Feeling stressed is certainly very common and, no doubt, you’ve all felt that way at some point in your lives. Unfortunately, it’s unavoidable! And, while stress can sometimes prove useful in helping us overcome certain challenges we are facing, it can quickly become debilitating and cause all sorts of problems if it’s left unchecked or becomes overwhelming.
There are all sorts of symptoms associated with stress, everything from feeling tired all the time to feelings of tension or restlessness, loss of appetite, difficulty concentrating, insomnia… the list goes on!
Stress can also have a huge impact on our overall sense of health and wellbeing, affecting us mentally through the likes of depression and anxiety, or even manifesting physically through back pain, susceptibility to viral illnesses, headaches and so on.
The latest health and wellbeing survey from the Chartered Institute of Professional Development, in partnership with Simplyhealth, has just revealed that stress is still one of the main causes of short and long-term absence in the workplace.
The 2022 survey found that 79 per cent of respondents saw some stress-related absence over the last 12 months, rising to 90 per cent for organisations with over 250 employees.
Workloads are the most common cause of stress, continuing the trend from previous years. Additional stress has also been created by the pandemic, with one of the top three causes of workplace stress cited as covid-related anxiety (such as fear of contagion).
Although the report did note that the vast majority of organisations have been working to support mental health among staff, a small but disappointing dip in activity was identified in increasing awareness of mental health issues or spotting mental ill health among remote workers.
How can mindfulness and stress management techniques help?
A happy and well looked after workforce will be a productive one, so making investments in mental health and wellbeing will only ever yield positive results from a business perspective.
Mindfulness exercises and meditation is one way in which stress can be managed and reduced, as well as giving staff members robust coping mechanisms and techniques to deal with what they’re faced with on a daily basis.
The practice has been found to reduce the risk of burnout, increase focus, reduce depression and anxiety, enhance creativity, improve communication… there are all sorts of benefits associated with it that could have a positive impact on your team and your business overall.
Here at The Mindful Therapist, I offer a range of different wellbeing services that can help employees manage and overcome any mental health issues they may be experiencing, including stress, anxiety and low mood.
I have been working with corporate clients, such as the NSPCC, NHS trusts and Lidl, to help introduce people to the practice of mindfulness and the benefits it can bring for mental health.
I run a number of online and face to face workshops to help employees not only reduce their immediate levels of stress but also increase their resilience to stress in the future.
These include:
Discover Mindfulness - a two-hour experiential workshop, introducing employees to Mindfulness practice and its benefits for their mental health.
Road To Relaxation - a one-hour workshop designed to give participants a deeper understanding of what it means to find true relaxation and its associated health benefits.
Alongside these individual workshops I run longer 6 to 8 session programs as well as create more bespoke workshops and digital well-being resources to help companies address their employees individual needs.
If you would like to find out more, get in touch with me today. I’m also a fully accredited therapist, so one to one sessions can also be arranged in person or online.