Stress Awareness for freelancers
We all have mental health and just like our physical health, we need to look after it. It is perfectly normal to feel stress and anxiety at different times in our life.
- Have we lost the skills of small-talk and socialising, so that a trip to the pub feels like something to endure rather than enjoy?
- Is the prospect of commuting and working feeling like an unsurmountable challenge?
- Are we going through a life change, family stress, menopause or something that has left us feeling unsettled?
Let’s take some time to recognise and acknowledge those thoughts and remind ourselves of ways to unwind the coils of stress.
FIRSTLY – YOU ARE NOT ALONE
According to The Stress Management Society:
🟩 65% of people have felt more stressed after the pandemic
🟩 53% admit to feeling more anxious than usual.
🟩 43% feel more depressed than usual.
SIGNS TO LOOK OUT FOR
If any of these symptoms/behaviours feel familiar, you might need to seek out coping mechanisms or professional help to support you.
Body:
Fatigue | Headaches | Taut Muscles | Skin Irritations | Frequent Infections | Constricted Breathing
Mind:
Worrying | Indecision | Negativity | Foggy Thinking | Hasty Decisions | Impaired Judgement
Emotions:
Loss of confidence | Apprehension | Indifference | Depression | Irritability | Insomnia
Behaviour:
Substance Abuse | Loss of Appetite | Accident Prone | Restlessness | Loneliness | Insomnia
THE STRESS BUCKET
We all have different sizes of stress buckets. Using good coping strategies stops them overflowing. If you are feeling overwhelmed, consider:
🟩 What is happening in your life right now?
🟩 What is happening at work?
🟩 What needs your urgent attention?
🟩 What needs to change to help you?
🟩 Who can help you?
🟩 What might be some good coping strategies?
COPING STRATEGIES
Explore some stress-busting solutions yourself:
🟩 Be Active – introduce some exercise every day, even just 10,000 steps is great. Clear your thoughts and enjoy those endorphins.
🟩 Take Control – Break down your list of problems into a list of things to achieve. Slowly tackle one at a time and you’ll start to feel you are in control of your achievements rather than your problems overwhelming you.
🟩 Connect with people – Switch off your TV and go out and do something less boring instead, with another human being! Slowly re-socialise.
🟩 Challenge yourself – Try doing new things. Small things. Expand your knowledge and surprise yourself.
🟩 Help others – people who help other people in turn become more resilient themselves.
🟩 Useful apps – When dealing with stress, you may find relaxation, mindfulness, or self-care helpful.
SPEAK OUT
Identify someone to speak to…
🟩 Whether with a friend, family member, your GP or therapist, sometimes we need to talk.
🟩 Whether face to face or chatting over zoom, arrange a time when you are comfortable to talk freely and confidentially.
🟩 Allow plenty of time – you don’t want to be rushing a sensitive conversation.
🟩 Explain that you want to take some time to talk about YOU.
Try to Prepare
🟩 If you’re feeling a bit wobbly, it might be helpful to have some notes to hand to remind yourself of key points you want to communicate.
🟩 Try to open up and share not just your feelings, but your actual experiences, so they can help you identify changes that might be made.
🟩 Feel safe. Insist that your conversation will remain confidential unless you agree it can be shared with someone else who might be able to help.
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