We all have mental health, just as we all have physical health. Here are 5 top tips to help you recognise the signs of stress, practice self-care, and support others.
Danny Mouskovias | Learning and Wellbeing Manager
We all have mental health, just as we all have physical health. Here are 5 top tips to help you recognise the signs of stress, practice self-care, and support others.
According to a 2023 study, 83% of electricians suffer from a mental health problem, such as stress, anxiety or depression, due to their work. Common stressors include financial worries, the rising cost of materials, and tensions with customers.
Having a mental health problem is not a sign of weakness. We all have mental health, just like we have physical health. And, just like physical health, our mental health will move up and down a spectrum of good to poor during our lifetime.
So, what can we do about it? In this blog, NICEIC’s Learning and Wellbeing Manager, Danny Mouskovias, provides his top tips for managing workplace stress and finding healthy coping strategies to help you manage the impact on your mental health.
However, stress has a way of making itself known eventually, whether we want it to or not. Whether you find yourself snapping at loved ones, struggling to sleep, or indulging in a few drinks too many to relax after work, stress can surface in a wide range of different ways, all of which can slowly chip away at our physical and mental resilience.
Instead of pushing down your stress, try to engage with your feelings by asking yourself some simple questions, such as: How am I feeling today? What’s going on with me? Am I OK? Think about when you last asked yourself these questions and really stopped and thought about the answers. It might feel alien and uncomfortable, but recognising that you’re perhaps not doing so well is the first step towards managing stress effectively.
If you’re looking at this list and think you’re showing some of these signs, another important question to ask is how much time you’re taking for yourself – how much ‘me time’ do you have? Usually, the answer for most of us is ‘not enough’.
But when we don’t give ourselves that time, our emotions and feelings simply shout louder. And this is especially so for those of us who are running our own businesses or are in high-pressure roles and trying to juggle a seemingly endless list of priorities. Somehow, we always end up putting ourselves right at the bottom of that list. But there usually comes a point where our minds or bodies can no longer take the strain. Then, we only have one priority: to get back to good health.
You might consider self-care to be selfish, but in fact the opposite is true. Taking time out for yourself to look after your physical and emotional wellbeing isn’t a choice; it’s a necessity. And both you and the people in your life – whether that’s customers, colleagues, or family and friends – benefit greatly when you take that time.
To help you work out your individual needs, it’s worth looking at the four main pillars of self-care. You’ll probably recognise the ones you’re flourishing in and the ones you’ve let drop or are neglecting.
According to the research cited earlier in this article, more than four in five (84%) tradespeople don’t feel comfortable talking to others about their feelings.
If we’ve learnt anything in this article, though, it’s that a lot of people have mental health struggles sometimes and it’s completely normal. We’re all in this together. In fact, you might suspect that a friend, family friend or colleague is showing some of the common emotional, physical or behavioural signs of poor mental health. But you might not know how to approach them about it. Try this simple four-step method:
First, ask the person how they’re feeling and whether everything is alright. This can feel really difficult because we’re worried about how they’ll respond, or we fear we might make things worse – but we need to ask, and we need to listen.
Also, remember that you’re not there to fix things or find solutions. You might think you don’t know how to help this person – but you’re helping just by listening! Reassure them that you’re there for them and that support is available. You can then look together to see what organisations and services might be helpful for them.
If you’re supporting someone else, never underestimate the power of listening, and if it’s you that’s struggling, don’t be scared to reach out and talk to someone – a friend, colleague, family member, or a support organisation. Sharing how we feel is the best thing we can do; supressing our feelings just draws us further away from society and the people around us.
According to a 2023 study, 83% of electricians suffer from a mental health problem, such as stress, anxiety or depression, due to their work. Common stressors include financial worries, the rising cost of materials, and tensions with customers.
Having a mental health problem is not a sign of weakness. We all have mental health, just like we have physical health. And, just like physical health, our mental health will move up and down a spectrum of good to poor during our lifetime.
So, what can we do about it? In this blog, NICEIC’s Learning and Wellbeing Manager, Danny Mouskovias, provides his top tips for managing workplace stress and finding healthy coping strategies to help you manage the impact on your mental health.
1. Don’t ignore it
Human beings are very good at supressing what we’re feeling – so good, in fact, that we can start to believe that nothing is wrong. Our stress becomes normal to us, so we don’t realise it’s affecting our physical or mental health.However, stress has a way of making itself known eventually, whether we want it to or not. Whether you find yourself snapping at loved ones, struggling to sleep, or indulging in a few drinks too many to relax after work, stress can surface in a wide range of different ways, all of which can slowly chip away at our physical and mental resilience.
Instead of pushing down your stress, try to engage with your feelings by asking yourself some simple questions, such as: How am I feeling today? What’s going on with me? Am I OK? Think about when you last asked yourself these questions and really stopped and thought about the answers. It might feel alien and uncomfortable, but recognising that you’re perhaps not doing so well is the first step towards managing stress effectively.
