It’s Stress Awareness month! If you haven’t seen my post here about Stress Awareness month and the stress awareness takeover, then go and check it out so that you can see what is going on!
Hello! My name is Gee and I blog over at www.geegardner.co.uk. I am a 20 something Mum of two girls, Eloise (7) and Lily (2). I am and artist, borderline nerd and I have had a plethora of mental health issues starting from the tender age of 2 so I am all too familiar with the ins and outs of having a mental illness and the stigma that comes with it.
Blog – www.geegardner.co.uk
Twitter – www.twitter.com/geeegardner
Instagram – www.instagram.com/geeegardner
Facebook – www.facebook.com/geegardnerblog
Youtube – www.youtube.com/geegardner
Facebook parent group – www.facebook.com/themamarchy
Art – www.instagram.com/tulipandmoss
1) Do you suffer with stress frequently or occasionally?
I was diagnosed with anxiety at 2 years old so I’ve basically spent my entire life in a somewhat stress blob and I constantly flit between being anxious, panicky, stressed or all three. I spent my childhood in and out of CAHMS and my adult life has been a similar story.
2) What sort of things cause you stress?
I think parenthood is stressful for anyone and add anxiety in the mix coupled with a couple of feral girls then it’s basically a petri dish for stress however, saying that I was diagnosed with Generalised Anxiety Disorder in my teens so pretty much anything makes me anxious which causes me a bunch of stress at the same time. I’m basically on a none stop roundabout of being anxious about being stressed and being stressed about being anxious and then panicking about all of that. Now I’m not a fan of theme parks anyway but that’s a pretty shit roundabout let me tell you.
3) Does anything in particular make stress worse for you?
I think any mental health issue can throw up issues when it comes to other people, I’ve found that unless someone has had first hand experience of the implications of mental illnesses then actual understanding is rarer than a unicorn fart. There is also so much stigma it is unreal, especially when it comes to people talking and opening up about their mental health. I had a delightful (sarcasm) person say that anyone who talked about MH online is an attention seeker, it’s that sort of attitude that can end up killing someone. I think people really do forget that mental illnesses have the potential to be life threatening.
4) Does stress have an impact on your physical health?
My mental health has a huge impact on my physical health. I have a chronic illness too which if I experience too much stress or anxiety I will relapse with and end up in bed feeling like I’m on deaths door. If I have had a particularly stressful day or if I’ve had a panic attack then it’s almost a given that I will end up with a migraine and a blood sugar crash and I will have a hypo too so yes, it absolutely does have an impact.
5) What do you do to alleviate stress?
A lot of it is riding it out for me. I do find writing down what is stressing me out and then writing a more logical explanation or outcome helpful because I do tend to just go to the worst case scenario when it comes to pretty much everything.
Practising self care is another thing that I find helpful, whether that be having a nice bath, going for a walk, blocking a negative fart online, throwing your phone in the ocean. Anything that causes you stress, get rid (unless it’s your kid, don’t throw them in the ocean). Talking to someone else who can see everything from a different perspective helps too sometimes and can be beneficial for coming up with solutions to your stressors.
6) Do you think more needs to be done to raise awareness of what causes stress and the impact it has on us and those around us? If yes, what would you do or like to see done?
I absolutely think that so much more needs to be done to raise awareness surrounding not only stress but all mental health issues. I think the stigma surrounding mental health is what needs to be talked about and eradicated before we see any improvement in society as a whole. People are dying because that option seems like a better one than talking to somebody and when people realise that their attitude, and their judgement, are what is feeding this stigma and costing lives, maybe things will change.
7) Do you have any tips for anyone dealing with stress?
Talk about it! Talk to your Mum, Dad, partner, GP, counsellor, your next door neighbour, your friend, even the cat, hell even that random stray your cat brings home. Even if you just want to write it down and then burn the paper in some ritualistic way just get it out and even if you don’t feel like you got this, you’ve got this far. You can do it.
Thanks Gee!
If you want to see more about stress awareness then please search ‘stress awareness’ to read all the posts throughout April.
