Factfile On Stress by MIND

mikebuss | 30/03/2016 | 0 Comments More

Mind Charity

Life is stressful. What matters is that you recognise when you are under so much stress that it may be harmful.

About 80% of all modern diseases have their beginnings in stress.

Most of the 12million adults who see their GPs each year about mental health problems have complaints related to stress.

Over 45million working days are lost each year through anxiety and stress-related conditions, costing the country over £3billion per year.

ARE YOU UNDER TOO MUCH STRESS?

How your body may react…

Breathlessness – Constant tiredness – Cramps or muscle spasms – Fainting spells – Frequent crying – Headaches – Impotency or frigidity – Nail biting – Nervous twitches or muscle spasms – Sleeping problems – Chest pains – Constipation or diarrhoea – Craving for food – Feeling sick or dizzy – Indigestion or heartburn – High blood pressure – Lack of appetite – Restlessness – Pins and needles – Tendency to sweat

How you may feel…

Aggressive – Depressed – Fearing disease – Feeling bad or ugly – Feeling there’s no-one to confide in – Lack of interest in other people – Irritable – Dreading the future – Fearing failure – Feeling neglected – Taking no interest in life – Loss of sense of humour

How you may behave…

Difficulty making decisions – Difficulty concentrating – Denying there’s a problem – Inability to show true feelings – Avoiding difficult situations

TOP TEN TIPS TO TACKLE STRESS:

Make the connection: Could the fact that you’re feeling under-the-weather be a response to pressure?

Take a regular break: Give yourself a brief break whenever you feel things are getting on top of you – get a soft drink or take a brief stroll.

Learn to relax: Follow a simple routine to relax your muscles and slow your breathing.

Get better organised: Makes a list of jobs; tackle one task at a time; alternate dull tasks with interesting ones.

Sort out your worries: Divide them into those that you can do something about (either now or soon) and those you cant. Those that you cant change, there’s no point in worrying about.

Change what you can: Look at the problems that can be sorted and get whatever help is necessary to sort it out. Learn to say NO.

Look at your long-term priorities: Step back and examine what it is about your life that’s giving you too much stress. What can you off-load, or change? How can you introduce a better balance between network, social life and home life? Is it time to reassess your priorities?

Improve your lifestyle: Find time to eat properly, get plenty of exercise and enough sleep. Avoid drinking and smoking too much. However much you believe they can help you to relax, they’ll have the opposite effect.

Confide in someone: Don’t keep emotions bottled up.

Focus on the positive aspects of your life.

LEARN TO RELAX:

Close your eyes and breath slowly and deeply.
Locate any ares of tension and try to relax those muscles; imagine the tension disappearing.
Relax each part of the body, starting from your feet to the top of your head.
As you focus on each part of your body, think of warmth, heaviness and relaxation.
After 20minutes, take some deep breaths and stretch your body.