Managing Stress In Health And Social Care

Stress is a very common part of our everyday lives. Managing stressful situations can be difficult, with most people leading busy lifestyles. However, it is possible to manage and reduce stress through the use of self-care activities. In this essay I will reflect on the self-care activities that I use, in particular, focusing on one of these activities and how it works in my life. I will also discuss how my self-care activity to manage stress builds resilience, and if there are any improvements that need to be made. The English Oxford Living Dictionaries (2017) defines stress as “a state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or demanding circumstances”. Stress can affect our bodies in many different ways and can often result in illness and poor health and wellness. Stress can worsen or even lead to illness, affect peoples behaviour, and can produce changes in the bodies psychological and physical systems (Caltabiano, Sarafino, & Byrne, 2008). For these reasons, plus many more, I have started a new self-care activity to help lower and manage my stress.

Recently my stress and anxiety has increased dramatically and that is when I started incorporating breathing relaxation techniques into my lifestyle. Being a recently added self-care activity to reduce stress, I am still learning and continuing to practice the technique. I have chosen to focus on this particular self-care activity and reflect on how it works in my life, what improvements I can make, and how it might build