Stress Management Courses
From small challenges to major crises, stress is part of everyday life. Stress is a natural reaction to many common situations in life such as increased workload, a transitional period, family-related issues, relationships, and existing or new financial worries. Without effective stress management, you may find that each stressor builds on top of one another creating a cumulative effect.
Stress is a feeling you get when faced with an abnormal amount of pressure. In the past year, 74% of people have felt so stressed they have been overwhelmed or unable to cope while 80% of people reported feeling stress at work.
During episodes of stress, you may feel threatened or upset and your body might create a stress response. This can cause various physical and mental symptoms. Stress affects us in several ways, both physically and emotionally, and in varying intensities. High levels of stress can impact your entire wellbeing by causing emotional distress and wreaking havoc on your physical health. It was reported that people in the United Kingdom miss 13.7 million days of work each year due to stress. Chronic or prolonged stress can contribute to physical illness such as heart conditions and mental health problems such as anxiety and depression.
Our bodies respond to events that provoke stress by activating the nervous system and specific hormones. The hormones that are activated increase your heart rate, affect your breathing, increases your blood pressure, and increases your metabolism. This helps prepare you to react quickly to handle the pressure of the moment and is known as the stress response.
Research has found that stress can be beneficial at times. It might make you more alert and allow you to perform better in certain situations. However, that is only if the stress is short lived.
When you go through prolonged periods of stress, or it becomes chronic, it narrows your ability to think clearly, function effectively, and impacts your quality of life. Once stress is triggered, various symptoms are experienced unless the person uses effective coping skills to manage the problem. Stress affects everyone differently, but there are common signs and symptoms to look out for:
- Anger and irritability
- Fatigue or low levels of energy
- Lack of motivation or interest
- Anxiety, nervousness, or worry
- Headaches
- Depression
- Indigestion, acid reflux, or upset stomach
- Muscle tension
- Changes in appetite
People may also experience:
- Sexual problems
- Weight fluctuation
- Diarrhea or constipation
- Forgetfulness
- Inability to concentrate
Stress can make you feel helpless. The rent is still due every month, there will never be enough hours in the day, and your work and family responsibilities will always be demanding. You do, however, have more control than you think.
Effective stress management teaches you effective coping skills to manage the problem or stress trigger. This is an important skill to learn to manage your stress and keep it at a healthy level to prevent long-term damage to your body and mind. Not only will this have a positive effect on your work life, but it is a vital life skill.
What will set you apart
Stress in the workplace is inevitable. It often leads to demotivated employees and a rise in absenteeism. It is in everyone’s best interest to be educated on the techniques to manage stress. Stress Management courses will give employees and managers the tools and techniques to create an effective framework for stress management.
Are stress management courses for you?
Stress is a natural and universal human experience. Everyone can benefit from learning about it by taking a stress management course. We can’t control stressful situations, but we can control how we respond to them.
Stress management courses provide you with techniques to manage your stress including how to implement specific relaxation techniques, identifying and avoiding stressful situations, coping with setbacks, accepting and coping with stress, and how to minimise the effect stress has on you. Ultimately, effective stress management will lead to better health and greater productivity.
“People are disturbed not by a thing, but by their perception of a thing.” — Epictetus
