Stress and Stress Management

For a good basic introduction to the topic of stress, look no further than our page What is Stress?

This page explains how stress can arise, and how to recognise its signs and symptoms. It also suggests some events which may prove particularly stressful, including the death of a close friend or partner, divorce, marriage and job loss.

However, it isn’t always the big things that are most stressful. Small stressors, known as micro-stressors, can build up over time and also cause problems. Many of these are about your relationships with other people at home or at work. You can find out more in our page Understanding Micro-Stressors.

One area that is commonly associated with stress is the (mis)use of technology, especially smartphones. You can find out more about this in our page on Stress and Technology, including some ways to take back control.

One of the most stressful issues of all is a sense that you are losing control.

It is therefore important to take control of your stress levels, and put in place an active system to manage them.

Our page Dealing with Stress provides ten top tips on how you can do this.

The page on Avoiding and Managing Stress provides more detailed information about some ways that you can avoid and reduce the stress in your life. It also gives you some ideas about approaches to relaxation and self-help therapy.

Stress is often closely linked to diet. A good diet can help you to manage stress better, and a bad diet can often exacerbate problems. For more about this, see our page on Stress, Nutrition and Diet.

The state of your living space and your mind can also affect your levels of stress. A tidy and well-ordered mind and home are much more conducive to calm and mental well-being. It may therefore be worth considering a process of decluttering. You can find out more in our pages on Decluttering Your Living Spaces and Decluttering Your Mind and Your Life.

Finally, certain times of the year and events can also be more stressful. Family get-togethers, for example, can sometimes be characterised by a certain amount of tension. Christmas is often particularly fraught, thanks to a combination of expectations, tiredness, and the season itself. For more about staying calm at Christmas, see our page on Avoiding Stress at Christmas.

While many life events can be stressful, there is also no doubt that workplace stress is a misery for many people.

Stress at work can lead to problems not only for the individual concerned, but in others through working relationships, and even for the company itself when stressed employees come into contact with customers. There is more about this in our page on Workplace Stress.

One way to avoid workplace stress is through good work organisation and work design. It is worth understanding a little about these concepts so that you can avoid problems both as an employee and as a manager. Job crafting is a process linked to work design, but is carried out by individuals to make their work better fit their skills.

Workplace stress can also arise from Workplace Bullying. Like any other form of bullying, this needs to be addressed swiftly and effectively.

One consequence of excessive workplace stress is burnout, an unpleasant feeling of being unable to cope with workplace pressure. Our page on Avoiding Burnout sets out ways that you can manage situations to avoid this condition. Our page on Work-Life Balance suggests ways to ensure that your life is balanced between work and home so that you avoid excessive stress. You may also be interested in learning more about well-being, which is more or less the polar opposite of being stressed.

Our page on Relaxation Techniques introduces some ideas about how to relax, and some tips for learning to relax.

You can find more about specific techniques for relaxation in our pages on:

• An Introduction to Yoga for Wellbeing;
• Yoga Nidra, or yoga for relaxation and stress relief;
• Mindfulness, about living in the moment, and appreciating it to the full;
• Aromatherapy, the effect of scent and smell on state of mind;
• Music Therapy, of the effect of sound. This is not to be confused with the work of professional music therapists who use music and instruments to help people express emotions;
• Self-hypnosis, a simple technique to enable you to step away from your stress and feel more relaxed; and
• Laughter as Therapy, an excellent way to help you relax.

Finally, it is important to remember that it is not always a bad thing to feel under pressure or anxious. Some level of pressure can help to improve performance, and stressful events can also improve our coping skills.

For more about this, read our page on Harnessing Stress and Pressure.