Stress Awareness Month takes place in April each year.
The initiative is celebrating its 26th year in 2018 after being started in 1992. It aims to raise awareness about the impact of stress, and how to accept and manage it.
Topics surrounding the area include investigating the adverse effects stress can have on the mind and body, what causes stress in people and how to relieve it.
Almost everyone will have some experience of stress in their lives, but when this stress is long-term or intense it can have negative effects on both the mind and body. Things that cause stress can vary hugely; they can be repetitive events in day to day life or just one singular shocking incident.
One of the aims of Stress awareness month is providing strategies to minimize stress. These can be things like sustaining a healthy lifestyle, discussing your feelings, and finding time to relax. If you feel like you are affected by stress you can find help and information on the internet, or you can pursue advice from a trained healthcare professional.
If left unattended, stress can be very serious, it is sometimes described as a “silent killer” because it can be the cause of a number of health problems despite being regarded as innocuous. Issues such as high blood pressure and heart disease have been linked to long-term stress.
For this reason, Stress Awareness Month is very important – it provides an opportunity to inform people about stress and indicate where they can access tools and resources to manage it.
What can you do to be aware this Stress Awareness Month?
- Discuss stress and its effects
- Share your coping mechanisms
- Advise others and share where you can get help
- Be understanding to those who are stressed and anxious
- Practice self-care and look after yourself
For more advice on how to deal with stress take a look at NHS Choices.