Have you ever found yourself in a situation where your to-do list seems endless, deadlines are fast approaching and you find yourself feeling really stressed? So, what actually is stress?
Stress is not necessarily a bad thing. Without this brilliant ability to feel stress, humankind wouldn't have survived. Stress is a physical response. When stressed, the body thinks it is under attack and switches to 'fight or flight' mode, releasing a complex mix of hormones and chemicals such as adrenaline to prepare the body for physical action. With cavemen, this produced a rush of energy to prepared him to either fight the tiger or run away. In the modern world, the 'fight or flight' mode can still help us survive dangerous situations, such as reacting swiftly to a person running in front of our car by slamming on the brakes.
The challenge is when our body goes into a state of stress in inappropriate situations. When blood flow is going only to the most important muscles needed to flight or flee, brain function is minimised. This can lead to an inability to 'think straight', which can affect us in both our work and home lives and be harmful to our health.
A 10 step solution to help manage stress is to:
- Prioritise your health
- Get a good night's sleep
- Practice deep breathing
- Stay hydrated
- Eat for wellbeing
- Get moving to combat stress
- Adopt a positive mind set
- Master your time
- Don't be a slave to technology
- Learn to say no
Self-care tips and videos for young people : Every Mind Matters NHS. This website has lots of excellent advice on mental health and self-care for young people, and a range of helpful self-care videos to help you take good care of yourself.
Healthy Surrey is a website full of useful information to help young people and families lead a healthier life and take better care of themselves. Supported by the Health and Wellbeing Board, this website helps you find self-care information, as well as signposting to local services available to you as a Surrey resident. You don't need a referral for most of these – you can book an appointment yourself.
There is a section of the Healthy Surrey website dedicated to support for children and young people's emotional wellbeing and mental health, with self-help resources, online help and details on where to get more help if you need it.
Safe Space Health is a great website for Surrey children in years 7, 8 and 9 (and their parents/carers/families and schools) to get helpful information about physical and emotional health and wellbeing. Please take a look and share with your friends.
And our Mindworks Surrey website also has lots of helpful tips.