Stress Awareness Month 2024
Stress Awareness Month is an annual campaign which has been held every April since 1992 to raise awareness of the causes and cures for our modern-day stress epidemic. It is the time when we have an opportunity for an open conversation on the impact of stress. Dedicated time to removing the guilt, shame, and stigma around mental health. To talk about stress, and its effects and open up about our mental and emotional state with friends, families, colleagues, and professionals. Click here to find out more about the campaign.
What is stress?
Stress is our body’s response to pressure. Many different situations or life events can cause stress. It is often triggered when we experience something new or unexpected that threatens our sense of self or when we feel we have little control over a situation.
We all deal with stress differently. Our ability to cope can depend on our genetics, early life events, personality and social and economic circumstances.
When we encounter stress, our body produces stress hormones that trigger a fight or flight response and activate our immune system. This helps us respond quickly to dangerous situations.
Sometimes, this stress response can be helpful. It can help us push through fear or pain so we can run a marathon or deliver a speech, for example. Our stress hormones usually return to normal quickly once the stressful event is over, and there won’t be any lasting effects.
However, too much stress can cause adverse effects. It can leave us in a permanent stage of fight or flight, leaving us overwhelmed or unable to cope. Long term, this can affect our physical and mental health.
For more information on what stress it, what can cause it and how it can affect us, click here.
Little By Little, A Little Becomes A Lot
The theme #LittleByLittle highlights the transformative impact of consistent, small positive actions on over-all wellbeing. For Stress Awareness Month 2024 we, at The Stress Management Society, want to emphasise how even the smallest steps taken each day towards self-care and stress reduction can yield significant improvements in mental health over time.
This year’s campaign encourages you to focus on making manageable adjustments to your daily routine. While the impact of small actions on their own may seem little, the cumulative effects of these habits can end up being profound! Small everyday actions have been shown to improve our overall wellbeing through the 5 Ways to Wellbeing, click here to find out more about the 5 Ways to Wellbeing and how you can incorporate these small actions into your daily life to improve your wellbeing.
Managing and Coping with Stress
Recognising stress and its causes, and taking steps to look after your wellbeing can help you deal with pressure, and reduce the impact that stress has on your life.
There are some small things you can do to lessen the impact of stress on your mind and on your body. The next time you notice you are feeling bad because of stress, pause, and take a few deep breaths.
To help you cope with stress on a longer term basis you might want to try relaxation techniques, time management tools, or learn ways of thinking about thing you do not have much control over. They could all help you to manage pressures that can seem overwhelming and stressful. You could also learn ways to develop your emotional resilience so that you do not suffer the effects of stressful situations so often.
Learning to recognise the symptoms of stress – clenched teeth, headaches, low mood, an upset stomach or insomnia could all indicate stress – and understand what causes you to feel stressed can mean you can identify opportunities to break the cycle of mental and physical responses and help you cope better.
Click here to access a number of free stress resources from the Stress Management Society which aim to try to help you minimise stress.
Click here to download a guide on how to manage and reduce stress from the Mental Health Foundation.
Where to access support…
If you feel that stress is starting to affect your physical and mental health, there are lots of ways you can help yourself and access support.
Online Resources
National and Online Support
- Stress Management Society – Through the SMS website, you can find out in detail what stress is, how to identify its triggers and a wealth of information on managing it both at home and work. Click here to visit their website now.
- Mind – Through the Mind website, you can access information on what stress is, what can cause it, how it can impact on our mental health, and how to develop emotional resilience to cope with it. Click here to visit the Mind website now.
- Mental Health Foundation – Through their website, the Mental Health Foundation provide information on stress, the signs, the causes and how we can help ourselves. They also have created a podcast episode around stress and mental health. Click here to visit their website now.
- Samaritans – Need to talk? If stress is getting on top of you and you feel that you would benefit from talking with someone about what you are experiencing, the Samaritans service provides a free, 24/7, emotional support and listening ear service. Click here to visit their website to find out about their free telephone support service and web-based self-help app.
- Mind – You can access information and advice from Mind’s helpline services to find out more about stress. Mind also provide the Side-by-Side online community where you can access online peer support and speak virtually with others going through similar experiences to you.
- Shout Crisis Messenger – If you’re starting to feel overwhelmed, or that you can’t cope, Shout Crisis Messenger provides a 24/7 text support service. Click here to visit their website to find out more about free support available from crisis volunteers.
- Useful apps – When dealing with stress, you may find relaxation, mindfulness, or self-care helpful. Through our Useful Apps section, you can find out about a range of apps available to support you with your health and wellbeing, click here to find an app to support you today.
Local Support
Stress isn’t a medical diagnosis, so there’s no specific treatment for it. However, if you’re finding it very hard to cope with things going on in your life, you may find it useful to contact a local organisation who can support you. Check out the services listed below to find out what support is available in your area and how to get in touch.
- South Tyneside Lifecycle Primary Care Mental Health Service – The Lifecycle Service incorporates the provision of IAPT mental health services across the entire age spectrum including the 0-5 Early Years, Children and Adolescent, together with South Tyneside Talking Therapies for adults with mild to moderate mental health difficulties.
- Tyneside and Northumberland Mind – Whether you are experiencing mental health problems or going through a difficult time in your life, we can help. Our aim is to help you live the best life you can, whatever challenges you face.
- Sunderland Counselling Service – Sunderland Counselling Service is a charity that has been established for almost thirty years and provides a range of counselling and support services for people in the City of Sunderland who are suffering from emotional or mental distress.
- Sunderland Mind – We are an advice, support, and counselling service supporting anyone struggling with mental ill health. We deliver mental health training, and several courses.
- Sunderland Psychological Wellbeing Service (IAPT) – Sunderland Psychological Wellbeing Service offers a range of psychological therapies (CBT, IPT, Guided Self-Help) for people who are experiencing common mental health problems including depression and a range of anxiety disorders city wide and including Washington, Houghton-le-Spring and Hetton-le-hole.
- Washington Mind – Washington Mind is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (C.I.O.) offering a range of mental health and wellbeing services and training for the local community throughout Washington, Sunderland and the Coalfields.
