Before we dive into stress as a subject, let’s tackle the fact that chances are – feeling stressed has brought you to this page right now. Try these quick resources to relieve your stress fast, and read on when you’re ready.

Sit up, or straighten your back. Take a deep breath in through your nose for 4 seconds, filling your belly with air. Hold that breath for 7 seconds. Breathe out slowly for 8 seconds. Repeat as many times as you need.

What is stress?

You know it when you feel it right? That feeling of stress is a response to too much pressure. Much like a tyre, you have a limit to how much pressure you can take before damage is done.

There are many symptoms of stress, both physical and mental, and there are several ways we express ourselves through our behaviour when we experience stress.

Stress has the power to change your mood, your behaviour and even your body.

Signs to watch out for...

Mood

Restlessness
Lack of motivation or focus
Feeling overwhelmed
Irritability or anger
Sadness or depression
Anxiety

Behaviour

Overeating or undereating
Outbursts of anger
Drug or alcohol misuse
Smoking more
Social withdrawal
Skin or nail biting or picking, hair pulling and other self harming behaviours

Body

Headaches
Tight muscles
Chest pains
Tiredness that sleep doesn’t fix
Change in sex drive
Stomach upsets
Sleep problems

Kirk Wright – Blade Brickwork

Kirk tells us about stress in his life and what he did to get help.

steps to tackle your stress

Identify your triggers

Identifying your stress triggers will help you to recognise them and give you a window of opportunity to act…

… before the feeling becomes overwhelming.

Try making a mental note of when you’re feeling stressed and identify the thoughts or events that have led to it. You will start to see that pressure in certain areas of your life builds up to stress – especially when there are multiple areas of pressure at once.

Short Term Stress-Busters ↓

Take time out. Everybody has different ways they like to take time out for themselves. By getting a change of scenery or engaging in an activity, you’ll distract the mind and maybe even change your mindset. You can address the problem when you feel more rational later on.
Breathe and focus on the now. It can be surprisingly hard to do this simple thing, but the benefits are massive. Try our Wellbeing Wednesday meditation for some guidance.
Get outside. Change the scenery, change your mood. It’s amazing how effective some fresh air and a new setting can be for your mindset. If you can take a quick walk on your lunch break, early in the morning or after work, you can drastically reduce your stress levels.
Get a hobby. Finding something in life that you enjoy away from work is another great way of reducing stress.
Connect with like-minded people. Spending time with people who relate to you can be like therapy. Stay in touch with your mates, make some new ones or pick up the phone to a relative.
Get moving. Take time out of your day to focus on your physical wellbeing. There is no end of options here and some don’t cost a thing. An hour in the gym, pounding the tarmac on a run, swimming, or playing a sport can help you challenge difficult emotions and cope with stress much more easily.

Get Ahead of Yourself

Feeling stressed can make us want to bury our heads in the sand, procrastinate and not be proactive in preventing stressful situations…

… But one of the best ways to reduce the chance of a stressful situation is to plan ahead.

For example –

Jimmy is working on site away from home all week. On Sunday night he chooses to relax and stay up late watching his new favourite show. The next morning he wakes up late and quickly jumps in his van to get to work.

Once at work, Jimmy realises he has forgotten his work boots. Knowing that he can’t be on-site without them, Jimmy has to make a choice: buy new boots from a nearby shop, or travel home to get them. To save money, he drives home, meaning he has lost hours he will need to give back.

Jimmy works late into the evening and misses his call from the kids to say goodnight. The kids are disappointed, Jimmy’s wife is angry, and Jimmy feels like a failure.

On Wednesday, the customer Jimmy is working for mentions some extra work that he messaged Jimmy about last week. Jimmy remembers seeing the message but he was busy when it came through, and so he hasn’t prepared for the extra work to be done. The customer is angry. Jimmy will need to buy more materials but this means he won’t be able to afford to go to his best mate’s party at the weekend. His mate is disappointed.

