National Stress Awareness day takes place on the first Wednesday of November every year. This initiative was started by the International Stress Management Association (ISMA) in an attempt to build awareness of how individuals can identify and manage stress. This year’s Stress Awareness Day took place on Wednesday the 4^th of November.

Stress is something we all experience from time to time but it is important to be able to identify when this stress becomes excessive, as this is when it can have a negative impact upon our mental health. At Life Links, Alice and Emily delivered a Stress Awareness Workshop via Zoom to inform individuals in the community how they can identify and manage their own stress.

This workshop first looked at defining stress to help build an understanding of what stress is and how experiences of stress can differ between individuals. We then looked at identifying when stress becomes excessive and how to recognise excessive stress. In response to this, we discussed both action- and acceptance-orientated approaches to managing stress to tackle stressors that we both can and cannot control. We also covered relaxation techniques, mindfulness and grounding techniques to educate the community on ways they can manage their stress both on a daily basis and when it becomes overwhelming.

If you are new to our service and would like any more information about upcoming workshops, please contact our free phone information line 0800 0234 575 (open Monday-Friday 9am-5pm).