We all experience stress from time to time and most of us generally accept that some amount of stress is just part of life. But for many of us, it may feel like the events of the past few years have led to a significant build-up of stress due to factors beyond our control.
There might not be much we can do personally to influence global health emergencies or economic turmoil, but the way we respond to these and other pressures that life throws at us is something we do have some control over.
April is National Stress Awareness Month, and in recognition, we are looking at resilience. Being resilient is often thought of as having the ability to withstand or recover from stress or adversity. It may be true that some people are more resilient than others, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that resilience is a fixed trait. There are many ways that we can build resilience and change the way we respond to stress.
Whether looking after our physical health, through improved diet and exercise, making changes to our behaviour such as reconnecting with social support from friends and family, or re-examining our beliefs and attitudes towards stress, there are many ways that we can make changes to improve our personal resilience and to better manage the stresses we encounter in our day to day lives.
The Stress Management Society offer 10 tips for managing stress, and their website provides advice to help implement each of them:
- Adopt a Positive Mind Set
- Don’t be a Slave to Tech
- Eat for Wellbeing
- Get a Good Night’s Sleep
- Get Moving to Combat Stress
- Learn to Say No
- Master Your Time
- Practice Deep Breathing
- Prioritise Your Health
- Stay Hydrated
And here is an easy to remember set of tips, based on the NHS 5 steps to mental wellbeing, to help you build resilience by adopting a CAN DO attitude:
Connect – increase connections with others, by catching up with old friends or reaching out to others around you offer or seek support.
be Active – Exercise! Exercise is proven to help with symptoms of anxiety, stress and depression. It doesn’t have to be a 5k run every day, you don’t even have to be physically fit to exercise. A 30-minute walk most days is good!
Notice – be aware of where you are in the moment and what is around you.
Discover – Keep learning, whether it’s a new skill or increasing your knowledge on an interesting subject.
Offer – Give to others, whether financially or through your time.
And remember, in the words of psychological pioneer William James:
The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another