This week marks the fourth international stress awareness week after it was founded by Carole Spiers.
National stress awareness day was started in 1998 by Ms. Spiers who is the chairwoman of international stress Management Awareness (ISMA).
Since the day’s establishment, demand for stress awareness has increased, leading ISMA to introduce an awareness week in 2018.
Ms. Spiers said: “When I started national stress awareness day it seemed like a good time to put it on the agenda but since then it has gone from a day to a week, from national to international. Stress is an issue throughout the world, there is increased stress on everybody.
“International Stress Awareness Week raises the profile of the issue and gets people talking. The topic should be high on the national agenda.”
ISMA hopes that it will increase public awareness and help people recognise, manage and reduce stress in their personal and professional lives.
Research from the Labour Force Survey in 2020/21 found that in the UK, 822,000 workers were suffering from work-related stress, depression or anxiety. That stress accounted for 50% of all work-related ill health cases.
According to scientists, human connection, spending time in nature and physical activity such as gardening help to boost mental health and reduce stress.
A study by The University of Sheffield Landscape Architecture department found those who find time to garden every day have stress levels 4.2% lower than those who don’t.
Ms Spiers said: “You have to take responsibility for yourself. The most important thing, the key to relieve stress is to take time for yourself, however you fit it in. Think of nothing. Watch the world go by.”
ISMA will be holding an online global stress and wellbeing summit on Wednesday. It will focus on the theme of ‘Working Together to Build Resilience and Reduce Stress’.
You can book tickets here: PRCA | The PRCA promotes all aspects of public relations and internal communications work
