Stress Awareness Month: How you can take care of yourself

Alycia discusses Stress Awareness Month, how you can take care of yourself, how to prioritise your mental wellbeing and change your mindset.

April is Stress Awareness Month, a time to focus on the importance of mental well-being and the impact stress can have on our lives.

Whether you're at uni or at work, or just navigating your way through life, it's important to take time to care for your mental health.

Stress

Feeling stressed is the worst. But it happens to all of us, time and time again – unfortunately.

You might be feeling the pressure at work, worried about your assignments, or worried your life just isn’t going quite how you want it to. Don’t let it take a toll on your mental health.

Stress can manifest in different ways for different people, and can be caused by a variety of factors, including pressure at work, relationship issues, financial struggles, or health concerns.

What can you do to stress less?

You need to figure our what works for you. It could be as simple as working out, reading a book, seeing a friend of getting your nails done. Having some time for yourself amongst the busyness of life is important, and you should always prioritise your mental wellbeing.

In truth, life isn’t always going to be perfect, and that’s okay. Make peace with the messiness of life and you’ll enjoy it much more. The lows only make the highs higher.

The Importance of Mental Well-Being

Mental health is just as important as physical health. Let’s say that again. Mental health is just as important as physical health.

I was recently having a conversation with someone about the fact that workplaces should offer mental health days as sickness days. For those of us who get anxious or can struggle with mental wellbeing at times, this illness can physically manifest and feel just as debilitating as other forms of sickness.

If you find your stress is materialising into more than ‘just a bit of stress’, it’s okay to admit you might need some help and we’re lucky to be living in a world where now more than ever, the importance of mental health is being discussed and prioritised.

Where are you now?

Stress can be different at different stages of life, you might be a student, a first time mother, a carer for a parent, financially responsible for yourself or others, or even working a really rough job.

This month, its important to be aware of the stresses others might be facing as well as ourselves.

It’s easy enough to look at someone else’s life and think that they have nothing to be stressed about, especially with the presence of social media. But the truth is, and I’ll bet you can guess what’s coming… that just isn’t true.

The bigger picture…

In the midst of crisis, stress, depression, anxiety or just an off ‘down day’, it can be hard to remember the bigger picture. Take a step back and remember nothing is that serious, now I know, this may seem patronising. Many of us have real problems, restraints, worries and concerns. But there is always, always a way to make small changes for your mental wellbeing until the bigger problems can be solved.

We are literally living on a giant floating rock.

You will be okay.

If you feel like you don’t know the purpose of life, I’ll let you in on a little secret… neither does anyone else.

Stress Awareness Month is a reminder to take care of our mental health and prioritise our self-care, we hope you make yourself number one this month!