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!
Hi, I’m Hayley, a mama, wife, Marketing Director and blogger based in Devon. With a two year old son, a newborn on the way and an incredibly energetic dog, not to mention a house midway through renovations, there’s never a dull moment or an empty to do list. In 2016, I joined the world of parenthood and decided to blog about our adventures, you can follow us over at:
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- Do you suffer with stress frequently or occasionally?
I was first diagnosed with stress in 2014 and at the time I felt like they were just trying to hit a quota at the doctors. I didn’t believe I was suffering anything more than normal pressures in life! Over the course of the next few months I came to realise that it was stress and how that manifests itself for me. Since then I’d say I recognise those symptoms every so often, for short periods of time. As I’ve gotten better at recognising it and can therefore handle it faster, it’s gotten less and less frequent.
2. What sort of things cause you stress?
Oh blimey, a combination of the three. I’m a bit of a wannabe overachiever and put a lot of pressure on myself to do everything there and then. Let’s just say patience isn’t my strong point! I find work a big cause of stress, particularly now that I’m part time but have retained the same role and workload. Mum guilt is also a huge stressor for me; am I spending enough time with him, am I doing the right thing working, have I sorted XYZ… I find everything builds up and then something tiny can trigger those stress feelings.
3. Does anything in particular make stress worse for you?
Pressure on myself not to be seen as weak. Mental illness is a very real thing and I have friends and family that have dealt with and are dealing with all sorts of mental illness. However, I’ve always been the ‘practical’ one in the family and feel that I have to be ‘strong’. By putting that pressure on myself, it multiplies every stressor ten fold. It’s ridiculous but it’s how my mind works.
4. Does stress have an impact on your physical health?
For me, stress manifests itself in a couple of ways; my chest tightens, I get headaches, I feel very tired and irritable and I lose the ability to sleep. It means I end up in a bit of a cycle, by not sleeping, it makes the tiredness and irritability worse, which then adds to the feelings of being stressed!
5. What do you do to alleviate stress?
I take a break from things, try and get a bit of me time into my routine, go to bed a little earlier and read etc. Sometimes just having a good cry and acknowledging those feelings is enough. Other times I talk it through with my husband or my mum and then try and put in place some little changes that might remove or lessen those stressors. Because a lot of mine is triggered by my own expectations and taking on too much, sharing how I’m feeling and asking for help can make a big difference.
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 think there’s a lot more focus on it than there used to be, especially in the workplace. Sometimes I feel that it’s too ‘buzzword-y’, for example, I felt like the doctors had certain targets to hit and are quick to say ‘oh that’s stress’. I’d like to see better resources overall for mental health, with stress included in that. I was sent to counselling which turned out to be four phone calls over two months, honestly, it was a bit of a joke. Teaching people coping techniques, educating people on how to recognise symptoms and removing the stigma would all be hugely helpful as it can have a real impact on your life.
7. Do you have any tips for anyone dealing with stress?
Acknowledging it is the first step. Reaching out for help is the next one. There’s no shame in admitting that you feel stressed or that you’re struggling, it doesn’t mean you can’t cope or that you’ve failed in any way whatsoever.
If you want to see more about stress awareness then please search ‘stress awareness’ to read all the posts throughout April.
