April is Stress Awareness Month: How to manage stress.

What is Stress Awareness Month?

Stress Awareness Month is observed every April to highlight the causes, effects and management of stress. The goal is to break down the stigma around stress, and address the fact that workplace stress is increasing with 1 in 4 workers reporting that they’re unable to cope with stress at work. Stress Awareness Month helps to create noise around the warning signs of stress and and how to manage it before it becomes chronic and causes severe symptoms such as anxiety, depression, and high blood pressure.

Symptoms of stress

Stress can present as emotional and physical symptoms. Emotional signifiers of stress could be irritability, low mood, and feeling overwhelmed, where physical symptoms present as headaches, muscle aches, and dizziness. Stress can even result in behavioural changes like teeth grinding and oversleeping. When left untreated, chronic stress can lead to serious physical health issues such as heart problems, immune system reproductive issues.

How to manage stress

A key step in managing stress that Stress Awareness Month aims to promote is communication: getting sufferers to discuss their symptoms and feelings with friends, family or health professionals. This can help to put the cause of stress into prospective. Taking steps to manage time and tasks more effectively can also reduce the ‘overwhelmed’ feeling by breaking up assignments into manageable chunks. Regular exercise is also known to reduce stress as it increases anxiety reducing endorphins. Other management techniques include relaxation through deep breathing and meditation, improving sleep and diet, and focussing on enjoyed hobbies.

The effects of ‘coffee breaks’ on stress

‘Coffee breaks’ are a great way to manage stress at work. They allow for a moment to divert your focus, pause a task and socially interact to reset yourself mentally and avoid burn-out. In fact, in moderation (2-3 cups daily) coffee can reduce the risk of anxiety and depression. However, be mindful, high caffeine intake can heighten stress, increase flight or flight and even effect heart rate. So if you’re feeling overwhelmed or jittery, especially at work, take a structured break to relax and be present. Your ‘coffee break’ is worth it, but it doesn’t always have to contain caffeine.

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