012 MANAGING LONG TERM STRESS

This week's podcast continues the theme of managing stress and this week we look at living with long term stress – be it illness, family dynamics or other situations that aren't necessarily that easy to change or walk away from. Earlier this week it was announced that over 40% of businesses have seen a rise in people taking time off work last year due to stress and that 90% of cases seen by GPs are stress related. The numbers are clearly increasing when it comes to anxiety and depression so, what can we do to manage our busy lifestyles and the stress that results from it?

This week we look at the example of author Maggie O Farrell and how she lives with a long term stress caused by her childhood illness and also how her family lives in a state of high alert as one of her children suffers with multiple extreme allergic reactions, sometimes life threatening, on a regular basis.

I have two coping mechanisms to share with you, one for short and one for long term stress – and this is where the water and coffee come in:

WATER – MANAGING MELTDOWNS AND SHORT TERM STRESS

Walk away – find something that totally distracts my mind from what just happened in order to let the stress levels drop

Attention – focus my attention on something positive to bring balance back into my mind

Time -is my friend, we are so much more able to deal with stress once some water has passed under the bridge

Emotion check – am I tired, hungry, hormonal, already stressed by something else

Remind myself that I'm enough, I am a good person and this situation doesn't define me

COFFEE – COPING WITH LONG TERM LIFE STRESSES

Choose your battles and compartmentalise

Organise and plan

Fear check – face your fears by asking what's the worst that could happen and pre empt where possible

Fun – have fun, make memories and allow yourself some space from what is going on

Eat and sleep – without it we pretty much can't function well

Exercise – increase the blood flow and oxygen, giving your body the best chance to help you manage

I find these help us develop resilience and determination, like Maggie O Farrell and still live our lives to the full.

Links mentioned in this episode:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w172wx8kc0srb4l

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-devon-47884268/baking-was-my-escape-from-anxiety

https://www.stepjockey.com/workplace-stress-a-21st-century-health-epidemic

And take a look at Maggie's books here http://www.maggieofarrell.com/

• AFTER YOU'D GONE
• MY LOVER'S LOVER
• THE DISTANCE BETWEEN US, which won a Somerset Maugham Award,
• THE VANISHING ACT OF ESME LENNOX
• THE HAND THAT FIRST HELD MINE - 2010 Costa Novel Award,
• INSTRUCTIONS FOR A HEATWAVE - shortlisted for the 2013 Costa Novel Award
• THIS MUST BE THE PLACE
• I AM, I AM, I AM

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