This Resilience Toolkit from Wearebeyond.com looks at unhelpful thinking styles; which we can all be guilty of from time to time. This may help you to shift your thoughts, emotions and behaviour to more positive ones.
MIND explains that research shows it is easier to develop resilience if we don’t face certain barriers. But many of these things are difficult or impossible to change.
- Having a long-term physical health condition
- Having a mental health problem
- Experiencing discrimination and hate, including racism, homophobia, biphobia or transphobia
- Living far away from family or friends, or having difficult relationships with them
- Experiencing loneliness
- Experiencing poverty and money worries, including debt or problems with benefits
- Living in an area with poor access to services like healthcare, public transport and green spaces
- Being a single parent
- Being a carer
- Having poor quality housing
- Lacking safety and protection, such as living in areas with poor policing