Stress and Resilience
1. what is stress?
Is not always a bad thing!
2. What causes stress?
- Stress risk management in the workplace
7. Mental health
8. Getting help and useful resources
3. What are the signs of stress?
6.Practical activities to cope with stress
5. How to manage stress and build resilience
Stress can happen when we feel we cannot cope because we believe we are under too much pressure.
From work, family
Caring for people can be emotionally and physically demanding. Even when things are going well, supporting other people can be challenging!
The stress process
- You may feel threatened
- You feel or experience stress
2.Then the situation becomes difficult
What happens next
- You are in a situation
What do stress hormones do?
Stress hormones including adrenaline and cortisol have a big impact on you.
- Muscle have more energy
- Digestion is reduced
- Blood pressure increases
- Growth and reproductive functions inhibited
- Heart beats fast
- Increased activity in areas of the brain responsible for mood, motivation and fear.
Amygdala Hijack
- Is a part of the brain associated with strong emotion. In stressful situations it takes over, often at the expense of other parts of the brain associated with rational thought.
- The amygdala is responsible for the fight or flight response.
Stress types
Acute stress is a short-term response, usually to isolated, one off events.
It is not unhealthy. It is usually an appropriate and helpful reaction.
- Pressing the brake pedal suddenly to avoid a collision when driving.
- Psychologically threatening moments, such as having to speak in public or meeting new people.
Chronic stress happens if you experience too much pressure over an extended period.
The level of stress hormones in the body do not return to normal.
Chronic stress can be bad for you if it is not managed properly.
Problems with concentration and memory
Sleep problems
Digestive problems
Weight gain or loss
Depression
Other physical or psychological problems
Anxiety
According to the mental health charity, Mind, feelings of stress are normally triggered by things happening in your life which involve...
Worrying about something
Not having enough work or activities
Overwhelming responsibilities
Times of uncertainty
Facing big changes
Financial issues
Not having much or any control
Difficult relationships
Being under a lot of pressure
At work, factors like skills, experience, age and ability may affect a person's ability to cope.
Control
Role
Support
Relationships
Demands
change
Stress does not always come from one main cause.
it is the result of lots of small pressures that build up over time.
The best way to reduce and remove stress is through education and effective management.
Everyone should look out for signs of stress at home and in their workplace.
Are you in a stressed team?
Reduced performance
More complaints or grievances
More reports of stress
Taking more time off work
High staff turnover
Arriving for work late and leaving early
More sickness absence
People ignoring each other
Arguments
Stress affects the way we think, feel and behave.
The law says that employers are responsible for the health, safety and wellbeing of their employees while they are at work.
This includes stress.
Under the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, employers have a legal duty to protect employees from stress at work by undertaking a risk assessment and acting on it.
Employers and employees need to take action to control the risks associated with stress.
Stress Risk Assessment
Record it
Control the risk
Staff engagement
Communicate the findings
Identify the hazards
A hazard is something with the potential to cause harm.
Talk to employees to listen to their concerns and opinions about stress in the workplace.
Write down who could be harmed by the hazards and how.
For each hazard, write down what controls are in place to manage these.
Implement
Discuss the findings with employees. You need to know about any processes or ways of working which you should follow.
Put the agreed actions into practice.
Review and update
Stress is not a weakness. It can happen to anyone. You can control how you respond to it.
Resilience is the ability to adapt and cope well in times of stress.
All of these things influence our resilience
Personality
Past experiences
Current circumstances
and the people around us.
These behaviours are associated with resilience.
Problem-solving
Learn
Get on
Be generous
Gratitude
Be courageous
Aspiration
Be mindful
Help
Persevere
Know your limits
Understand and value what you do both at work and in your personal life
Try to help others where you can. Prevent bullying, for both bullies and victims.
Working out ways to solve problems.
Every single thing that goes wrong is an opportunity to learn and grow and do things differently.
Keep an open mind. Be willing to adapt, change and learn. Give yourself to other people through compassion and forgiveness.
Protect and stand up for yourself. Approach new situations, new people, new demands with a positive attitude.
Set yourself realistic goals that you can achieve based on things that are important to you. If something doesn't work, try different strategies to help you cope with pressure.
Work on recognising your thoughts and emotions. See if you can identify if, or when, your amygdala is triggered and plan what you will do to get back on track.
Offer support to other people when they need it and don't be afraid to ask for help when you need it.
When the going gets tough - keep going.
Identify what you have the ability to control and understand where your boundaries and limitations are. Resist peer pressure.
Skills
Managers
Employees
Organisation
Processes and systems.
Policies and guidelines.
Proper risk management for work-related stress.
Training and support for all employees to enable them to develop their own resilience.
Monitoring and addressing potential sources of stress.
Investigating whether performance issues, including absenteeism, of individual workers is in any way stress-related.
Ensuring that reasonable adjustments are made for any worker with a disability under the Disability Discrimination Act.
As an employee, you must follow any training or support you are given and take responsibility for your own resilience.
Stress can contribute to errors, misjudgements, low morale and sickness absence. This is why it is important to develop resilience
Get organised and plan your time
Put steps in place to address what causes you stress
Identify what can trigger stress for you
The wonderful thing about life is that you have choice and control.
how you can reduce stress?
being organised
mindful
healthy social life
relaxed
physical activities you can do to stay healthy and reduce your stress levels.
Take up yoga or other exercise class
Go for a walk and feed the birds
Go for a picnic in the countryside
Exercise every day
Get outside and do some gardening
Clean, tidy or fix something
Walk the dog or pet a friendly animal
Do something new
Learn and practise breathing techniques
create a positive mindset
Accept mistakes and incidents do happen
Don't give yourself a hard time
View problems as challenges to be overcome
Do not rely on your memory!
Don't forget to phone a friend if you need support.
You cannot change what has happened. you can choose how you respond and what you do next.
Human beings are not perfect.
We do not remember things like elephants do.
These are some things to avoid...
Poor sleep patterns - going to bed late
Being disorganised - Prepare for the morning the night before
Avoid tight fitting clothes
Avoid negative people and stop trying to fix other people
Avoid chemical aids like smoking and drinking
Avoid junk food
Isolation - you need a support network of people, places and things
Things to improve your stress
7-11 breathing
Mindfulness and meditation
World Health Organization (WHO)
Mental health is about how we think, feel and behave.
These are some of the methods that mental health illness can be treated...
Talking therapy
Psychiatric medication
Arts and creative therapies
Complementary therapies
Things like counselling, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), guided self-help and family therapy with a professionally trained therapist.
Medications like antidepressants, antipsychotics, mood stabilisers, sleeping pills and minor tranquilisers. These medications should not be taken without specialist advice and instruction via your GP or a mental health specialist.
how doodling, drawing, colouring and painting helps him to focus his mind and manage his panic attacks.
Things like meditation, yoga, massage, hypnotherapy, herbal remedies and acupuncture.
Treatment for mental health illness can combine several different methods.
You can also have anxiety and depression without experiencing stress.
What causes mental health illness?
It is important to note that people can have a mental health illness with no obvious causes.
Social isolation
Relationship breakdown
Domestic violence
Medical Conditions
Bereavement
Drug and alcohol abuse
Finance or work problems
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Hormone changes
There are lots of places you can go to learn about more about stress, resilience and get support.
Health and Safety Executive
Help for employees about work-related stress.
ACAS
Dealing with stress in the workplace.
NHS
Understanding Stress.
MIND
Mental health charity offering resource and support.
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