stress
/strɛs/
noun
1. pressure or tension exerted on a material object.
“the distribution of stress is uniform across the bar” Synonyms: – pressure, tension, strain, tightness, tautness; rare-tensity
“the distribution of stress is uniform across the bar”
2. a state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or demanding circumstances.
“he’s obviously under a lot of stress“
In life today, everything is fast moving and it is deemed cool to be busy. Blowing off your friends because you have something else to do, or working till the early hours because the project has to get finished. It can lead to more and more expectations and demands on time. The body, like a strain gauge, can accept a certain level of stress until the stress is too much for the system. At this stage there is then a stress response within the body, a natural protection mechanism, which automatically kicks in known as your fight or flight reaction, where you will either deal with the situation or remove yourself from it.
There are certain things that increase your stress levels – that email from Debbie in accounts, or Simon who always takes the last of the hot water from the kettle, or not remembering where the safe place you left your keys the night before whilst trying to rush out the door. All these can lead to your stress levels rising.
Stress is not a mental health problem, but can be a precursor to depression, anxiety, self harm and suicide. Whilst not a mental health problem it certainly can affect your mental health or how you approach different situations….like Debbie in accounts.
I have a basic line of thought that stress is a lot like training for a marathon. I know exactly what stress my body can tolerate physically before it breaks down and I know exactly how far in a week I can run before my knees tell me that I am at risk of over stressing the bones and joints. Although I have to expose myself to these strains in order to physically adapt, I to know that I have to have adequate time to recover to let the levels of stress in the muscles settle down. I know this for my physical health, but I am still very much learning for my mental health.
I see stress like a boiling pan of potatoes, when I turn the heat up, bubbles will rise to the top of the pan and if I don’t turn it down will spill over; however if I do turn the heat down the bubbles reduce, and when I turn the heat back up the bubble rise again…… what my point is we have to have a certain level of heat to let the potatoes cook but also know how to turn the heat down on occasion to avoid boiling over. We need to have little strategies to manage this or little tricks to turn down the heat on occasion.
5. Headspace app
There are thousands of studies that have shown mindfulness meditation can positively impact mental and physical health. Whether it’s by
reducing stress,
improving sleep,
increasing focus, or improving relationships, research shows mindfulness works.
We live on our phones, so what better a way than to have a tool for
helping stress management on our phones. This app as it says introduces meditation and this can have a positive affect on mental health. Very small listening and mindful tasks can be so beneficial for managing the heat…and also reduces the affect Debbie from accounts has on us. ( Trust me no Debbie from accounts were harmed in the writing of this piece)
4. Yoga
In a national survey, over 85% of people who did yoga reported that it helped them relieve stress. Exercise is a very useful way to relieve stress, but yoga is different from spinning class or weight-lifting in that it powerfully combines both physical fitness with an underlying
philosophy of
self-compassion and awareness.
One of the main concepts in yoga is being non-judgmental toward both yourself and others, which is a powerful tool for stress relief since much of our stress comes from us being hard on ourselves or frustrated with others.
You can’t win at yoga they tell me, but it depends what you describe as a win? You can’t accrue more points than anyone but surely if something helps to offset the negative effects of stress then that is a win. The breathing, the mindfulness process and the social aspect all help to introduce new strategies to help you manage stress. There are many yoga facebook and yoga sites – of interest
StillMindDynamicBody. There is also a great class ran out of
run-4-it on a Monday evening 6:30pm and also Friday morning 7:30am.
3. Exercise
Exercise increases your overall health and your sense of well-being, which puts more pep in your step every day. But exercise also has some direct stress-busting benefits. It pumps up your endorphins. Physical activity helps bump up the production of your brain’s feel-good neurotransmitters, called endorphins.
Exercise is my go to. After a hard day at work it is the easiest way for me to get my headspace and get to a place where I can logically sort my head out. The chemical response is great but just being in an environment different from where my stressors occur is like stepping through the wardrobe into Narnia…if only for 30minutes or 45minutes it is enough to settle the stress levels and allow me to reduce that rising bubbles. The parameters of a plan allow me to know exactly what I need to do and when to do it…but also keeps me accountable for my exercise- so I don’t over do things.
