International Stress Awareness Week Can Help Your Mental Health
WACO, TX – November 1-5 is International Stress Awareness Week—to go along with a need to reduce unnecessary stress that can lead to both physical and mental complications.
International Stress Awareness Week was created in 2018 to raise awareness about stress reduction worldwide, with International Stress Awareness Day now going 23-years strong on the first Wednesday in November. However, stress awareness and reduction are the keys.
“People tend to think of stress as bad, however it is a normal response to everyday pressures we might experience,” says Molly Howard, the Heart of Texas MHMR Center’s Wellness Coordinator. “It can actually be helpful in terms of achieving goals and tasks by providing some motivation. It can become unhealthy when it interferes with your day-to-day functioning. Which is why it is important to monitor your stress level and how it is impacting you physically and mentally.”
Howard says there are many tools to monitor stress, including professionals using the Professional Quality of Life Scale (PRQQL) to monitor compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue. Howard also spoke about everyday check-ins people can do.
“Another way to monitor is to simply take some time to check in with yourself – do I feel able to handle my responsibilities? How do I feel physically? How is my sleep?”, Howard said. “If people are constantly experiencing high levels of stress, it can impact you physically and mentally. You might notice things like constant headaches, insomnia, increased anxiety etc. The good news is that this stress can be addressed.”
Howard recommends the following resources for learning more about stress awareness and management:
https://www.apa.org/topics/stress/health
https://www.apa.org/topics/stress
# # #
CONTACT:
Vince Erickson, Director of Public Information and
#TexansRecoveringTogether CCP
Cell: (254) 265-2030
