The thing about keeping yourself busy at work and at home is that it’s easy to put aside any concerns you might have about your health and well being. Our busy lives often dictate that we brush aside those niggling aches and pains and soldier on, which often ends up exacerbating the problem.
Of course it might be that the symptoms you’re trying to ignore stem from your mental health rather than your physical and as these are rather more difficult to spot, in yourself and others, in this blog we’re going to take a look at the tell tale signs of stress and anxiety.
It’s fair to say that if you had a recurring problem with your knee, you’d get yourself along to your nearest medical practice and get yourself seen. You wouldn’t try and push through the pain. If you were someone involved in a sport such as running or football the need to do something about it would be even more pressing to you.
Well the same goes for treating issues connected to your mental health and well being. If the symptoms you’re experiencing show no signs of abating and are beginning to feel like something altogether more serious then it’s time to seek help.
No health or lifestyle blogger in the land would advise you to ignore how you feel, so now is the time to have a long, hard think about what’s going on and some of the feelings and physical symptoms you’re experiencing.
Let’s take a look at what to watch out for when you’re feeling stressed and how to deal with it:
Stress
Stress is one of those problems that can creep up on you. It can be brought on by a slowly increasing workload; extra responsibility at work but not the resources to adequately cope with it or a home life that has become more and more complex with lots of running around.
If you’re having to juggle all these things, you find that you simply cannot carry the amount of responsibility that is expected of you and pretty soon the cracks begin to show.
You might start by feeling like your mind is racing and that you’re unable to sort your thoughts clearly and logically. You might start to feel anxious and wound up. You’ll find yourself thinking about everything all day and into the night, finding it hard to switch off properly, which of course means you’ll struggle to sleep.
Pretty soon these signs translate into more physical manifestations such as headaches, an upset stomach or feeling tired all the time. You might feel tightness in your chest and fear it’s something worse. Often this can become a panic attack that, although frightening, is not in itself dangerous. In fact it can be a warning sign about your high levels of stress and force you into addressing some of the issues.
Often the person experiencing it knows the cause or causes of stress. This means that the treatment can be kick started by the sufferer him or herself. The first thing you’re going to need to do if you’re feeling bad is identify what the root causes are.
This might involve having to talk to someone about what’s going on and let them know how you are feeling. While this might be scary, it’s often the first step to correcting the imbalance.
Speak to your line manager or HR officer and tell them that the work being demanded of you is unrealistic and causing you unnecessary stress.
If your boss is in the good variety you should soon start to see a difference and hopefully that will make a positive impact on you fairly quickly.
For those suffering because of pressures from home, the principle remains the same. Talk to someone, a friend or family member who can provide a supportive and listening ear.
Anxiety
The problem with anxiety is that it falls into many categories and under many guises. But whatever type you might be suffering from, the symptoms are often very similar and can increase in their severity very quickly.
You may find yourself with a feeling of dread or carrying a knot of fear in the pit of your stomach. You might also feel that people are looking at you and can see how anxious you feel. You find yourself needing lots of reassurance from people around you but also fear that your grip on reality might be slipping gradually away from you.
Some of the time you might find yourself wanting to withdraw and hide from the problem or problems and this can also go hand in hand with losing track of your own self-care.
Although in many ways anxiety is very similar to stress in terms of symptoms it can be far harder to pinpoint the causes. There may be underlying mental or physical problems, so the first you should do is go and talk to a health care professional and be honest about what’s been happening. They may provide you with access to specific counseling sessions or even prescribe medication if they feel it’s appropriate.
You can help yourself, at least partly, by keeping a diary of when you start to feel particularly anxious and what you think triggers these moments. While something like mindfulness won’t help everyone with an anxiety disorder, certainly some deep breathing techniques will help to restore your racing mind to stillness. You may need to practise slowing down your breathing and counting as you inhale and exhale but once you have done it a few times you’ll soon find you can start this exercise without even thinking about it.
Look after yourself physically too. If your body is functioning well, it will help you regain control of your anxiety that much more quickly.
Start by looking at your sleeping patterns. Have they become somewhat erratic of late? It’s not surprising when all you want to do is sleep but find it next to impossible to drop off.
Decide to restore some kind of control. Try and cut out the cat naps during the day and plan to put in place a routine that you can stick to without it causing you too much in the way of stress.
Give yourself a set time to be in bed and stick to it. Start unwinding long before your head hits the pillow with a warm drink, quiet low-key evening and by avoiding caffeine and alcohol. Then, by the time you get into bed your body will have read the signals and hopefully allow your brain to shut down for the night.
Obviously you should steer clear of screens for the evening too but not just because too much will over stimulate your brain but also because of the negative effects social media can have on what you think about yourself and the world around you.
Ditch anything that presents others’ lives as being perfect and that leave you feeling inadequate and sad. For a start they’re highly unlikely to be true but social media may also trigger and heighten any feelings of anxiety you might be experiencing.
Besides sleeping you should also think about what you’re putting in to your body. Far from being a diet blog, we just advocate feeding yourself food that makes your body feel nourished and cared for. Treat yourself to good quality, fresh food and avoiding snacking on high sugar snacks that can lead you to “crash” just a few hours later. Like sleeping, make eating a regular and dependable routine that means you have to stop what you’re doing and spend a little time taking care of what your body needs. Likewise be sure to drink plenty of water.
Finally, a word on exercise. As far as this isn’t a blog on diet, neither is it a blog on exercise. All we want to say is that our bodies like to move and the feelings that we generate from regular exercise are extremely helpful in our battle for our mental health. Those great chemicals that get released during a slightly tougher workout can stand you in good stead for the rest of the day and knowing that you’re looking after your body can be a great achievement.
Find something that keeps you motivated and interested. One of the great things about something like walking or running is how quickly you’ll see improvements if you keep at it, plus of course they’re free.
When you’re feeling like your mental health is under pressure find someone you can trust and lean on them for a bit of support. They’ll be glad you did and then you’ll be able to start your journey back to wellness. It won’t be easy and you will need to make some significant changes along the way. Treat yourself with kindness and recognize that this isn’t a weakness it’s something so many of us go through.
Get it dealt with, exercise some self care and go back to basics by taking care of your physical health and you’ll be back to fighting fit before you know it.
