November 2^nd marks National Stress Awareness Day. Today highlights the many ways stress can affect us in our everyday lives, and what we can do to manage and reduce our stress when we experience it.

Although feeling under pressure is a normal part of life, if we start to become overwhelmed without any help, it can lead to mental health conditions developing. According to Champion Health, one in 14 UK adults feel stressed every single day, and 74% of people feel so stressed they have been overwhelmed or unable to cope.

There are many helplines offering advice and support if you need to talk to someone if you feel you are struggling to cope.

What Can Cause Stress?

Stress is what we feel when under too much mental or emotional pressure. It is our body’s reaction to help us deal with pressure or threats. When we experience stress, our body’s release stress hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol.

Once the threat or pressure of the ‘flight or fight’ response has passed, our hormone levels return to normal.

Small amounts of stress can motivate us to take action and make us feel excited, however too much stress can have a largely negative effect, such as a change in mood, and a change in our body.

There are many factors that can cause stress, such as:

• Facing big challenges
• Facing changes in our life
• Feeling under intense pressure
• Worrying about something
• Responsibilities we find overwhelming
• Lack of control over a situation
• Going through a period of uncertainty
• Dealing with difficult relationships
• Being out of your comfort zone

Stress affects everyone differently, but there are common emotional signs you can look out for. These include:

• Feeling angry, irritable, and restless
• Feeling overwhelmed, demotivated, or unfocused
• Can’t sleep or sleeping too much
• Constantly worrying
• Lack of concentration or problems with memory
• Making bad decisions

Providing our Employees with Mental Health Support

We are committed to providing the right support for all our employees here at QED. Their wellbeing is a number one priority for us.

We have two qualified Mental Health First Aiders who are available for our employees to speak to if they want to talk about anything affecting their mental health. Hannah and Barbara provide a listening ear to all at QED and know how to deal with a mental health emergency in the workplace. It’s so important for us to feel like we can talk, and a simple conversation can take a huge weight off our shoulders.

We are one big family here, and we will continue to provide the utmost support for our staff.

Hannah, our Operations Manager said:

‘’The two-day course Barbara and I attended with St. John’s Ambulance gave us a fantastic insight into the many mental health conditions many of us deal with daily and how to help any of our colleagues should they encounter any of them.’’

“Deal” also being the operative word as we also learnt how to try and remove the negative stigma around mental health conditions that many of us have grown up with. After going on the course, we came back to work and updated our mental health policy and shared awareness of this with the rest of the team, this also included the confidentiality rules when talking to each other about mental health conditions and now means QED are well equipped to provide support to anyone who may need it.’’

Tips on How You Can Manage Stress

Everybody deals with stress differently, but by making slight lifestyle changes, you can reduce your stress drastically.

The most important tip is to talk to someone. This can have an instant impact and you can feel the weight lift off your shoulders as you offload all of your worries. Keeping your feelings and thoughts trapped inside will only increase your stress which will negatively impact your mental health.

Exercise and keeping active is a great way to relieve any stress you feel building. On the days you find yourself struggling, why not go for a run, walk, cycle, or attend a gym class. Even doing a little housework or gardening can help clear your head and make you feel so much better.

Doing something nice for yourself at least once a day is so important. This could be something as simple as eating something you enjoy, reading that book you’ve always wanted to read, or watching a film you’ve been waiting to watch for a while. These little accomplishments can have a hugely positive effect on your wellbeing.

We have a bookshelf in our QED office stacked full of fantastic books our staff can help themselves to.

We also have a beautiful garden area at the front of our offices, which provides the perfect place to relax, unwind, and de-stress on the days we begin to feel a little overwhelmed.

If any member of the QED family is dealing with any aspects of stress or mental health, we are here to help them through it every single step of the way.