Jimmy consoles himself with a few beers and a burger at the pub that night, feeling terrible for letting people down. He wakes up late again the next morning…

We’ve all been in situations like Jimmy’s, and mistakes do happen. We can see though, that if Jimmy had taken a few moments to prepare himself for his working week, a lot of stress could have been avoided.

Jimmy could have-

Taken just 5 minutes to make sure he had everything he needed ready for the job
Checked his messages and ensured he had the materials he needed for the extra work, and could still budget for the party, or at least give more notice.
Gone to bed earlier on Sunday evening so that he wasn’t so rushed in the morning.
Dealt with his feelings of stress better so that the cycle didn’t repeat.

These steps wouldn’t have taken much time, but would have saved an awful lot of stress for everyone involved.

Preparation Top Tips ↓

Budget your finances. If you find this difficult, there’s lots of help on our budgeting page.
Plan your meals. This is also a great money-saving tip! If you plan the week’s meals and do the food shop with this in mind, you’re more likely to spend less and throw less away.
Have a ‘half-hour of power’ every weekend. There are lots of little life admin jobs that nobody wants to do. Some people find it beneficial to set a timer, put some music on and power through them in one go. This leaves the rest of the weekend free for fun, and you’re more prepared for the week ahead.
Organise your diary. We all have one on our phones – make a habit of noting things down in the calendar immediately so that you don’t forget the important stuff – everything from picking the kids up from football to big events like weddings.
Make time for important people in your life. Work-life balance is so important. You are replaceable at work, but never at home. Make sure you give enough time and energy to the things that make you happy.
Declutter your living space. Visual clutter can make your mind feel cluttered too.
Pay attention to your lifestyle choices. Our sleep, diet and the amount of exercise we get all play a part in how the pressures of life make us feel.

Accept the things you can't change

There are many things in our lives that we have control over, but there are some we don’t…

… When we find ourselves in frustrating situations that we can’t change, it’s important to remember that while we can’t change the situation, we can change our mindset and our reactions.

Accepting you can’t change a situation can make it easier to move on. When we accept the situation won’t change, we can focus our energy and time more productively, and learn to deal with it.

Sometimes the effects of stress can be worse than the thing we’re worried about, so it’s important to let things go!

How-To Tips for Acceptance ↓

Control what you can. Make a list of all the things in your life you can control. These can be small things like ‘I am in control of my words’ or ‘I am in control of what I eat’ and big things like ‘I am in control of how I react to this situation’ or ‘I can change my mind at any time’. Drawing your attention back to the things you can control can make you feel instantly better.
Put things into perspective. Look at the change for what it is. It might make you have some strong feelings but these will pass in time – you have bigger things to look forward to.
The past is the past. None of us can change what has already happened. If it is the past you’re dwelling on, it can be helpful to know that everybody has regrets and you are not alone. You can’t change the past, but you can decide to forgive yourself and learn from your mistakes. Learning to let go of things that hurt you, no longer serve you or that make you question your self worth will make you feel much better – don’t beat yourself or others up forever.
Speak to a therapist. They can help you understand and cope with your emotions, and accept things outside your circle of control.

Resources: Wellbeing for the Mind and Body

Reduce stress through breathing exercises, mindful movements for posture, and physical activity with our Wellbeing for the Mind and Body course in the Wellbeing Academy.

Don't ignore it - long term effects of stress

The body isn’t designed to be in a constant state of tension – it will start to malfunction. The effects of long-term stress can often cause problems far worse than the things you’re worrying about in the now. For example:

Hypertension (High blood pressure)
Heart disease
Increased risk of infectious disease
Gastrointestinal disorders such as colitis, ulcers and IBS
Asthma
Depression and anxiety
Poor performance on everyday tasks

Knowledge is power

We can sometimes get so used to the way life is, we don’t recognise that we’re constantly operating under stress. Work pressure, home life expectations, keeping your head above water financially – it’s a lot to manage, and it can build up. Try the quiz below to see where you are on the scale.

Speak to us if you need more help

If you’re having a tough time, please don’t wait ’til you break. Get in touch. This is what we do.

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