October 2010 Material taken from International Stress Management Association UK

Transcription

1 About Stress Stress is "the adverse reaction people have to excessive pressures or other types of demand placed on them." Those pressures might come from many sources and when their combined effect is overwhelming, stress occurs. This means that stress is not good for you. Stress is an unhealthy state of body or mind or both. For many years, people have referred to the flight or fight response as the stress response but flight/fight is a one-off reaction to a perceived challenge or pressure and is not necessarily bad for the individual. It is good to be alerted to possible threats and to prepare to take avoiding action. However, continually being in this state means that the body chemicals associated with flight/fight are constantly being stimulated and the result is ill health of one type or another. This is stress. How to identify stress These are some of the symptoms that are indicators of too much pressure that can come from yourself, work, home, any combination of, or maybe even all three. Psychological signs Inability to concentrate or make simple decisions Memory lapses Becoming rather vague Easily distracted Less intuitive and creative Worrying Negative thinking Depression and anxiety Emotional signs Tearful Irritable Mood swings Extra sensitive to criticism Defensive Feeling out of control Lack of motivation Angry Frustrated Lack of confidence Page 1 of 5

2 Lack of self esteem Physical signs Aches/pains and muscle tension/grinding teeth Frequent colds/infections Allergies/rashes/skin irritations Constipation/diarrhoea/ IBS Weight loss or gain Indigestion/heartburn/ulcers Hyperventilating/lump in the throat/pins and needles Dizziness/palpitations Panic attacks/nausea Physical tiredness Menstrual changes/loss of libido/sexual problems Heart problems/high blood pressure Behavioural signs No time for relaxation or pleasurable activities Prone to accidents, forgetfulness Increased reliance on alcohol, smoking, caffeine, recreational or illegal drugs Becoming a workaholic Poor time management and/or poor standards of work Absenteeism Self neglect/change in appearance Social withdrawal Relationship problems Insomnia or waking tired Reckless Aggressive/anger outbursts Nervous Uncharacteristically lying The symptoms that affect you will often accumulate until you are forced to take notice of them. Don t rationalise the symptoms away, if you are not sure - ask your GP It is often the behavioural symptoms that are noticed, as they are more obvious, but by this time stress has been going on for many months, maybe even a year or more. Page 2 of 5

3 Ten top stress-busting tips 1. Learn to manage your time more effectively We waste a lot of time doing unimportant tasks, especially when stressed, so prioritise your day and do the important jobs first. The unimportant ones can wait, and often they will disappear completely leaving you time to do other things. Also, don t put off the unpleasant tasks avoidance causes a great deal of stress. Give unpleasant tasks a high priority and do them first. 2. Adopt a healthy lifestyle If we eat a healthy diet, exercise regularly and ensure we get adequate sleep and rest, our body is better able to cope with stress should it occur. If any of these areas are not happening for you it is usually a warning sign, don t ignore it, ask for some help. 3. Know your limitations and do not take on too much We cause ourselves a great deal of stress because we like people to like us and don t want to let people down. We then end up doing more than we should. Learn to delegate effectively and be assertive so that you can say no without upsetting or offending. 4. Find out what causes you stress Take time to discover what is worrying you and try to change your thoughts and behaviour to reduce it. A stress assessment can help you to fully understand the causes, implications to your health and how to manage, cope and make those necessary changes. 5. Avoid unnecessary conflict Avoid being too argumentative. Is it really worth the stress? Look for win - win situations. Look for a resolution to a dispute where both parties can achieve a positive outcome. Find out what the real cause of the problem is and deal with it. 6. Accept the things you cannot change Changing a difficult situation is not always possible. If this proves to be the case, recognise and accept things as they are and concentrate on all that you do have control over. Managing change effectively is essential or else performance will be reduced. 7. Take time out to relax and recharge your batteries Alongside holidays, with at least one break of continuous days recommended, you will perform more effectively during work after even a short 10/15minute break, easily making up the time you used relaxing. Page 3 of 5

4 8. Find time to meet friends Friends can ease work troubles and help us see things in a different way. The activities we engage in with friends help us relax and we will often have a good laugh. It boosts the immune system that is often depleted during stress. If you do become stressed, engage in some form of physical activity. It works off the biochemical and physical changes that occur within your body due to stress. Relaxation also helps your body return to its normal healthy state. Good relaxation techniques include breathing exercises, massage and a variety of complementary therapies. 9. Try to see things differently, develop a positive thinking style If something is concerning you, try to see it differently. Talk over your problem with somebody before it gets out of proportion. Often, talking to a friend/colleague/family member will help you see things from a different and less stressful perspective. You might also need to consider professional help in order to achieve the desired outcome and prevent ill health and/or burnout. 10. Avoid alcohol, nicotine and caffeine as coping mechanisms Long term, these faulty coping mechanisms will just add to the problem. For example, caffeine and nicotine are stimulants, too much and the body reacts to this with the stress response increasing or even causing anxiety symptoms. Alcohol is a depressant! Page 4 of 5

5 Facts about stress Most official statistics are two years old at best and statistics from other sources vary widely. Stress and chronic ill health in the workplace costs 100bn - Dame Carole Black, ISMA Conference 2009 An estimated 442,000 individuals in Britain, who worked in 2007/08 believed that they were experiencing work-related stress at a level that was making them ill - Labour Force Survey Government Stats Estimates indicate that self-reported work-related stress, depression or anxiety accounted for an estimated 13.5 million lost working days in Britain in 2007/08 - Labour Force Survey Direct cost of sickness absence estimated as 635 per person per year. - CIPD 2008 Indirect costs of sickness absence have been measured as twice the direct costs i.e. 1,270, making a total of 1,905 per employee per year typically around 9% of payroll costs - Norwich Union Healthcare In for every 80p spent on health promotion and intervention programmes, 4 can be saved due to reduced absenteeism, temporary staff, presenteeism and improved motivation - The European Network for Workplace Health Promotion The 2007 Psychosocial Working Conditions (PWC) survey indicated that around 13.6% of all working individuals thought their job was very or extremely stressful. - HSE The annual incidence of work-related mental health problems in Britain in 2007 was approximately 5,750 new cases per year. However, this almost certainly underestimates the true incidence of these conditions in the British workforce. - HSE According to self-reports, estimated people, who worked in 2008, first became aware of work-related stress, depression or anxiety giving an annual incidence rate of 780 cases per worker. - Labour Force Survey Page 5 of 5