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!
Han-Son runs DaddiLife, one of the leading parenting websites for dads featuring an array of tips, stories and advice from modern fatherhood through to things to do, and much more. You can find him on Facebook and Instagram.
1.) Do you suffer with stress frequently or occasionally?
Stress is something I try and manage on a daily basis.
2.) What sort of things cause you stress? Work, family, parenthood – no right or wrong answer, it can be anything.
I work in a high pressure job where there always seem to be a problem that needs solving. That in itself I’ve got better at managing, but a lot of my stress also comes from what I feel I could be doing more as a dad. I guess that mixture of high pressured work with my own drives of wanting to do more as a dad drives a unique work/life balance stress. It is something I think about most days. It’s something I know affects a lot more working dads than first meets the eye too.
3.) Does anything in particular make stress worse for you? For example, workplace pressure or lack of understanding from friends/family that stress is a real mental health issue.
Good question. I seem to live a life where if one thing is out of kilter, then it has a massive domino effect on everything else. Recently my son was sick for a few days longer than usual and the work pressure it added seemed to create a vicious cycle where I felt even more stressed and eventually got worn down myself.
4.) Does stress have an impact on your physical health?
Definitely. For any down days I feel more larthagic than usual. It also affects how much I embrace then going out with my son – which adds to the guilt.
5.) What do you do to alleviate stress?
There are 2 things I do.
Firstly, I have what I call a ‘reset mode.’ It’s something I do when I feel life is getting on top of me, and I need to find the right way to reframe life a little. It’s very simple actually. I look at the pictures and videos when my son was born. Somehow just flicking through those first few months gives me a huge lift, and helps me put whatever is stressing me out into perspective. It’s a wonderful reset.
The other thing I do is get out and playing with my son as much as possible. He’s a super adventurous type, and I’ve discovered the joys of things like the Tuff Tray recently that really helps hone our play time together even more!
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?
Definitely. I think work/life balance stress in particular is something I relate to a lot. I don’t think it’s a subject that is taken at all seriously in most organisations. The solution isn’t yet another flexible working policy, it’s got to be a fundamental re-think on how we define and encourage productivity in the workplace. The famous cliché is ofcourse that happy staff makes for a better and more productive workplace – and there’s got to be some deeper lessons there where parents come to mind.
7.) Do you have any tips for anyone dealing with stress?
Find what helps you reset. It doesn’t need to be pictures and videos. I’ve heard from dads that even something as simple as putting the washing out helps them reset. Whatever it is that helps you put everything in life in its right order again – find it – and be ready to push that button whenever you need to.
Thank you lovely!
If you want to see more about stress awareness then please search ‘stress awareness’ to read all the posts throughout April.
