April is National Stress Awareness Month, designed to raise awareness of the negative impact of stress. The World Health Organisation (WHO) define stress as such - "Stress can be defined as a state of worry or mental tension caused by a difficult situation. Stress is a natural human response that prompts us to address challenges and threats in our lives. Everyone experiences stress to some degree. The way we respond to stress, however, makes a big difference to our overall well-being".  Stress Awareness Month has been held every April since 1992, specifically to raise awareness of the causes of stress and to look at what we can do to reduce stress. It is the time when we have an opportunity for an open conversation to talk about our mental and emotional wellbeing with friends, families, colleagues, or professionals.

Workplace Mental Health awareness has never been more important:- 50% of employees have experienced at least one characteristic of burnout due to greater job demands, lack of social interaction and lack of boundaries between work and home life. (Deloitte UK Mental Health Report 2022) Almost half of workers (46%) say they’ve worked in recent months, despite not feeling physically or mentally well enough to perform their duties. (CIPD Good Work Index 2022) Mental ill health costs UK employers approximately £56 billion each year. (Deloitte UK Mental Health Report 2022)  Annual cost of absenteeism; approx. £6 billion. Annual cost of presenteeism: approx. £28 billion. Annual cost of staff turnover: approx. £22 billion The total annual cost of mental ill health to employers have increased by 25% since 2019. (Deloitte UK Mental Health Report 2022)

55% of respondents, in the CIPD good work index survey, who have experienced depression in the past 12 months said work had contributed, however, only 36% discussed this with their Manager or employer. (CIPD Good Work Index 2022) Just over a quarter of workers (26%) say they struggle to relax in their personal time because of work. (CIPD Good Work Index 2022)

It's time to take responsibility for ourselves to manage our own self-care:

• Be Active, take appropriate regular exercise.
• Take control. Recognise and take Control of your personal stress drivers.
• Create balance. Review your current Work/Life balance style and boundaries.
• Relax. Cultivate a relaxation strategy such as walking, reading or Mindfulness Meditation.
• More good days. Make a list at the end of each day to reflect on what went well, to enable you to recognise how to create more good days at work
• Attitude of Gratitude consider the things you feel grateful for, this will reframe any negatives and help you to look at all the positives in your life.
• Get more sleep. Tired people more easily develop stress – prolonged exposure to stress quickly depletes the immune system.
• Eat Healthier. We don't realise how much our diet affects the brain and therefore our mental health, choose healthy options.
• Drink more water. Our bodies are made up of 60% water and our brain can't function at it's best if we aren't properly hydrated.

Being active is a wonderful anti-stress strategy and this month's Action For Happiness theme is Active April. It's all about looking at ways to take better care of our bodies. There is a wealth of research showing the connection between our body and mind and the better we are at keeping our bodies active and healthy the better we tend to feel mentally. The new Active April calendar is full of great ideas.

Skills, Learning & Development and Lancashire Adult learning deliver some stress busting courses – get yourself booked on one or more of the following:-

• Managing stress guide                                                                                                                              
• Self-care checklist                                                                                 
• Burnout Syndrome 
• Five Steps to Wellbeing
• Mindfulness
• Lancashire Adult Learning Offer a variety of free course in subjects such as improving your mood, finding positives in challenging times, relaxation, mindfulness, exercise, yoga, gardening, crafts and cooking.