Do you know the signs when stress is impacting your health?
Understanding how to manage stress plays a key part in preventing it from affecting your mental and physical health.
Round Rock ISD provides employees with certain benefits to ensure employee well-being. Learn more about how to manage your stress through self-care and available benefits below.
Practicing Self-Care
Self-care plays an important role in improving your health and quality of life. Try:
- Taking time to relax. Explore new ways to de-stress. Consider meditation and breathing exercises. Plan regular times for these activities.
- Being grateful. Remind yourself of the good things in your life. Write them down.
- Curbing negative thoughts. Be compassionate with yourself, like you would be with a loved one.
Round Rock ISD Benefits to Help
Round Rock ISD understands the importance of managing stress and has perks and benefits to help you.
- FREE annual subscription to Headspace, an app that offers guided meditations for stress, sleep, and overall well-being.
- The Employee Assistance Program provides emotional, financial, and legal support at no cost for employees and their families.
- Confidential local or virtual counseling sessions through ComPsych®’s GuidanceResources.
- 20% off classes and membership at Round Rock Yoga.
- Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas Members also receive access to talk therapy from licensed therapists in the privacy of your home through Virtual Visits.
Managing Stress from Trauma
Stress from traumatic events can have serious effects, both immediate and long-term. Research shows these steps can help:
- Turn to your loved ones. Ask your family and friends for support. When you’re ready, talk to them about your experience and your feelings.
- Have patience. It’s normal to try to avoid thinking about a traumatic event. However, avoiding it too much can increase the time it takes to heal. And it can lead to behaviors that may prevent you from getting better, like staying home alone, sleeping too much, or misusing drugs or alcohol.
- Find healthy ways to manage. Along with healthy food, exercise, and sleep, find coping strategies that work for you. Music, art, meditation, rest, and spending time in nature may help.
Stress is a part of life — from minor irritations to major traumatic events. Since the body’s biological responses to stress can harm your mental and physical health, learning to manage your response is important.
Ask for Help
If symptoms of stress are still affecting you even after you’ve tried to manage them, it may be time to get professional help. Ask your healthcare provider to help you get started.
Finding the right professional is easier when you understand the different areas of expertise and training. The National Alliance on Mental Illness NAMI HelpLine gives tips on how to find mental health professionals and resources in your area.
It may also be helpful to learn about the different levels of care available for you, or for a loved one who may need help. Levels of mental health care are the types of health care offered based on symptoms. The National Council for Mental Wellbeing offers a list of resources for many kinds of mental health issues.
If you’re having thoughts of harming yourself, get help right away. You can call or text 988 or visit 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.