Stress Awareness Reframed into Advocacy!
Throughout the month of April, there has been a lot shared and advocated for around the topic of stress as April is Stress Awareness Month. Let’s face it, there has been a lot rewritten and studied around the topic of stress. At times it feels like we are hearing the same thing about stress and stress relief over and over again without hearing anything new. Or, perhaps the feeling of “I know” arises along with the thought of “I don’t have the time. There is so much to do.” And then, perhaps, there is the hope or wish to do something about the stress level in your life.
So now the question is how is this blog post any different? What am I going to learn that is new and different? Well, the answer is simple. You are not going to learn anything new or different. Instead, you are going to be reading about a reframe. What if we reframed how we viewed our lives and schedules and instead of making stress relief a “priority” we shift our perspective to advocate for change in our lives so that stress relief and mental health is “the priority.” Let me clarify a bit. We have the demands of our jobs. We have the demands of personal lives. We have demands placed upon us by others in our lives. The list could continue on and on. All of these contribute to our stress level. We have the ability to speak up and advocate for change and a shift in priorities and perspectives.
Let’s take work for example. Chances are there is no paid time set aside for even 10 minutes of self-care where you are offered and encouraged to do something not work related. What if one day you decided to advocate for that to be added to the work day? What if you advocated for a culture shift where those 10 minutes were not only offered but so ingrained in the culture that it became a priority and an expectation. Can you imagine the shifts that could occur around stress levels? It takes one person to start to speak up and say, “Hey. I think that we are not prioritizing what we need to.”
There is so much more to say on the topic of shifting culture to help with mental health and stress. This is just an introduction to the idea. There will be more to come in the blog about the different pieces, strategies, and ideas. For now, the hope is to begin to think about how you can take action to help alter the culture and environment around you to better align with reducing your stress and increasing the opportunity to focus on mental health.
Stress painted on a wall with art surrounding it.
take action today moment:
Start by taking a moment to figure out what would best serve you to advocate for in your life to lower your stress levels. That’s it! Pick the topic or change you want to advocate for. Begin simple. If you are so inclined, take the next step by starting to lay out one of two steps you can take in a plan.
Learn More About Stress:
The American Institute of Stress
National Institute of Mental Health - I’m So Stressed Out! Fact Sheet
American Psychological Association - Stress relief is within reach
Learn More About Stress Awareness Month:
*For educational purposes only. This is not intended as mental health advice.