Managing Stress & Success - One Year On

Managing Stress & Success - One Year On

It is 12 months since I wrote a blog on my experiences and struggles with stress and anxiety and I have been asked to write a follow-up. This time, unlike the last I did not hesitate and I am happy to share my experience.

The first thing to say is that the reaction to the 1st blog was amazing and totally unexpected, with team members across the business, some that I had never met before, reaching out to me. I can also say that the experience of writing it and getting my challenges out in the open was cathartic and to some extent like a weight lifted from my shoulders.

It’s fair to say, and this will be the understatement of the century, the last 12 months have been tough, not just for me but for pretty much everyone –everywhere. For many, the additional challenges that Covid created, including the social isolation of lockdowns, the increased pressure on work-life balance that enforced home working brought and no doubt fear of the unknown, on top of already full busy and stressful lives were enough to bring suppressed stresses and anxieties to, the fore.

For me, during the last 12 months, it is fair to say that I have experienced bouts of stress and anxiety again. Nothing as severe as in 2013/14 but episodes nonetheless. Looking back I would say that these were triggered in part by the social isolation of the lockdowns, we are social animals after all and shutting yourself away with the same 4 people (note, that’s not saying I don’t like my family!)for extended periods of time is clearly not healthy in the mental health sense of the word, and in part, by the added ‘pressure’ of work over that time.

I think at this point it is important to say that pressure means different things to different people and can be real or perceived. Either way, it is how it makes you feel that is relevant.

In my previous blog, I made the point that I am learning to manage situations that I know will affect my stress and anxiety levels and this continues to be the case. Expanding on this further, over time I have further started to understand the early warning signs of stress, which for me include becoming irritable, not being able to relax or sleep –being ‘switched on' all of the time and what I would describe as mental fog and a lack of concentration. Because of this, I am able to act and work to reverse my stress levels before they take hold and become a real problem.

I have a couple of techniques that I find work for me. These include:

* Taking myself out of the situation that I am in and I do this quite literally by stopping what I am doing, taking a step back and reflecting.

* Getting outside for a walk, preferably somewhere quiet. I find that the fresh air helps me ‘think and regain context.

* Breathing. I wouldn’t call it mindfulness exactly, but finding a quiet place and taking some deep breaths for a few minutes really does help me clear the brain fog.

Long term I know that I have to continually work on my mental health. This means maintaining the right work-life balance, staying active, getting away with my family (preferably to Cornwall) as much as I can and getting some me-time. I know that all of these help me keep my stress and anxiety levels under control and allow me to function both physically and mentally to my fullest.

I think it is great that across the world people are opening up and talking about their challenges with mental health and that the taboo and stigma has at least started to be lifted. The British ‘stiff upper lip’ does not help, and I would go as far as saying that bottling up your feelings and emotions makes things worse. Certainly, for me writing both of these blogs has been like a form of therapy –particularly the first one.

I hope that by me sharing my situation it will help others to feel that they can open up and that if reading about my experience helps just one person that it will be worth it.

Tim Pearce