April: Stress Awareness Month

On this subject, it is not enough that you read or share the information. An action needs following through on. An action that's deeper than posting an awareness-link to a social media post.

The challenge is to challenge anyone claiming to be raising awareness. Ask what exactly are they are doing about it. And share your own action plan to tackle this issue.

There are healthy levels of stress which benefits the mind and body. Stress not only can help us live longer but can help us to live a life of quality by helping us achieve our personal goals.

This is not a toxic-positive article to ask you to walk out of your life because you aren't living from bliss to bliss. But this article does ask you to be aware of what is hurting rather than helping.

Often our friends and family are the first to notice signs of hurting stress. None of us live in a bubble (regardless how we isolated ourselves during the last year). Which is why we need to connect with others and ask for their opinions during April's Stress Awareness Month.

Physical Symptoms

Have you been to a doctor who cannot find anything wrong with you? If it's severe physical symptoms please go back to the doctor. But if it's lesser physical pain then it's likely linked to stress.

• Muscle Tension
• Back Pain
• Headache
• Grinding Teeth
• Stomach Aches
• Heartburn
• Tremors, twitches or tics
• Either Diarrhea or Constipation, or a swing from one symptom to another.

Move the body. Yoga or Zumba. Try belly-dancing (and that's not a suggestion just for women—men can belly-dance too!) Take a meandering walk or march on the spot. Chew on something, a pen or gum, so you're not grinding your teeth (if you can afford it, ask for a mouth guard from your dentist).

Move the parts of your body you believe to be in pain. And never let anyone dismiss your pain as non-existent, or 'all in your head'.

Even if you have physical pain professionally diagnosed (please, don't diagnose yourself!) as psychosomatic (pain that is 'all in the head') you need to listen to it.

You may have psychosomatic pain because you missed the earlier signs of stress. The body is intensifying the pain to make sure you pay attention.

Emotional Symptoms

You can be either hyper vigilant, or 'dead' inside', to help cope with the stress.

• Nervousness or Anxiety
• Depressed
• Fearful
• Cannot turn off certain thoughts
• Hopeless Worrying
• Crying
• Both Insomnia or Oversleeping, or a swing from one symptom to another
• Apathetic
• A blank mind
• Forgetting important things
• Drained of emotion
• Feeling victimized or taken advantage of. Feeling somehow you're special in a toxic environment affecting everyone.

These symptoms are the hardest to overcome. Our emotional states often help us prioritize what we want to do with ourselves. Often we're paralyzed when we're in states of extreme depression and/or anxiety.

If you are over-stimulated try a hobby which forces you to sit and focus. Try knitting or crochet (again, not just a suggestion for women). Try gardening if you have the space. Read something which challenges the mind. Attempt cross-words and sudoku puzzles.

If you are under-stimulated try a hobby which forces you to engage and care about something. Music. Art/Photography. Cooking. Create something which connects with you. If you can't think of anything, how about going back to a childhood activity as a starting point.

Playing PC/Console games can help both the over and under-stimulated. It forces one to sit and focus, and (depending on the game) it can create emotional connection or excitement through storytelling. If you usually play violent games, change it up with a building game, and vice versa.

Generate meaning in different spaces than where your stress comes from. If work is your source of stress, find an activity more important to you than those work dramas.

If unemployment is your source of stress, challenge yourself to finding as many free activities as you can and try them all out at least once. Don't dismiss something you only 'think' you won't like!

If family is your source of stress, deicide if you need either 'me-time' or 'family-time'. Have an alone activity for peace and quiet. Or get together over a board game so everyone can forget the stresses for awhile.

Or, if you think you cannot engage in a new hobby because it's too selfish or too much a waste of time, then why not choose something which will help others. Knit a scarf for the homeless. Garden for the hungry. Cook for the poor. Engage in online forums for your favorite computer game. There's a stranger out there who will be grateful for your efforts.

Behavioral Symptoms

What we're looking for is an excess in a pleasurable activity. I'm not an advocate of telling people what they can and can't do for entertainment. This includes smoking, drinking, gambling, porn, or casual sex, all which can help us cope or send us into a spiral!

When these pleasurable things delve into unethical or addictive territories then there's a problem to address.

• Look out for a loss of appetite, overeating, or not having enough time to eat healthy.
• Unhealthy levels of smoking or drinking alcohol
• Taking Aspirin/Panadol/Nurophen
• Abusing prescription drugs or illegal drugs
• Withdrawing from close relationships
• Criticizing, blaming, or ridiculing others
• Resenting certain people
• Binge-watching TV/Movies, or music
• Difficulty meeting commitments, or 'dropping the ball' Poor concentration
• Poor memory
• Having 'accidents' like dropping things, tripping, or hitting yourself (which is not as funny as it sounds!)

Think of your actions as having a shifting dividing line. On a case by case basis try determining if you are helping or hurting yourself.

Go ahead and complain about someone if you have a valid reason to do so, just don't go around making s-t up.

It might be okay to watch TV all day on a gloomy day off. But if you had errands, or a promise to keep then just ask yourself why you'd rather watch TV.

It might be okay to drink alcohol to excess for a genuine celebration, but you need to ask yourself why you do it every weekend, or like it’s a routine.

Basically, anything which harmfully impacts connection to other human beings needs to be thought of as a symptom.

We Are Not All Meant To Be Saints

We all found it stressful to be in a lock-down, self-quarantined. Especially with our usual de-stress activities became taboo overnight. We do have a valid reason to be stressed and we might not have coped as well as we imagined we would have.

But it's what we're going to do about it, after becoming aware, that counts!

It is recommend, for anyone still reeling from Covid-related stresses to not wait to live their lives until it's all 'normal' again. Because there is no guarantee.

It is recommend getting professional medical advice to determine if you have high levels of stress or a genuine diagnosis of depression and/or anxiety.

It is recommend to take up journaling for anyone who feel they can't objectively measure their levels of stress. Track the severity of some of your behaviors and feelings. Or, are swinging from one symptom to the next. E.g.: Experiencing insomnia then oversleeping; Constipation then diarrhea; No appetite then overeating.

Awareness First, Then Take Action

Start with small efforts first as sometimes the larger commitments become another source of stress.

This is an article encouraging students to build a support network. It's good advice for all ages.

This is an article on the benefits of journaling for depression, anxiety and stress (and this is for those who don't know what BuJu is. It can be considered feminine but if men would like some encouragement for bullet journaling then check out the guys on YouTube).

This is UK's Stress Awareness Month website which has a lot of resources to start with. Including a PDF you can download for a 30 Day Stress Awareness Challenge - it's never too late to start!

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