by Alice Gledhill
I think it’s fair to say that everyone has felt more stressed in the last couple of years. I guess that’s just what happens when you face a global health pandemic, the impending threat of war, a financial crisis, and a climate emergency all at once. With so much to worry about, it’s no wonder that “permacrisis” was the word of the year for 2022.
Even after three years, we are still riding the ripple effects of Covid-19, and we’re still living in “uncertain times.” That’s why we’ve created a brand new range of stress and wellbeing videos aimed at addressing the various different aspects and impacts of stress. Here’s how they can help…
Identifying Different Types of Stress
Living in a permacrisis means that stressors are coming at you from left, right and center! And with so many different factors at play, it can be hard to know exactly why you feel stressed. Is it that deadline that’s looming? Or that “quick chat” your boss asked for tomorrow?
Knowing what kind of stress you’re experiencing is a vital first step to overcoming it.
Dr Karl Albrecht defines four types of stress that you’ve likely encountered at some point in your life: Time, Anticipatory, Situational, and Encounter Stress. Find out more about each of them in our video on Albrecht’s Four Types of Stress.
Dealing With Money Worries
A more specific type of stress is financial anxiety, and it’s becoming increasingly common. In fact, the majority of adults in the U.S. cite inflation as a cause of stress.
Financial struggles affect everyone differently, and it’s hard to cut down on spending if you already have a tight budget. But there are still things that you can do to minimize this kind of stress, and there are people that you can reach out to if you’re really struggling.
Discover more in our video, Personal Financial Stress and Wellbeing.
Setting Boundaries to Protect Your Wellbeing
If you have an active or high-strain job, chances are you probably experience stress at work. You may even carry this home with you, which can have a negative effect on your family and friends. The Demand-Control Model of Job Stress is designed to help you manage precisely this kind of stress, by analyzing your workload and level of autonomy.
Protecting your boundaries at work is another great way to ease job stress, whether your role is high-strain or not. You may find it hard to say “no” to people, even when you have a mountain of other things vying for your attention. But it you say “yes” to everything, you may find you struggle to get anything done! It isn’t always easy to say “no” to someone, but our video on managing your boundaries at work has lots of tips on how to protect your time and energy.
Supporting Others to Cope With Stress
And what if you spot someone else struggling with stress – do you feel equipped to help them? Or do you struggle to know what to do?
If you’re a manager or leader, it’s your responsibility to provide your workforce with the right tools and support systems for managing their mental health. And there are plenty of things you can do to help as a colleague, too. Our video, 6 Ways to Support Employees’ Mental Health provides some great advice on how you can do just that.
What did you think of our stress and wellbeing videos? If you have more tips on how to manage stress in a permacrisis, we’d love to hear them! Please share your ideas and experiences in the comments below.
Our next batch of videos will cover different types and methods of coaching! Keep an eye out for them on February 21.
