April is Stress Awareness Month. Stress is one of the biggest challenges we all face in day to day life, this could be due to things such as study or employment, family and relationships or something more ‘trivial’ such as missing your bus. Stress has such an impact on people but it is often not taken seriously enough.
Stress Awareness Month has been held every April since 1992 to raise awareness of the causes and cures for our modern-day stress epidemic. It is the time when we have an opportunity for an open conversation on the impact of stress. Dedicated time to removing the guilt, shame, and stigma around mental health. To talk about stress, and its effects and open up about our mental and emotional state with friends, families, colleagues, and professionals.
The Stress Management Society has access to free resources to join their ’30 day challenge’, this encourages people to pick one action for their physical, mental and emotional wellbeing to carry out each day. You can access the resources here: https://www.stress.org.uk/30daychallenge/
Not taking control of a situation and doing nothing can often make stress worse- it’s important to build emotional resilience, have a good support network and adopt a positive outlook. You could try to:
- Be active
- Take Control
- Connect with people
- Have ‘me’ time
- Challenge yourself
- Avoid unhealthy habits
- Support others
- Try to be positive
- Accept things you can’t change
For more support on what stress is and the affect it can have, you can visit one of the below websites:
- https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/stress/what-is-stress/
- https://www.nhs.uk/every-mind-matters/mental-health-issues/stress/
- https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/explore-mental-health/a-z-topics/stress
- https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/children-and-young-adults/help-for-teenagers-young-adults-and-students/student-stress-self-help-tips/
Student Services are available from 08:30-17:00, Monday-Friday (excluding Bank Holidays). We can arrange a support tutorial and go through what is causing you stress, helping you break things down into achievable and manageable goals. You can contact us by:
- Email: studentservicesreferrals@confetti.ac.uk
- Phone: 0115 952 2075
- Self-referral: https://confetti.ac.uk/sstreferral/
