Stress

Here are some top tips and ideas to help you manage stress.

Identify Your Triggers

Working out what triggers stress for you can help you anticipate problems and think of ways to solve them. Even if you can’t avoid these situations, being prepared can help. Take some time to reflect on events and feelings that could be contributing to your stress (you could do this on your own or with someone you trust).

You could consider:

• Issues that come up regularly, and that you worry about, for example paying a bill or attending an appointment.
• One-off events that are on your mind a lot, such as moving house or taking an exam.
• Ongoing stressful events, like being a carer or having problems at work.

Organise Your Time

Making some adjustments to the way you organise your time could help you feel more in control of any tasks you’re facing, and more able to handle pressure.

• Identify your best time of day and do the important tasks that need the most energy and concentration at that time
• Make a list of things you need to do. Arrange them in order of importance and try to focus on the most urgent first. Some people find creating a timetable useful so they can plan when they can spend time on each task. If your tasks are work related, ask a manager or colleague to help you prioritise. You may be able to push back some tasks until you’re feeling less stressed.
• Set smaller and more achievable targets. Setting smaller more achievable goals can make you feel in more control, and you can see your achievements more easily.
• Vary your activities. Balance interesting tasks with more mundane ones, and stressful tasks with those you find easier or can do more calmly.
• Try not to do too much at once. If you take on too much, you might find it harder to do any individual task well. This can make you feel like you have even more pressure on you.
• Take breaks and take things slowly. It might be difficult to do this when you’re stressed, but it can make you more productive.
• Ask someone if they can help. For example, you could ask a friend or family member to help with some of your daily tasks so that you have more time to spend completing your tasks that are causing you to feel stressed.

Address Some of the Causes

Although there will probably lots of things in your life that you can’t do anything about, there might still be some practical ways you could resolve or improve some of the issues that are putting pressure on you. You might find it helpful to read further information about Housing & Finance, Work & Student Life, Family & Personal Life here.

Build Resilience

Taking steps to look after your wellbeing can help you deal with pressure, and reduce the impact that stress has on your life. This is sometimes called developing emotional resilience. Resilience is not just your ability to bounce back, but also your capacity to adapt in the face of challenging circumstances, whilst maintaining a stable mental wellbeing. Resilience isn’t a personality trait – it’s something that we can all take steps to achieve. Visit our website here for our top tips to build resilience.

Accept the Thing you Cannot Change

It’s not easy but accepting that there are some things happening to you that you probably can’t do anything about will help you focus your time and energy more productively.

“Sometimes I take a minute to ‘reply’ to my stressy thoughts… it’s hard to be stressed when you’ve got things in perspective! Most of the things I worry about are either things I can’t change or things which aren’t earth-shatteringly important.”