Stress Awareness Day: Creative ways to overcome stress

Wednesday, November 5th, is Stress Awareness Day, so here are some tips on how to overcome stress creatively.

In our everyday lives, it's easy to feel overwhelmed and stressed. With the world advancing in some respects faster than we once believed, and the threat of international problems rising, it is more common to feel stressed than not to be.

That's why I wanted to raise awareness of Stress Awareness Day.

On the first Wednesday of November, the International Stress Management Association raises awareness about stress. Both the impact of it and ways to manage it.

This year, the theme of Stress Awareness Day is 'Optimising Employee Wellbeing Through Strategic Stress Management'.

That's quite a mouthful, but essentially, it means tackling stress on more than just an individual level. The theme encourages organisations like companies and schools to tackle stress in the workplace and craft a more positive environment.

As a writer who has posted about stress before and shared some tips, I wanted to reiterate the importance of managing stress and taking care of ourselves.

Therefore, as today is Stress Awareness Day, I'm sharing some creative tips on overcoming stress, both for the individual and for a group.

Create together

My first tip is aimed at those in a group and those who work together.

Life can often get quite lonely, especially if you work remotely or are at a different stage in life than those around you. However, by working together to create something new, you can help beat the stress in the workplace.

If at work, you notice your colleagues and your employees seeming stressed, and not their best selves, suggest a creative project.

This doesn't have to be an important work project. It could simply be an afternoon or evening outside of work, where you take part in a creative activity, such as pottery painting or an escape room.

By getting together with colleagues outside of work and doing a different activity than one in the office, you can build new relationships, put your mind at ease for a while, and create a new positive environment at work.

Have a fika

'Fika' is a Swedish term, and it is a tradition that means taking a coffee and cake break. The idea is that you take a short break, have a bite to eat and a drink whilst also having a moment's rest.

I actually first heard the term Fika whilst on a uni workshop. Since then, it's come up on my LinkedIn and was something I did during my work experience at Penguin. Every Thursday, the team I worked in had a 30-minute Fika.

Stepping away from work or chores, and taking a break to socialise with others whilst having a cake and hot drink can help overcome stress. It gives you time to relax and slow down.

Also, it means you're not constantly working and can give your brain a break and also your eyes, particularly if you work with computers a lot.

Journal your thoughts

This tip is definitely for the individual, and it is one I've recently adopted. I'm sure you've heard that journaling is a good habit to get into.

Writing your thoughts and stresses down on a piece of paper can help expel them from your brain and body, leaving you feeling less stressed than before the pen touched the paper. And that's true.

For some scientific reason, writing down what you're thinking can help you process your thoughts and worries. It can make you see things clearly and reduce the overwhelming stress you feel.

So, if you are feeling stressed and are someone who likes writing, then journaling could be for you.

Indulge in other worlds

The current world we live in is a stressful place. Countries are at war, finances are rising and life is tough sometimes.

Therefore, one creative way to reduce stress is to indulge in other worlds.

You can interpret it any way you like, whether it's visiting different countries and experiencing their cultures, or simply picking up a book and delving into fiction.

By giving yourself a break from reality, you can overcome the stress you feel.

For me, picking up a good book, especially a romance or fantasy novel, helps me relax and just let myself rest for a moment.

Choose a hobby

It's so easy to get wrapped up in work and with the chores that need doing in everyday life. And as a result, it can be easy to keep on going and not give yourself a break.

However, by doing so, your stress levels will inevitably increase. But if you choose a creative hobby, you can help yourself destress and relax.

Having a creative hobby that you can take time out and enjoy — it doesn't have to be for long — can really help you mentally. Whether that's knitting, drawing, colouring, scrapbooking, etc., find one that you will find comfort in.

That way, when you find yourself getting stressed, you can indulge in your hobby, if only for a short while, and hopefully, find yourself destressing along the way.

So, as today is Stress Awareness Day, I hope these tips can help you creatively destress. If you have tips of your own, feel free to leave them in the comments.

Until next time...