TRAINING & EDUCATION
Professor Sir Cary Cooper,
mental health issues, so should be taken very seriously.
A good place to start, of course, is with your GP. He or she will be able to recognise the severity of your stress and recommend a course of action.
Trigger points
Something will have triggered your stress. If at work, did you lose a staff member that wasn’t replaced, were you refused ‘that’ machine that would have made your job so much easier, or perhaps your members are simply unreasonable in their expectations?
At home, had you recently lost a loved one? were your children struggling with their exams, or did your finances take an unexpected turn for the worse?
Whatever the trigger was, recognising it and dealing with it is a very good starting point. It won’t go away on its own.
Remember, your stress will impact on others, thereby creating a vicious circle within the workplace or at home.
From personal experience ...
My ‘recognition’ of stress came via a panic attack at one o’clock one morning. At the time, I thought I was having a heart attack. The doctor was called, who immediately recognised the symptoms. Having eventually calmed me down, I enjoyed the best nights’s sleep I’d had in a good while. In the morning, I headed off to his surgery to discuss my condition.
He suggested a stress management course being run by the NHS. It involved twelve weekly sessions with like-minded folk and simply went through the various techniques used to combat stress, along with how to deal with the triggers.
I won’t go into them here but, suffice to say, they are techniques that I still use today, and they work. Some of my Pitchcare colleagues may think differently!
In the bullet points above, reference to caffeine and alcohol is made. I have to say
130 PC October/November 2018
If you don’t connect with people, you won’t have support to turn to when you need help. The activities we do with friends help us relax. We often have a good laugh with them, which is an excellent stress reliever
”
that switching to decaf coffee (however awful that sounds) had an immediate positive impact, as did reducing my intake of alcohol.
thoughts and leaving you to deal with your problems more calmly.
Take control
There’s a solution to any problem. “If you remain passive, thinking, ‘I can’t do anything about my problem’, your stress will get worse,” says Professor Cooper. “That feeling of loss of control is one of the main causes of stress and lack of wellbeing.” The act of taking control is, in itself, empowering, and it’s a crucial part of finding a solution that satisfies you and not someone else.
Connect with people
A good support network of colleagues, friends and family can ease your work troubles and help you see things in a different way.
“If you don’t connect with people, you won’t have support to turn to when you need help,” says Professor Cooper.
“The activities we do with friends help us relax. We often have a good laugh with them, which is an excellent stress reliever.”
“Talking things through with a friend will also help you find solutions to your problems.”
Have some ‘me time’
Here in the UK, we work the longest hours in Europe, meaning we often don’t spend enough time doing things we really enjoy.
“We all need to take some time for socialising, relaxation or exercise,” says Professor Cooper.
From the NHS
The following ten point guide may be found on the NHS website:
Professor Sir Cary Cooper, an occupational health expert, offers these ten ‘stress buster’ tips on the NHS website
Be active
Exercise won’t make your stress disappear, but it will reduce some of the emotional intensity that you are feeling, clearing your
“Set aside a couple of nights a week for some quality ‘me time’ away from work. By earmarking those two days, it means you won’t be tempted to work overtime.”
Challenge yourself
Setting yourself goals and challenges, whether at work or outside, such as learning a new language or a new sport, helps to build confidence. This will help you deal with stress.
“By continuing to learn, you become more
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