To mark this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week (14-20 May) theme of ‘stress’, Anxiety UK launched its own stress test, asking visitors to their website if they are experiencing any of the common symptoms
The results showed that 838 people responded and 64% people surveyed feel overwhelmed by everyday tasks, and 68% are living with symptoms such as agitation and worry, bloating and headaches.
These results mirror research which has shown that two-thirds of us experience a mental health problem in our lifetime, and stress is a key factor in this. While stress isn’t a mental health problem, it can lead to depression and anxiety, and even self-harm and suicide. This is why it’s so important to raise awareness and help people living with stress access help and manage their symptoms.
Anxiety UK clinical advisor Professor Sir Cary L Cooper, CBE from the Manchester Business School, University of Manchester, says: “It’s important to recognise the level of stress you are experiencing but of course it’s even more important to really get to the root of the problem and understand the underlying source of the stress and take measures to address it.
“That may require professional medical help from either your GP or you may find a course of counselling beneficial to tackle it longer term.”
In the workplace stress is the top health and safety concern in UK workplaces, according to 70% of over 1000 health and safety representatives asked responding to a TUC study undertaken in 2016.
Anxiety UK offers lots of support to those living with stress, to help them understand and eventually overcome and manage the uncomfortable symptoms. Nicky Lidbetter, Chief Executive of Anxiety UK says:
“The results of our stress test are not a surprise, however, there is more help available than ever to those whose symptoms are impacting their day to day lives. Talking to your GP can be a really useful initial step, and our website signposts people to the wide range of therapies that Anxiety UK offers.”
People living with stress must find the route and support that works for them. Anxiety UK offers access to a wide range of self-help resources, long term support options such as reduced cost self-referral to a range of talking therapies accredited by the Royal College of Psychiatrists, and much more.
