The first Wednesday of every November marks International Stress Awareness Day. It’s good timing. As November gets underway, holiday stresses tend to rise. In fact, when polled during the holiday season last year, about a third of respondents said they were more stressed than in previous holiday seasons.
Just getting aware of your stress levels is the first step toward lowering them. So take some time today to check in with yourself. How are you feeling?
Measuring stress levels
Medical pros often use biomarkers — like the amount of cortisol in your system or your heart rate — to evaluate your stress. But you don’t necessarily need to go to a doctor and undergo testing to figure out how stressed you are.
Experts across the country often use a tool called the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), which has been in use since the 1980s. The New Hampshire Department of Administrative Services has made this tool available to the public in this PDF.
To take the PSS, you answer 10 questions on a scale of “never” to “very often.” The more frequently you experience these stress indicators, the more likely that you’re dealing with high stress levels. If you score 27 or more, International Stress Awareness Day gives you a great chance to look for ways to get some stress relief.
Why stress management matters
We’ve done a deep dive on this topic, but the main takeaway is that stress is bad for your mental and physical health. It heightens your risk for depression, social withdrawal, sleep issues, high blood pressure, and more.
Sometimes, stress can be a useful tool to motivate us to move forward (e.g., stress about an upcoming deadline can help you overcome procrastination). But if you consistently feel stress, it takes its toll on your wellbeing. Stress happens for us all, but we should start to feel concern when stress begins to feel chronic as opposed to acute.
What you can do on International Stress Awareness Day
Because stress can be so harmful, we’ve already explored a bunch of ways you can potentially lower your levels (see here and here). Those articles will give you more information, but the high-level takeaway is that you can possibly reduce stress by:
- Writing out a list of what’s stressing you out, then prioritize these worries from highest to lowest
- Practicing gratitude
- Getting physically active
- Practicing breathing exercises
- Putting your phone away
- Reducing your caffeine intake
- Spending time with loved ones
- Getting enough sleep
- Spending time in nature or outside
- Making healthy food choices
- Asking for help
A recent poll from the American Psychiatric Association (APA) highlighted another stress management tip. It found that people who engaged in a creative activity to relieve stress reported better mental health. That creative activity could range from listening to music to solving a puzzle.
Explore different stress management tools to find what works for you. If you’re struggling to find effective ways to reduce your stress levels, talking to a therapist can help. To sit down with one of our stress management experts, contact our team at the Ventura Counseling & Wellness Center in Ventura or the West Valley Counseling Center in Tarzana.
