Dealing with Stress
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Dealing with Stress
We all know what it feels like to feel stressed, but it’s not easy to pin down exactly what stress means.
What is Panic?
Panic is when we experience a sudden surge of intense fear. This comes along with physical sensations and frightened thoughts, which can make us feel even more panicked and create a vicious cycle.
Coping with Changes
We all experience changes in our lives. Learn about how change can affect our wellbeing.
Self-Assess
Do you become so stressed it feels unmanageable?
If your stress can often feel overwhelming or uncontrollable, you might recognise some of the common experiences described below.
How your body might feel
- Faster or shallow breathing
- Increased heart rate
- Tense or tight in your muscles, headaches
- Restless, unable to relax
- You may notice pains when worrying more
- Trembling
- Dry mouth
- Sweating
- Nauseousness or stomach churning
- Exhaustion
Thoughts you might have
- “My mind is always racing”
- “I can’t cope”
- “This is a disaster”
- “I’m going to fail”
- “I’m going to lose my job/relationship”
- Expecting the worst possible outcome
Feelings you might have
- Angry
- Unhappy, upset, tearful
- Feeling keyed up or on edge
- Overwhelmed
- Anticipation and dread
- Irritable or “wound up”
- Guilty
- Less interested or engaged in things you usually like
Things you might do
- Put things off
- Have difficulty sleeping
- Drink or smoke more than usual
- Eat too much or too little
- Make mistakes that aren’t like you
- Grinding teeth or biting nails
- Have lots of tasks in hand but feeling unable to get anything done with them
If these sound familiar to you, you can find out more about worry in the ‘Learn’ section above. You’ll also find some tips and strategies for managing stress in the ‘Manage’ section below.
Manage
Sleepio
Sleepio is a 6 week online program designed by sleep experts and based on cognitive and behavioural techniques.
Coping with Stress Self-Help Guide
This booklet will tell you more about stress, and help you to see if stress is a problem for you. It makes simple suggestions about how to manage stress and what other help maybe available.
Pain Concern – Relaxation
This leaflet is designed to help you understand what stress is, inform you as to why is it important to be able to relax when you have chronic pain and provide some relaxation exercises for you to try.
Positive Statements for Stress
Positive statements encourage us and help us cope through distressing times. We can say these encouraging words to ourselves, and be our own personal coach.
Coping Skills for Anxiety
A number of simple coping skills for anxiety.
Increase Your Positive Activities
An exercise in helping you find a balance in life and actively putting those positive activities back into your life.
Keep an Activity Record
A table you can use to schedule your daily activities and plan your week.
Tips on Managing Change in Our Lives
We all have to cope and manage with change in our lives for lots of reasons. Here are some tips and thoughts on navigating through a period of change.
Relaxation
If you feel tense a lot of the time, you can try learning some relaxation skills, as these should be helpful.
Computerised Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy – CBT – is a psychological therapy based on the relationships between what we think, what we do and how we feel. CBT teaches you how to recognise and tackle problems in the here and now, rather than in the past.
Support
In time, you might find that your stress improves on its own, with support from the people in your life, or with tools to help you cope.
However, if things don’t improve or you’re having difficulties with your mental health, please make sure you contact your GP to ask for support.
The organisations below may also be helpful:
- iThrive (previously Edspace): an online space for mental health and wellbeing in Edinburgh. https://ithriveedinburgh.org.uk/
- The Silverline: a free confidential helpline providing information, friendship and advice for older people. Phone: 0800 470 80 90 (free to call, open 24/7, 365 days per year). https://www.thesilverline.org.uk/
- Breathing Space: free and confidential phone service if you are feeling low, anxious or depressed. Phone: 0800 83 85 87 (free to call, Mon-Thur 6pm-2am; Friday-Mon 6pm-6am) https://breathingspace.scot/
- The Samaritans: emotional support for anyone in emotional distress. Phone: 116 123 (free to call, open 24/7, 365 days per year) https://www.samaritans.org/
- SAMH: offers support and information about mental health problems. Phone: 0344 800 0550 https://www.samh.org.uk/
- Managing loneliness. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/loneliness-in-older-people/
Domestic Abuse Support
- National Domestic Abuse helpline: 0808 200 246 (free to call, open 24/7) https://www.nationaldahelpline.org.uk/
- Scottish Woman’s Aid: Tel 0800 027 1234 https://womensaid.scot/
- Abused Men In Scotland (AMIS): Tel 0808 800 0024 (free to call, open Mon-Fri 9am-4pm) https://amis.org.uk/
The Wellbeing Lothian website has been developed to provide information, self-help resources and links to help you manage your mental health and wellbeing.
We want to help you make changes in your own lives and point you in a direction to start doing so. This is Wellbeing Lothian’s aim.
Learn More about Wellbeing Lothian
This website is not intended in any way to replace the advice of a clinician. Specific advice should be sought in specific situations from a properly qualified health worker.
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