Five ways to cope with stress every day – Stress Awareness Day 2023

Stress Awareness Day is here to recognise the impact stress can have on your physical and mental health, as well as highlighting ways to manage it at home and in the workplace.

Stress can be triggered suddenly, by one big anxiety-inducing event in your life or by lots of smaller things that are making you feel under pressure.

When you’re stressed, there is usually a reaction that can make you feel anxious, irritable, angry or afraid. But although the triggers of stress are usually out of our control, the way we manage stress during difficult periods can help.

According to mental health charity Mind, the most common causes of stress include relationships, finances, work, and bereavement. But being prepared for these stressful periods, and knowing how to manage stress will make it easier to get through the tough times.

Five ways to cope with stress

1) Identify your triggers

If you can work out what triggers your stress, you can prepare for how to deal with it. For example, if you are stressed about an important work presentation, you can take the steps to ensure you are as prepared as possible, plan your day leading up to the event, and identify what is causing your anxiety.

Maybe you can get an earlier train to make sure you get there with plenty of time or spend some time practicing your presentation beforehand to help with the nerves.

2) Look after your wellbeing

Treat yourself how you would a close friend or colleague. Speak to yourself kindly, find time to relax and take a break if you need to. Experiment and find out what really helps you zen-out. Maybe it’s taking a walk in nature, listening to a podcast or meeting up with a friend for some ‘me-time.’

3) Prioritise your physical health

Factors including sleep and diet can impact your mental health and can impact your stress and anxiety levels. A lack of sleep can affect the entire body, including your mood, appetite, memory, and irritability – all of which can then go on to increase stress.

Your diet can also have a knock-on effect as caffeine and sugary foods can affect your energy levels. Although they might give you a temporary energy hit, you might hit a slump further on in the day.

4) Organise your time

Time can often be the cause of stress. This might be because you feel you haven’t got time to complete a particular task, you’re trying to multi-task or finish a million jobs at once, or you’re trying to reach a certain target within a short time period.

But sometimes taking a break from the task will help you come back with a refreshed mind and boost your productivity. Set out an achievable plan to keep you on track, and try not to do too much at once.

Another way to organise your time could be to ask someone else to help. If there’s anyone else you can delegate some of your work this could reduce stress in the long run.

5) Build a support network

According to Mind, research shows that having a good support network can help you build resilience and manage stress better.  Whether that is meeting a friend to decompress after a stressful day, or getting some words of encouragement while you’re going through a difficult time can make all the difference.

If you need extra support at work, seek help from HR (human resources), your manager, or a union. Or if you are struggling with work-related stress, here are some further steps you need to take.

If you are struggling with work-related stress, the legal experts at Oakwood Solicitors may be able to help.

Part two

The second part of this two-part series can be read here, covering work-related stress and how a compensation claim may be made.

Further reading

Stress at work claims – Oakwood Solicitors

WHAT TO DO NEXT

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