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Helping Shape Your Future

Since 1986

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Helping Shape Your Future

Since 1986

Personal Development theme of the month:

Healthy Living & Stress Awareness

Definition of healthy living

“Healthy living” to most people means both physical and mental health are in balance or functioning well together in a person. In many instances, physical and mental health are closely linked, so that a change (good or bad) in one directly affects the other.

Good health

Good health is not just the absence of disease or illness, it is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being. This means eating a balanced diet, getting regular exercise, avoiding tobacco and drugs and getting plenty of rest. Our bodies are like machines that require a balance of protein, carbohydrates, fat, vitamins, minerals and water to stay in good working order. Get the balance wrong and your health will suffer. A balanced diet means eating only as many calories as you use during the day. Any excess will be stored as fat if you eat more than you burn off.

Live Well

NHS advice about healthy living, including eating a balanced diet, healthy weight, exercise, quitting smoking and drinking less alcohol. Please access the links below for more detailed advice and guidance in relation to these topics.

Mental Wellbeing - Useful steps

Connect with other people – Good relationships are important for your mental wellbeing. They can:
  • help you to build a sense of belonging and self-worth
  • give you an opportunity to share positive experiences
  • provide emotional support and allow you to support others

Be physically active

Being active is not only great for your physical health and fitness. Evidence also shows it can also improve your mental wellbeing by:
  • raising your self-esteem
  • helping you to set goals or challenges and achieve them
  • causing chemical changes in your brain which can help to positively change your mental wellbeing

Learn new skills

Research shows that learning new skills can also improve your mental wellbeing by:

  • boosting self-confidence and raising self-esteem
  • helping you to build a sense of purpose
  • helping you to connect with others

Give to others

Research suggests that acts of giving and kindness can help improve your mental wellbeing by:
  • creating positive feelings and a sense of reward
  • giving you a feeling of purpose and self-worth
  • helping you connect with other people

Stress Awareness

Stress is the body’s reaction to feeling threatened or under pressure. It’s very common, can be motivating to help us achieve things in our daily life, and can help us meet the demands of home, work and family life.

 

Stress awareness has become a topic of increasing concern in the modern workplace, with Health and Safety asking us to look beyond physical risks and hazards to recognise the need for management of employee well-being. According to the NHS: “ Stress is the feeling of being under too much mental or emotional pressure.

What are the signs of stress?

  • Anxious
  • Afraid
  • Angry or aggressive
  • Sad
  • Irritable
  • Frustrates
  • Depressed – These feelings can sometimes produce symptoms, making you feel even worse

April is National Stress Awareness Month.

Stress Awareness Month is held each April, to increase public awareness about both the causes and cures of stress. According to the Mental health Foundation 74% of UK adults have felt so stressed at some point over the last year they felt overwhelmed or unable to cope.

We all know what it’s like to feel stressed – being under pressure is a normal part of life. But becoming overwhelmed by stress can lead to mental and physical health problems or make existing problems worse. Millions of people around the UK are experiencing high levels of stress if you are one of them, it may be damaging your health.

Stress isn’t a mental health condition, but it can cause a mental health problem, like anxiety or depression or it can cause an existing one to get worse. Stress can also affect you physically, it can cause headaches, insomnia, tiredness, or stomach problems.

Individually we need to understand what is causing our personal stress and learn what steps we can take to reduce it for ourselves and those around us. National Stress Awareness month is a great opportunity to take a moment to do this and think about our own wellbeing.

Please remember that the NWCS website contains a raft of information in relation to Mental Health & Wellbeing which can be found here

Also we have a number of Mental Health trained First Aiders to which the contact details can be found here 

Your Mental Health First Aiders are here for you. Do you or a colleague need emotional support? Talking to us could be your first step to feeling better. We’re not healthcare professionals, but we are trained to listen and guide you to appropriate support, if you need it.

What you can do to help manage worries and stress

there are various steps you can take to cope with being under pressure, remember, different things work for different people.

Write down your worries and concerns

this may help process your thoughts and emotions. You can then read the worries back and try to think of them from a different perspective.

Keep a daily routine

our overall wellbeing relies on our daily routines; these also help with sleeping & eating patterns. This is why it’s important to ensure you and your family have structure in your day. The routine can be simple everyday things like, getting up, going to bed, and eating at the same times each day, listening to music, going for a daily walk.

Identify your triggers and take control

working out what triggers your stress can help you anticipate when you may feel stressed and what you could do about it in advance.

Organise your time

making some adjustments to the way you organise your time can help you feel more in control and able to handle the pressure you are feeling.

Keep active

exercise can help clear your head and then let you deal with your problems more calmly. Go outside to exercise, as fresh air and spending time in nature can really help.

Stay healthy

as well as exercise it’s important to maintain a healthy diet and ensure you are getting enough sleep.

To read a sleep guide click here                                  

To read a Nutrition guide click here

Talk to other people

friends, family & colleagues can help support you through the stress you are feeling, you may even have a laugh and start to relax. You may also want to consider talking to a professional counsellor.

Do something you enjoy

spending time doing something you enjoy will take your mind off how you are feeling. Everyone needs to take time for themselves, it can be as simple as having a bath or reading a book.

Avoid unhealthy ways to cope

many people use alcohol, smoking, chocolate, and gambling to try and relieve the stress they are feeling. None of these things will help in the long term, use healthy coping strategies like running, listening to music, or walking the dog.

Challenge yourself

learning new skills and setting yourself new goals will help build your confidence and make you feel good about yourself.
Accept the things you can’t change – it’s not easy but accepting that there are some things happening to you that you can’t do anything about will help you focus your time and energy elsewhere.

Further and fuller information in relation to this can be found at

Stress Awareness Month 2023 -
The Stress Management Society

Stress - Every Mind Matters -
NHS (www.nhs.uk)

Stress -
Anxiety UK

Stress -
Mental Health Foundation

Discovery learning platform

Through April 2023 NWCS are promoting Healthy Living & Stress Awareness. A further learning opportunity in relation to Mental Health in the Workplace has been set up for you via the Discovery learning platform. Please ensure to speak with your Training Officer about this.
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