2. Understand the signs of stress
Everybody deals with stress differently and not everybody will show the same signs and symptoms. Being able to recognise these signs in yourself and in others is an incredibly useful tool. We don’t need to know how to fix it at this stage; we just need to recognise that something’s not quite right.Emotional and behavioural signs include:
- Irritability, aggression, or tearfulness
- Becoming withdrawn, not participating in conversations or social activities
- Increased argumentativeness or conflict with others
- Increased consumption of caffeine, alcohol, cigarettes or sedatives
- Indecision or an inability to concentrate
- Erratic or socially unacceptable behaviour
- Being louder or more exuberant than usual
- Loss of confidence
- Difficulty remembering things
- Losing your sense of humour.
Physical signs include:
- Regular headaches or stomach upsets
- Catching colds or viruses more easily
- Difficulty sleeping or constant tiredness
- Being generally run down
- Lack of care in your appearance
- Sudden weight loss or gain.
3. Schedule in some ‘me time’
Modern ‘hustle culture’ tells us we need to be on the go, all the time. Whether it’s working hard, spending time with family, or keeping up with your social group, there just aren’t enough hours in the day to take some for yourself. Or at least, that’s what we tell ourselves.But when we don’t give ourselves that time, our emotions and feelings simply shout louder. And this is especially so for those of us who are running our own businesses or are in high-pressure roles and trying to juggle a seemingly endless list of priorities. Somehow, we always end up putting ourselves right at the bottom of that list. But there usually comes a point where our minds or bodies can no longer take the strain. Then, we only have one priority: to get back to good health.
You might consider self-care to be selfish, but in fact the opposite is true. Taking time out for yourself to look after your physical and emotional wellbeing isn’t a choice; it’s a necessity. And both you and the people in your life – whether that’s customers, colleagues, or family and friends – benefit greatly when you take that time.
4. Find out what self-care means for you
Self-care can be defined as ‘the practice of taking action to protect or improve one’s own physical, mental and emotional health and wellbeing’. This can take many forms, meaning you need to work out what self-care means for you and how you can achieve it. You also have to stop seeing self-care as a luxury.To help you work out your individual needs, it’s worth looking at the four main pillars of self-care. You’ll probably recognise the ones you’re flourishing in and the ones you’ve let drop or are neglecting.
Physical care:
Practices that improve your physical health, including proper nutrition, regular exercise, adequate sleep, and hydration. There’s a strong connection between what’s going on in our body and in our minds.
Emotional care:
Recognising your emotions, practising self-compassion, and finding healthy ways to process and express your feelings. We need to be continuously finding ways to manage our emotions – focusing on the positive ones and managing negative ones.Mental care:
Activities that stimulate your mind, promote mental sharpness, and enhance cognitive functioning.Social care:
Nurturing your relationships and building a supportive social network through meaningful interactions and connections. Studies show that loneliness and social isolation are associated with higher risks of depression, mental illness, suicide and death.
Think about what you need more of in your life – is it physical, emotional, mental or social self-care, or all of these? Learning what type of self-care works for you – whether that’s taking up running, meeting a friend for coffee, or starting a journal to keep track of your emotions – will help you develop healthier coping mechanisms for when you’re stressed out or anxious.
5. It’s OK to talk – and listen
According to the research cited earlier in this article, more than four in five (84%) tradespeople don’t feel comfortable talking to others about their feelings.If we’ve learnt anything in this article, though, it’s that a lot of people have mental health struggles sometimes and it’s completely normal. We’re all in this together. In fact, you might suspect that a friend, family friend or colleague is showing some of the common emotional, physical or behavioural signs of poor mental health. But you might not know how to approach them about it. Try this simple four-step method:
- Ask
- Listen
- Support
- Signpost.
First, ask the person how they’re feeling and whether everything is alright. This can feel really difficult because we’re worried about how they’ll respond, or we fear we might make things worse – but we need to ask, and we need to listen.
Also, remember that you’re not there to fix things or find solutions. You might think you don’t know how to help this person – but you’re helping just by listening! Reassure them that you’re there for them and that support is available. You can then look together to see what organisations and services might be helpful for them.
If you’re supporting someone else, never underestimate the power of listening, and if it’s you that’s struggling, don’t be scared to reach out and talk to someone – a friend, colleague, family member, or a support organisation. Sharing how we feel is the best thing we can do; supressing our feelings just draws us further away from society and the people around us.
Support resources
Hub of hope, which allows you to search for support organisations in your area
Samaritans
CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably)
Shout
Mind
NHS Mental Health Services
The Electrical Industries Charity, which supports people working in the electrical and energy sectors and their households.
NICEIC resources
Our CPD-accredited webinar series, The Wire, regularly includes sessions devoted to mental health and wellbeing. To hear more from Danny, watch his latest episode on demand.
