Colleague Mental Health Toolkit

What to do when you are feeling stressed

We are all expected to manage a reasonable level of pressure to meet the demands of our University roles. Capcity for work pressure can vary significantly from person to person, and will also depend on what else is going in a person’s life – for example family illness, carer and parental responsibilities, and financial difficulties. “Stress” is defined by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) as an adverse reaction people experience to excessive pressure. It occurs when an someone perceives that the demands on them outweighs their resources and ability to deal with that pressure.

Although not in itself a medical condition, stress can result in a wide range of symptoms, from mildly uncomfortable to completely debilitating. We also know that, at its worst, it can trigger thoughts of hopelessness and desperation, including suicidal thoughts. It is essential that University colleagues understand how stress can affect us as individuals and, importantly, what we should do if it occurs.

What might cause stress?

Examples of potential stressors:

At work:

too much to do, too little time
unrealistic deadlines
breakdown in working relationships
bullying and harassment
organisational change
being unclear on role responsibilities
lack of autonomy in role.

In our personal life:

marital/personal relationship difficulties
too much to do – such as juggling parental and carer responsibilities
financial worries
domestic abuse
family illness.

NB Stress is often due to combination of work and personal pressures.

Resources

Financial Wellbeing toolkit – to identify any work-related stressors

Domestic Abuse support

How can stress make me feel – what are the signs and symptoms?

There are many signs and symptoms that are commonly associated with stress, but they tend to fit into four main categories:

emotional – how we feel (for example, anxious, angry, or irritable)
cognitive – the impact on our mental functioning (for example, reduced concentration, poor short-term memory, difficulty making decisions)
physical – changes in our body (for example, muscular tension, increased heart rate, sweating)
behavioural – changes in the way we behave (for example, normally good time-keepers become late for work or miss meetings, colleagues who are normally sociable become more withdrawn, a colleague with a good attendance record starts taking increased sickness absences).

Think about how you feel when you are under excessive pressure – do you experience any of the symptoms above? It can be helpful to catch signs of stress at an early stage, so think about your early warning signs – for example, does your sleep start to become disturbed or do you notice yourself getting more irritable with others? Recognising symptoms at an early stage will then provide an opportunity to do something about it before we feel debilitated.

Resources

If you are feeling suicidal, or that life is no longer worth living, there is help available. Talk with someone you trust and get some urgent support. You can contact your GP or refer to the Occupational Health mental health webpages – “I need help urgently”.

Signs of stress

Signs of stress within a team

What can I do if I'm feeling stressed?

It can be difficult talking to others about this, but your manager will be able to consider how to make things feel easier for you at work. If this feels like a daunting prospect, consider approaching the Mental Health Champion for your area, a trusted colleague, or your trade union representative, if you have one, for an informal chat first. The Workplace Pressures Risk Assessment tool (individual version) is designed to explore possible work related concerns.

The University’s Employee Assistance Programme, Spectrum Life, is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to provide support to University of Exeter staff and PhD students. They provide in-the-moment support and can arrange short-term, solution-focused counselling if appropriate for the situation. They can also offer single session advice, including legal and financial advice.

You can find out more about other resources, sources of support and self-care measures from the Colleague Wellbeing website.

Other Resources

From the University

Workplace Pressures Risk Assessment tool - to facilitate discussion between you and your manager about the pressures of work.

Spectrum Life – free telephone support for University employees and family members at the same address, and counselling support for employees.

HR Advisors/Business Partners

Occupational Health – you can talk confidentially with OH about any concerns about health impacting on work or work on health (please note that a management referral would be required if recommendations for support are to be conveyed to your manager).

Exeter Speaks Out - Support/ reporting of incidences of harassment, bullying, intimidation and discrimination.

Dignity and Respect Advisors – you can arrange a confidential and informal discussion with a D&A Advisor about concerns of bullying and harassment.

Chaplaincy providing support for all regardless of worldview or religion

Working with Disability (Occupational Health)