Stress - Every Mind Matters - NHS

Stress is the body's reaction to feeling threatened or under pressure. It's very common, can be motivating to help us achieve things in our daily life, and can ... Skiptomaincontent Coronavirus Wellbeingtips Mentalhealthissues Life'schallenges Supportingothers Urgentsupport Home Mentalhealthissues BacktoMentalhealthissues Feelingstressed? Stressissomethingeveryonefeelsattimes,andthereareallkindsofstressfulsituationsthatcanbeapartofdailylife.Low-levelstresscanevenbehelpfulormotivational.Thereareplentyofthingsyoucandotohelpcopewithstressfulevents,andsimplestepsyoucantaketodealwithfeelingsofstressorburnout.Wealsohavespecifictipsandexpertadvicetohelpyoulookafteryourmentalhealthandwellbeingifyouarefeelingstressedoranxiousaboutcoronavirus(COVID-19). Onthispage Whatisstress? Toptipstodealwithstressandburnout GetYourMindPlan Video:Stress–Thingsyoucando Signsofstress Possiblecausesofstress Supportforstress Whatisstress? Stressisthebody'sreactiontofeelingthreatenedorunderpressure.It'sverycommon,canbemotivatingtohelpusachievethingsinourdailylife,andcanhelpusmeetthedemandsofhome,workandfamilylife.Buttoomuchstresscanaffectourmood,ourbodyandourrelationships–especiallywhenitfeelsoutofourcontrol.Itcanmakeusfeelanxiousandirritable,andaffectourself-esteem.Experiencingalotofstressoveralongperiodoftimecanalsoleadtoafeelingofphysical,mentalandemotionalexhaustion,oftencalledburnout.Thetipsonthispageshouldhelp,butifyouhavebeenexperiencingstressforsometimeandit'saffectingyourdailylifeorcausingyoudistress,youshouldconsiderseekingfurthersupport. Toptipstodealwithstressandburnout Splitupbigtasks Ifataskseemsoverwhelminganddifficulttostart,trybreakingitdownintoeasierchunks,andgiveyourselfcreditforcompletingthem. Allowyourselfsomepositivity Taketimetothinkaboutthegoodthingsinyourlife.Eachday,considerwhatwentwellandtrytolist3thingsyou'rethankfulfor. Challengeyourthoughts Thewaywethinkaffectsthewaywefeel.Watchourvideotolearnhowtochallengeunhelpfulthoughts.Video:Reframingunhelpfulthoughts Bemoreactive Beingactivecanhelpyoutoburnoffnervousenergy.Itwillnotmakeyourstressdisappear,butitcanmakeitlessintense.BetterHealth:Homeworkoutvideos Talktosomeone Trustedfriends,familyandcolleagues,orcontactingahelpline,canhelpuswhenwearestruggling.Watchourvideoformoreideas.Video:Socialconnection Planahead Planningoutanyupcomingstressfuldaysorevents–ato-dolist,thejourneyyouneedtodo,thingsyouneedtotake–canreallyhelp. Findwhatworksforyou GetYourMindPlan Answer5quickquestionstogetyourfreeplanwithtipstohelpyoudealwithstressandanxiety,improveyoursleep,boostyourmoodandfeelmoreincontrol. Video:Whatyoucandoforstress ProfessorAnnaWhittaker,psychologistandprofessorofbehaviouralmedicine,says:"Takingcontrolofthesituationwhenyou'refeelingstressedisreallyempowering." Signsofstressorburnout Ifyouarestressed,youmay:feeloverwhelmedhaveracingthoughtsordifficultyconcentratingbeirritablefeelconstantlyworried,anxiousorscaredfeelalackofself-confidencehavetroublesleepingorfeeltiredallthetimeavoidthingsorpeopleyouarehavingproblemswithbeeatingmoreorlessthanusualdrinkorsmokemorethanusual Possiblecausesofstress Stressaffectspeopledifferently,andthethingsthatcausestressvaryfrompersontoperson.Thelevelofstressyouarecomfortablewithmaybehigherorlowerthanthatofotherpeoplearoundyou.Stressfulfeelingstypicallyhappenwhenwefeelwedonothavetheresourcestomanagethechallengesweface.Pressureatwork,schoolorhome,illness,ordifficultorsuddenlifeeventscanallleadtostress.Somepossiblecausesofstressare:ourindividualgenes,upbringingandexperiencesdifficultiesinourpersonallivesandrelationshipsbigorunexpectedlifechanges,likemovinghouse,havingababyorstartingtocareforsomeonemoneydifficulties,likedebtorstrugglingtoafforddailyessentialshealthissues,eitherforyouorsomeoneclosetoyoupregnancyandchildrenproblemswithhousing,liketheconditions,maintenanceortenancyadifficultortroubledworkenvironmentfeelinglonelyandunsupported Readmoreaboutdealingwithlife'schallenges Supportforstress SeekNHSsupport Ifstressisaffectingyourdailylifeorcausingyoudistress,callNHS111ortalktoyourGP.InEngland,youcanalsoreferyourselfforpsychologicaltherapythroughtheNHSIAPTservicewithoutseeingyourGP.FindanIAPTservice(Englandonly)NHSadviceaboutstressNHSself-helpguide:stress Charities,helplinesandcommunities GetsupportfromTimetoChangeVisitSamaritans'websiteCheckMentalHealthFoundation:stressJointheStressManagementSociety TryaReadingWellbook ReadingWellformentalhealthprovideshelpfulinformationandsupport,withbooksonmindfulnessandothersubjectsavailablefreefromyourlocallibrary.SeetheReadingWellbooks Helpingsomeoneelse Gettipsandadviceonhelpingothersstrugglingwiththeirmentalhealth. Waysyoucanhelpothers Urgentsupport Ifyoucannotwaittoseeadoctorandfeelunabletocopeorkeepyourselfsafe,it'simportanttogetsupport–servicesarestillopenduringthecoronaviruspandemic. Geturgentsupportnow