April is Stress Awareness Month. There might have been a time, 20-30 year ago, when stress was not as well recognised as a negative aspect of life. However, most people are now keenly aware of its potential to have a detrimental effect on someone\u2019s mental health and wellbeing.<\/p>\n
If it was possible to construct a basic equation of when stress switches from being neutral to becoming damaging in someone\u2019s life. it would probably look a bit like this:<\/p>\n
NUMBER OF STRESSORS X (LACK OF CONTROL+DURATION OF PRESSURE)<\/u> = DAMAGING STRESS<\/p>\n
But this is still a difficult equation to work out. This is because both the elements in brackets, causing the multiplication factor on the original stressor(s), are subjective and individual to each person. In particular, each person\u2019s intrinsic, personal, need for control over matters in their life, is incredibly variable. However, it has a very significant influence on how each of us assesses and copes with stress.<\/p>\n
Stress Awareness Month is promoted by the Stress Management Society. This is a not-for-profit organisation. It has some great resources on its website including an assessment tool<\/a> and a Stress Guide<\/a>.<\/p>\n The University has lots of resources to assist you if you are feeling stressed because of work or your home situation. All the information you need on available help can be found on the University\u2019s Mental Health Support webpages.<\/a><\/p>\n