2. Brain Breaks
For those who aren’t yet in the know, a brain break is a short break from learning, working, stressful environments with the intent to provide a mental break to help re-energize, re-focus and relax. A brain break should take just 1-3 minutes. Research has show that taking a brain break can help to improve work efficiency and performance and reduce stress.
These brain breaks can take any form…from completing an easy sudoko on the toilet or a jigsaw puzzle in the evenings. The length of the change should be around 1-3 minutes. One easy brain break can be trying to reduce how often you have your lunch at your desk as oppose to the dinning room. I was introduced to brain breaks from a clinical psychologist friend ( Ali Mathers ) who really gave me an easy tool to use when I was getting stressed at work. STEP OUT. Not just out of the office but out of the situation, go somewhere different either in reality (dining room) or in your head ( warm beach in South America where the drinks are free and the humidity is low….) One of my personal favourite brain breaks is playing a trivia game on my phone called fight list … you have to think of as many things relating to an unknown topic in a set time….it really gets you thinking… but whatever your brain break – make it something completely different from your day to day routine.
Examples – my mum loves a crossword, my dad loves puzzles, my best mate takes pictures of staircases – each their own.
1. Talk to Somebody
Talking out loud about what’s going on in your head and explaining it to someone else, even if you think it doesn’t make sense, helps you to clarify the things that are worrying you.
Saying things out loud, often makes them less scary, and at least by having to sort through your feelings you know a bit more about you’re dealing with.
Keeping things inside only lets them build up and get confusing.
Number 1, and the most important …Talking helps. It brings the noise in the head out into the real world and changes it from thoughts into a real thing, it gives it characteristics that can be addressed. Talking to someone who knows you can be difficult, but also so can speaking to someone you have never met before. The benefits from speaking to someone far outweigh the negative connotations of sharing. Mental Health Aberdeen’s counselling service offers the chance to speak. The chance to help manage any mental health issue that may be affecting you … not just stress. Their staff are welcoming, lovely and normal humans…but just highly skilled at their jobs. I personally have found that nipping negative thoughts in the bud early as you think of them can stop them manifesting into a massive issue and when things play out in reality it is never, ever as bad as the thought of how it will be in your head.
Example – I get really stressed at public speaking. In my head, during public talks my tongue is going to dry up and fall off (real thought) and that will be so so embarrassing…in reality its not really going to dry up and fall out, I just might need to drink a little more water.
We are all getting better at managing physical problems and we are better at accessing the service, so we need to improve our ability to address mental health issues.
The example is when your calf is sore you come to see me…I explain what is going on and how best to manage it in the future…maybe with some exercises, massage or come corrective instructions that address why the calf is sore. I don’t promise to make you pain-free forever more, what I do promise is that I will give you tools for you to manage it – or give you the details to contact me in the future if the calf injury returns. If the injury becomes worse than before, I might see you to give you some more support / different exercises until you are back self managing your problem. Support services like Mental Health Aberdeen do the same thing, set up a plan and help you manage your issue… only difference is the part of the body is the brain rather than your calf.
Nothing will ever take away stress completely, in fact stress can be a good thing to a certain level… but if allowed to go too far without you being in control can put the body under undue stress.
It is ok to not be ok, you won’t live your whole life being ok, there will be good days and there will be tougher days. Having some top tips in your toolbox is a great way to help regulate your stress levels. So rather than some K-Tape, a foam roller and massage wax… have an app, a brain break, some exercise and a telephone number.
Thanks for reading, if you have a spare second please follow my friends over at Mental Health Aberdeen or if you have found this useful please help me raise awareness by sharing the post and also cash by donating at my just giving page to help raise the vital funds to keep listening ( Its good to talk).
Run Long and Prosper
James
(NB- These thoughts are my own and aim to direct and signpost people to other services – I am not a psychologist)
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