Apr 7, 2020
The irony that
we are in lockdown during April is not lost on me. April is Stress
Awareness Month
The Mental Health Foundation discovered that in 2019, 74% of
adults felt so stressed that they were overwhelmed and unable to
cope (and that was before the current challenges that we're
facing!)
April is always a busy month for me, delivering stress
awareness workshops and sessions to organisations who want to
support their employees and give them coping strategies for the
year ahead.
With this year looking so different, I've decided to run an
online Managing Stress Training session on Tuesday 14th April 2-3pm
(UK time)
This is for a small group of individuals who want:
-
Simple tools to manage stress so that you can think more clearly
-
Strategies to stay calm so that you can function more effectively
-
Easy things that increase your resilience so that you’re able to cope with the coronavirus crisis and the impact it's having on you as a worker and family member
It’s just £50 per person to join and I’m keeping the number of
attendees small so that the session will include aspects that are
personalised and specific for you. https://bit.ly/stressLI
In today's episode I'm talking about how we manage stress
during this strange lockdown period, how we can recognise stress,
what we can do about it and tips for the adjustment period
too.
I don't
deliberately mean to stress you even more, however - I want to
share some facts, and my thoughts on this because sometimes getting
information and changing the way we think about things is a key
part to coping with stressful situations.
The answer to the question everyone is asking — "When will
this be over?" — apart from gawd knows - is going to be the same
answer I used to give adoptive parents when they were dealing with
traumatised children..... erm, it might be never be over
completely.
Sorry to burst your bubble
The other question ... when can we get back to normal. What
does normal usually look like. What will it look like in the
future. It won't be the same.
This is going to bring about change. There's going to be
change in how we work - maybe more companies, having been forced to
accept working from home, will see that it's possible and people /
staff / workforce DO still get stuff done.
There's going to be a bigger need for looking after mental
health.
There's going to be changes in how we connect / keep in
touch
There's going to be changes in all sorts of things that we
haven't even thought of yet - NHS, health, shopping, schooling -
surely?
we can't possible go back to 'how it was' - people have died,
people have lost jobs, people have changed and adapted. This is how
it is. We change and adapt, but rarely go back.
What do common stress responses look like?
-
A tight feeling in your chest
-
Poor memory or struggling to remember everyday things
-
Difficulty sleeping or waking up through the night or early mornings
-
Aches and pains for seemingly no particular reason – tight shoulders, clenched jaw, stiff back
or perhaps you're
eating chocolate, crisps, carbs and rubbish .. oh and alcohol
too!
The survival
aspect creates the stress response, so our bodies release cortisol
(the stress chemical) that makes us crave CRAP (Carbs, Refined
food, Additives and Processed food).
It's supposed
to keep us going whilst we run from the tiger (so to speak) - the
only thing is, in modern day, we're sat at our desk, on our sofas,
in our cars etc, so we don't burn it off!!! So, we need to calm the
internal system.
To do this, we
need some deep breathing.
I talk about
it all in more detail on my Managing Stress trainings and webinars
... (there's one happening on 14th April if you want to join or
know more) but I also provide a guided relaxation on these because
they've been so helpful for people in the recent weeks.
What Do We Need to Do with the Stress?
Whilst this totally normal it’s also very hard.
This will be happening because of the build up of pressure /
change / emotions. It’s really important -where you can - to be
able to own and admit the difficulties.
Remember it’s ok not to be ok.
Just as long as you don’t stay in that place for
long.
Allowing time for a good moan / offload / cry is helpful then
it creates space to smile, laugh and do the the positive
uplifting things.
Know that you are not failing. Let go of all of the ideas you
have about what you should be doing right now. Instead,
focus on your physical and psychological feelings and what you can
do about them.
Some people are outwardly active and like to keep busy when
they're stressed and anxious.
Others stop, freeze, struggle to do anything. It's all
normal
I'm definitely a hide under the duvet and read a book person.
Any response is fine - just know what yours is and don't try to
keep up with others who have a different response!
The Adjustment Period
No-one really feels good during a stressful situation and
that's OK.
Find ways to stay connected.
Pick up the phone - don't just text or email or message
Use video calling because eye contact is incredibly
connecting, more than we realise.
When you've calmed your internal system, with deep breathing,
rest, or working off the stress chemical, then you look at your
adjustment better. In time your brain can re-set - it will
begin to look for opportunities / things to do / different ways to
respond.
Switch off the 'keep smiling' and 'power through' stuff on
social media.
Ignore the neighbour who has re-decorated his whole house
already!!
Your mental shift and adjustment will happen when it's right
for you - the more pressure you put on yourself, the more stressed
you'll make yourself and then you'll need to go back to point 1 of
this podcast!
There WILL be a range of emotions that you go through.
I spent a day crying last week. No particular reason, just the
whole sadness of how it's changing people, places, how we life, my
business and personal stuff too.
But it's OK to cry, get upset, be pissed off. Allow the
emotions to be there, it's part of the process - the adjustment,
healing, acceptance.
We might be on week 3 of lockdown, but this is just the
beginning.
As The Queen said, we'll meet again. And we will.
Give it time.
We must give ourselves time to accept, react and adjust. Then
we create a new normal, for a while and hopefully not too
long!
Before you leave, don't forget to go over a leave a
review.
Share this with people who will find it helpful.
Check out the Managing Stress training session
HERE
Email me or book a
call using this link if you want to talk about working with me
on 1:1 basis or getting me to help your workforce.