April is the month where we bring attention to the negative impacts of stress.
The Stress Management Society, a non-profit organisation, has run the month for 30 years. It aims to help the wider community to recognise and reduce stress.
How stressed are we?
Leading international expert, founder and Chief De-Stressing Officer of the Stress Management Society, Neil Shah said: “It feels like the world is more stressful, more demanding, more challenging today than it’s ever been.”
According to research, suicide is the biggest killer of men under the age of 45, every day there are around 18 suicides per day in England and Wales.
By the time they reach 40, about 86% of people on will have experienced depression.
Nearly a third of adults, and over a third of young people said that their mental health has deteriorated in the last year, emphasising the need for a call for action.
Why we need to #ActNow
The society’s #ChooseHope campaign aims to encourage public awareness of how to show support in the fight against stress, through sharing stories that inspire hope, That was the influence for this year’s theme.
The theme #ActNow is encouraging people to realise that simply discussing something alone won’t make an impactful and positive long-term change.
Shah said: “Hope inspires action, people who believe that the world can be better than it is today are more likely to take positive action to create that world.
“This is why Stress Awareness Month is an important opportunity to start talking, more so than ever, to inspire action to get people to do something.
“A little bit of action can make a huge amount of difference.”
“We are very proud to be behind this campaign to raise awareness and really start to remove the guilty shame and stigma associated with feeling stressed, overwhelmed, experiencing poor mental health, and experiencing burn out.”
A few ways to reduce your stress
The final few days of Stress Awareness Month are approaching, so check the 30-day calendar on www.stress.org.uk with ideas of things you can do to improve your wellbeing and act now.
Among some of their tips are:
- Talk about your stress and the effect it is having amongst family and friends.
- Be kind to yourself, take time out of your day to incorporate some self-care.
- Stay active, try some exercise to release endorphins.
- Focus on the the small things, something you love that makes you smile everyday.
#TheStressManagementSociety #ActNow#ChooseHope
