How stress affects us.

Everyone has experienced some sort of stress in their life, which is perfectly normal and part of the human experience. In small amounts, it can even help us achieve things in our lives, as well as meeting the demands of home, work and family life

However, stress becomes a cause for concern when it starts to hinder these day-to-day activities, affecting things such as your mood, work performance and relationships. Experiencing a lot of stress over a long period of time can also lead to a feeling of physical, mental and emotional exhaustion, often called burnout.

Signs to look out for include:

• unusual or negative moods
• forgetfulness or clumsiness
• indecisiveness, restlessness and poor judgement
• withdrawal from friends and colleagues
• irritability, angry or emotional outbursts and loss of humour

• headaches, nausea, aches and pains
• sleeplessness, fatigue and low energy
• drink or drugs problem
• more accidents at work
• overworking and a drop in performance
• more sick leave or coming to work when ill.

How you can combat stress in your life.

Work out what causes for stress and think of how to avoid or solve them. This might involve seeing a professional who can help you understand your thought patterns and positive actions

If you are experiencing stress yourself:

• chatting to a friend or family
• getting a good night’s sleep and practising relaxation techniques
• taking regular breaks at work
• resting if you are ill
• saying no to more work if you need to
• exercising and eating well
• prioritising your workload and organising your time
• taking up a hobby
• steering clear of stimulants like nicotine, caffeine and sugar

If you want to create a stress-free workplace for your employees:

• being flexible about working patterns and breaks
• holding meetings about workloads, deadlines and change
• planning collaboratively
• providing training to help workers learn how to prioritise
• saying no to more work if your team is already at capacity
• talking about effective use of skills and possibilities for personal development
• making clear what support is available.

Take advantage of our free services which aim to support you through your struggles, offering you a helping hand to turn to, even if you simply want advice.

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