Stress is the body’s reaction to feeling a sense of threat or feeling under pressure; a common occurrence in most of our day to day lives. Whether at work or at home, stress can have many different triggers – facing change, worry, not having control over a situation, overwhelming responsibilities and uncertainty in your life. What causes stress for one may be of little concern to another.

Stress is all around us, but you can put a plan into place so you’re not overwhelmed by it – Here at Make Me A Plan, we can help!

Research shows that 1 in 14 UK adults experience stress daily, and 1 in 5 UK adults spend more of their lives stressed, than not. Worldwide stress levels are on the rise, with 6 in 10 adults experiencing increased stress.

Have you ever considered the negative effects stress can have on your body?

It’s not all plain sailing - whilst a little stress keeps life in balance, too much stress can cause more damage than you may think, physically, mentally and emotionally.

Physical symptoms – Low energy, headaches, aches, pains and tense muscles, rapid heartbeat, insomnia

Mental symptoms – Constant worry, racing thoughts, forgetfulness, inability to focus, poor judgement, only seeing the negatives

Emotional symptoms – Easily agitated, frustrated, feeling overwhelmed, difficulty relaxing, low self-esteem, lonely and avoiding others

The good news is, there are many steps you can take to relieve the pressure and regain control. Identifying the cause of your stresses can help guide you to make changes. 

Here are 4 topics to help you cope with and manage stress.

• Avoid situations that cause you stress, step back and put the problem into perspective, is it really that bad? Do you think you could potentially manage the situation better?

• Alter your life. Work and personal life can be hectic when mixed, sometimes its easy to forget about yourself. Make time to relax and do something that makes you happy. Adopting a healthy lifestyle can help you to gain control and manage stress effectively. Eat a healthy diet, exercise often, take a break and get enough sleep - resulting in a less-intense stress response and better health.

• Accept that some situations are completely beyond your control. Things often happen unexpectedly, maybe your car breaks down on the way to work, causing you to feel stressed as you’re about to be late. This is an unforeseen circumstance, which cannot be helped. Nothing you could possibly do, would have stopped your car from breaking down. Rather than allowing the feeling of stress to overwhelm you, accept it for what it is. Accepting stressful situations strongly relies on your attitude and mindset 

• Adapt your thinking. Identify the main causes for your stress, learn about them, and think of a way to gain positives from these situations. Your child is sick as you’re about to leave home to go to work, instead of feeling stressed, frustrated, or worried to let your team down at work, try to turn it into a positive and give yourself an opportunity to spend time with your child and relax

Feeling like you’re getting nowhere in life is common, causing stress, anxiety and worry. Think about what you want to achieve, set yourself goals. The opportunity of gaining your dream job hasn’t yet arisen, that doesn’t mean you have to forget about it. Create a simple, step by step plan to help you achieve. 

A long journey starts with one small step

PS – BE KIND TO YOURSELF!!