I feel like whenever I see a trending topic or a national mental health related day, it's my sign that it's something that needs to be talked about. Or maybe just a sign I need to get brainstorming some more original ideas, but anyway...

The other day I saw that it was Stress Awareness Day, and thought that it would be a great topic to introduce into my mental health series.

So firstly I want to talk about the things that cause me stress, and how I deal with them and take time for myself so I don't get too overwhelmed. Growing up I've slowly come to realise that I actually am quite a sensitive person, and I do take a lot of things to heart easily, and I feel like I'm constantly trying to consider how other people will feel about things as well as my self. Now this isn't necessarily a bad thing by any means, but it has made me the kind of person where sometimes I will just find myself so burnt out by looking after myself, and then trying to keep everyone else happy too.

I'm also a massive over thinker, as I'm sure a lot of people are, I get worried about scenarios sometimes that haven't even happened yet. To be honest I don't think it's a completely terrible trait to have, sure sometimes it can lead you into ruminating over the same thoughts, which can cause a bit of a head tangle, but I also feel like overthinking is something that makes me feel very prepared. You see because I am always expecting or at least considering, the worst case scenario. So in the very unlikely situation that the worst case scenario (dun dun dun) does happen, I've prepared myself for it!

For example, if there's something I'm super nervous about like a job interview, I'll overthink to the point where I might google maps check the street name fourteen times before I leave the house. But in the worst case scenario that my phone might die and I might be left stranded having to navigate purely off the basis of street names, trust me I've got it covered.

I think the main thing that I want to emphasise throughout my mental health posts is that yeah some people are different to others, but what some people may see as something 'wrong', there's always something positive to find out of that situation. It's just life, things may not always go to plan or work on the first try, but at the end of the day a lesson can be took from everything, good or bad. Just in the same way that stress can make me feel more organised.


So now onto ways that I handle stress when it gets a bit too much.

I'm not going to start talking about yoga as everyone may have predicted, although I'd love to try it. I've got pretty mundane ways of dealing with stress. My favourite thing to do is to go on a long walk, whether it be grabbing Jack and heading out into the peaks for a massive hike, or just taking ten minutes by myself to follow the dog walking path behind my flat. I think walking lets you get everything out and clear your head, as well as taking a bit of time away from whatever it is that is stressing you out.



I also, weirdly, like the take a bath or a shower when I'm feeling stressed. I just like to feel like I'm on top of things and looking after myself, especially if I've been sat all morning frantically trying to finish by uni work before a deadline and my hair looks like a greasy bush on top of my head. A good thing about this too is that I always come out of my bath or shower feeling refreshed and ready to carry on anything I've got to finish.

Finally, my last tip for handling stress might sound a bit silly. I'm sure a lot of people will just think 'as if it's that easy' but something that I've had to force myself to do is to just learn to accept that sometimes things don't go to plan. Not everything works out exactly like you want it to, but it's the same with everyone in life, and that's something that makes it better because other people understand (I know crazy right). You can't be afraid to ask for help sometimes or just to let people in on what's going on in your head.

Like for example, I had to miss a university session on Monday because our water tap in the bathroom decided it was going to start leaking and making horrible noises in the middle of the night and I had to wait in for the technician to come and fix it. Not a big deal, right? But I was stressing out over it naturally because I didn't want to miss the session. But then I talked to my university tutor today and told him why I couldn't make the session, thinking he was going to be annoyed at me, and guess what he said. He just went, 'Oh Becky you should've just emailed and told me, I wouldn't have minded!'

And there it is. The majority of the time people will understand, people will get that it's been a hard week, that you're tired, or didn't have time, or forgot. I think the biggest thing I've had to learn is to just go with the flow and not get too caught up in my own little plans I make prior to a situation, because life doesn't really care about your plans, it's got it's own.


As always feel free to contact me if you have any post suggestions or even just need a little chat!