UCL Occupational Health Service: stress awareness

National Stress Awareness Day in November raised awareness of stress and promoted the well-being of people in the workplace.

Pressure and stress can be hard to deal with but with a positive mind set and a change in approach, you can have a calmer, happier life.

Some helpful stress management tips include:

• Pressure and stress is personal. Find out what causes you stress and learn healthy ways to prevent it building.
• Avoid unhealthy coping mechanisms such as alcohol, nicotine and caffeine - they will just make things worse.
• Say goodbye to the control freak! You can't always change a situation so accept things as they are and concentrate on the things you can control.
• Spend regular, quality time with family and friends and enjoy activities outside of work.
• Look after your physical and emotional health. Eat well, exercise, get enough sleep and learn to relax

UCL Occupational Health Service also provides useful information and advice on the following:-

Managing Stress at Work

Managing Pressure and Avoiding Stress

Resilience and high performance

Your Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) can provide free, confidential and independent support on this topic, as well as assistance on any of the work, personal and family challenges that life may bring. UCL staff can contact their EAP at assistance@workplaceoptions.com Freephone 0800 243 458. This service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days of the year.

Elaine Fletcher, Occupational Health Services, Human Resources Division