Stress Awareness Month: Tips to help you relax and combat stress

April is Stress Awareness Month, so I wanted to share some advice on how to manage stress and use the theme of #LittlebyLittle to better your mental health.

We are now in April, which means it is Stress Awareness Month. Every year since 1992, April has been known as Stress Awareness Month with the aim of helping to combat stress and provide advice on how to decrease stress.

As someone who struggles with stress and knows the impact it can have on daily life, I wanted to write a post about Stress Awareness Month. Now, the World Health Organisation (WHO) defines stress as:

"A state of worry or mental tension caused by a difficult situation."

A lot of things can be described as a difficult situation. On a larger scale, a difficult situation could be illness, the cost of living, and of course, global issues occurring in the world at the moment. But on a smaller scale, and sometimes on a more personal level, difficult situations could include a big project at work, an exam for school/university or even just a never-ending list of chores.

It can be so easy to get wrapped up in your stress and feel strung out, especially when it has become a lot easier to procrastinate with the rise in popularity of TikTok. However, if you're feeling stressed, it's not always the best thing to try and complete the jobs that need doing.

The Stress Management Society are using the theme of #LittleByLittle for Stress Awareness Month this year with the motto: Little By Little, A Little Becomes A Lot. The goal of this initiative is to promote the benefits of "consistent, small positive actions on overall wellbeing."

This theme of #LittleByLittle is a key lesson to learn because putting into effect small changes can have more benefits in the long run than big ones. Therefore, I'm going to share some manageable actions you can put in place that will help you relax and combat those feelings of stress.

Positive Affirmations

Telling yourself positive affirmations can have huge benefits for your mental health and daily outlook on life. If you don't know what positive affirmations are, essentially, they are things you tell yourself to alter your subconscious thoughts to combat negative beliefs.

For example, looking in the mirror and telling yourself, 'I am strong' or 'I am intelligent' or 'I can do this'.

Telling yourself positive affirmations alters your neural pathways and replaces the negative thoughts, enhancing your perspective of yourself. They can increase your optimism and help you generally feel better, meaning that the impact of stress will be less.

Small Successes

We live in a world where we strive for success, usually defined by society as a well-paying and well-respected job, or a fancy car, a big house, or a healthy family. But sometimes, when stress is a daily occurrence, it can become easy to get caught up in achieving those big goals that you miss the little things.

Success doesn't have one definition. It means something different from one person to the next and this is the key takeaway. You should be able to celebrate the small successes in your life because eventually a little becomes a lot.

So celebrate getting out of bed. Celebrate completing a load of washing, cooking dinner, buying groceries, sending off emails, posting on LinkedIn, interacting with colleagues...

The list could go on, but make sure that you celebrate small successes because over time, it will help improve your mood and you'll feel more accomplished and less stressed.

Night-time Routine

Personally, I think routines can be underrated. A lot of people say that they don't have time to put in place a night-time routine, but I think the benefits are worth it.

Having a night-time routine doesn't have to be long, or busy; it is meant to help you relax, unwind and feel at peace before you go to sleep. Your routine could include switching your phone off 30 minutes before bed and having no screen time, taking a bath, reading a book, doing skincare or simply just having a hot drink.

A night-time routine will allow you to leave work, and stress, behind and ready you for the next day.

Sufficient Sleep

The night-time routine then sets you up nicely to have a sufficient night's sleep. It can be very easy to slip into a routine where you don't get the full seven to eight hours of sleep each night.

I'm definitely guilty of that but by not having enough sleep, you increase the tension in your body and your cortisol (stress) levels, and you can feel incredibly tired the next day.

Getting enough sleep allows your body to release the stress from the previous day, so that when you wake up you'll feel refreshed and ready to tackle the day ahead, even if it includes stressful tasks.

Time in Nature

Nature might not be for everyone. My sister has never been a big fan of the outdoors, however, even she has admitted the wonders spending time outside each day has done for her mentality.

This year, we've gone for a walk each morning and it has set us up for the day with a fresher outlook, a refreshed mind and a calm interior, reducing our stress.

Simply spending time in nature can – obviously – improve your physical health if it's in the form of a walk or even gardening, but it can also have huge benefits for your mental health. Nature can reduce your stress by lowering blood pressure and allowing you to be more present and positive because it is a peaceful environment.

Daily Activity

This tip can go hand in hand with the one above. Daily activity can come in the form of a walk, swimming, an at-home workout or going to the gym.

Doing some form of physical movement helps get the endorphins pumping, which in turn lowers your stress and risk of health conditions. But it also boosts your energy levels and mood so that when you have to tackle those stressful jobs, you'll feel less overwhelmed.

Planning Ahead

I love to plan. I've found I can get quite stressed when I don't know what's happening or what I'm doing. So, if you've read some of my blog posts before, you'll know I always write a daily to-do list.

Having a plan can really improve your well-being because it means that your days are structured. You will know when deadlines and important appointments are but you'll also know when you can have a rest and take a break.

Stress Awareness Month can cause stress itself; however, if you plan and schedule some downtime and blocks of time for different jobs, you can then be more efficient in your daily life and things will seem less chaotic and less stressful.

Gratitude Reflection

Gratitude is a practice I would like to do more and I think you should too. Reflecting on what you're grateful for is an activity that not only reduces your stress levels, but it helps you appreciate what you've got and makes you more present in life rather than always thinking ahead, or of the past.

Thinking about what you're grateful for means that you can feel better about the stresses in your life because it improves your self-esteem and both your physical and mental health. It can be difficult to begin practising gratitude, but the benefits are worth it, especially if you are someone who never feels like they have a moment to stop and appreciate what you've got.

Stress Awareness Month is an important month because it allows people to think about their lives and realise how they can better their wellbeing. All eight of these activities are small, manageable things that you can input into your daily life to feel better, not only about yourself, but what your days entail.

So if you're feeling stressed or overwhelmed, give some of these a go and see if you notice the benefits.

Until next time...