As a healthcare provider, where our healthcare staff has experienced stressful situations during this pandemic providing personal care, we understand that stress is a normal part of life, during your lifetime everybody will experience stressful situations. Stress is the feeling of being affected mentally or emotionally pressured. It can be very difficult to get rid of stress, as there could be reoccurring thoughts and situations which you experience or have experienced. Stress can be overwhelming when you are exposed to it for a long period of time.
Everyday life experiences can cause stress, such as work, relationships, and money problems, when feeling stressed it can be difficult to sort out these issues and it can affect everything that you do.
Stress can cause mental health problems. For example, if you struggle to deal with feelings of stress, it could lead to mental health difficulties such as anxiety or depression.
Mental health problems can cause stress. It may be difficult to deal with your mental health problem, and also managing medication, health care appointments, or treatments that can cause further stress.
What are the signs of stress?
You are likely to experience stress differently in various situations. It can be difficult to tell straight away if you are experiencing stress, and you may just carry on with everyday life. Stress can impact you emotionally and physically, which is likely to impact your behavior.
There are various symptoms that you can experience:
Cognitive symptoms
Memory problems
Difficulties concentrating
Poor judgment
Negative thoughts
Anxious thoughts
Constant worrying
Emotional symptoms
Depression
Feeling unhappy
Anxiety and feeling agitated
Moody, irritability, or anger
Feeling lonely and isolated.
Physical symptoms
Muscle aches and pains
Diarrhea or constipation
Nausea & Dizziness
Chest pain and a rapid heart rate
Frequent colds or flu
Behavioral symptoms
Eating more food or loss of appetite
Sleeping a lot or not enough
Avoiding others and finding it difficult to communicate
Procrastinating
Nervous habits (shaking leg, nail-biting, chewing pen)
Drinking or smoking
Secure healthcare suggestions on how to deal with stress
Exercise
Regular working out is a great way to relax your body and mind. This can improve your mood. Getting outdoors is a great way to boost your mood. Whether it a short period of exercises such as a 10–30-minute run, daily walk, or bike ride. A gym workout at home or at the gym can also be important to keep you occupied and clear your mind. Lack of exercise can increase the risk of anxiety and depression. Exercise is critical to clear your mind and negative thoughts to boost your mood.
Eating well
We recommend you eating a well-balanced diet to help you feel better in general, this will help you control your moods. It is essential to have a diet that consists of protein, high level of vitamins, eating vegetables and fruit is imperative to ensure you are having your five a day, also it is important that you are hydrated by drinking water.
Sleep
Ensure you get seven to eight hours of sleep, keep yourself occupied during the day, and also meditation and relaxing sleep music can help you get to sleep.
Hobby
Undertaking a hobby such as reading, hiking, writing, cooking, learning to play a musical instrument, baking, and playing board games with your family and friends can take your mind off things and keep you occupied.
Meditation, stress reduction, or yoga
It is beneficial to meditate and practice relaxation techniques to help you deal with stress. There is a lot of content on YouTube which you can watch to help you with this.
The NHS provides a lot of information about stress and how to deal with it. Click here to find out more.