Stress Awareness Month: Coping with Change in a Time of Uncertainty

April is Stress Awareness Month. Although I’ve read enough opinion pieces to know that the ‘awareness month/day/moment’ movement (of which there are literally thousands of things we must be celebrating) is relatively out of favour and obscenely overdone (last week, for example, there was Teak Awareness Day), Stress Awareness does sound like something we should be shouting about. Worringly, last year it was reported that half of PR Pros suffered from ‘severe’ stress, anxiety, and burnout. It’s time we talk about it. There are many reasons why PR pros are feeling the pinch. This year, on the Eskenzi blog, we’ve been exploring the changing face of PR, the evolution of which seems to be the leading cause of concern industry wide. At Eskenzi, we’ve learnt to weather multiple storms (which is why we’re still standing after 30 years), so we’ve got good at spotting pressure points. Currently, the zeitgeist seems to be saying that Chat GPT, dwindling publications, and changes in the way journalists engage with PRs are three of the leading causes for stress. But this is not a blog post of woe and I do not want to be the crier of PR fears. We must unpack and break down to rebuild healthier habits.

Acknowledgement

The first step is acknowledgement. What is stress and what does it feel like? The World Health Organisation define stress as ‘a state of worry or mental tension caused by a difficult situation’. Whilst it’s natural to feel stress occasionally, prolonged periods of stress can have a major impact on our lives, both mentally and physically. According to Mind, symptoms of stress (mentally) include:

Feeling irritable, angry, impatient, or wound up
Feeling anxious, nervous, and overwhelmed

Racing thoughts
Loss of interest in things that once brought joy
Feeling an unshakable sense of dread
Feeling tense
Feelings of loneliness

Existing mental health problems may be exacerbated

Physical symptoms include:

Difficulty breathing
Panic attacks
Blurred eyesight and sore eyes

Sleep problems and fatigue
Muscle aches and headaches
Chest pains and high blood pressure
Indigestion or heartburn
Weight fluctuation

Sweating
Changes to your menstrual cycle
Developing rashes and itchy skin
A change in bowel habits
Feeling sick, faint, or dizzy

Things You Can Do to Reduce Stress

Build a support network

Make sure that you’re surrounded by people who can support you when you’re feeling overwhelmed and stressed. In the office, this could be a manager, a colleague, or an HR person. They should be able to help lighten the load if it gets too much, although it’s best to try and stop the problem before it gets that bad. Open communication can help this! Your organisation may have a wellbeing scheme in place already, if not, this may be an avenue to explore. You might also want to talk to friends, family, or a mental health professional who can advise on how to overcome stress for further support.

Identify the Cause(s) of Stress

It’s harder said than done, but taking time to pinpoint the things that cause you the most stress in life is important for knowing how to tackle it in the long term. Spend a tea break jotting down one or two things that would lighten the load if you could banish them. After you’ve identified any triggers, you can create an action plan of how to avoid them.

Regain control through organisation

Some people find it helpful to make to-do lists, so they can clearly see what they need to do and the best order to approach it in. Although others may find a list of outstanding tasks incredibly overwhelming! You might also want to explore things like ‘Bare Minimum Mondays’, where you start your week (or day) with simple, actionable tasks and work your way up to the big hitters which may be more time consuming.

Try and incorporate wellbeing into your routine

This is where I do want to be seen a crier figure. Imagine me wandering down the street screaming ‘use your senses to help you feel better; they’re free!’ because that’s a message I want to disseminate to the masses. Whilst it’s completely inappropriate to say that mindfulness can solve any and all mental health problems fully (this is, I believe, untrue), they can offer relief in moments of overwhelm. Take five minutes to breathe or stretch, curate a work environment that brings happiness and joy, and wear things that make you feel good. Alternatively, you could use an app like The Zensory to zone in and focus before I task and decompress afterwards.

Seeking Additional Support

When things get too much, you may need a little bit more support – and that’s okay. The Mind website lists some very helpful contacts for if things are at a breaking point: https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/stress/useful-contacts/