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A Health & Wellbeing Practitioner's Guide to Stress Management

27th March 2024

No matter what list stage you are at, or the amount of pressure you may be under, challenges with mental health and stress affect everyone. Claire Stickings, a practitioner at Goodwood Health & Wellbeing, offers invaluable insights into nurturing mental wellbeing. Drawing from her own journey of overcoming mental health struggles, Claire shares her top tips for coping with stress and fostering self-care practices that resonate deeply.

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As someone who has suffered from mental health issues, I know how stressful, isolating and debilitating it can be. I have found simple practices help alleviate the stresses of everyday life and help promote mental wellbeing. My top tips for coping with stress and looking after your mental health are:

Take time to nurture yourself

Don't force self-care; it shouldn’t be another job on your never-ending to-do list. The best self-care works around finding something that you enjoy. There is a huge range of self-help books and tools available. Don't get lost in it all. Take one thing at a time and find something you like. It doesn't have to take too long and it doesn't have to be expensive. Ranging from meditation, sound bathing, walking in nature and mindfulness, you can find many of these classes and offerings at Goodwood Health & Wellbeing.

Activate your sense of smell

Smell is an incredible way to calm your central nervous system, so find scents that you find comforting - for me cut grass or lemon balm - reminds me of happy experiences. Using aromatherapy oils is proven to help activate different emotions, lavender is perfect for calming, peppermint and rosemary are invigorating, and lemon is good for clarity and focus.

You are good enough

We can be so hard on ourselves and often be our own worst critic. It’s time to practice some self-compassion and take it easier on yourself. Believe in yourself and be proud. As well as my passion for fitness and wellbeing, for the last three years I have been studying for a diploma in counselling. This has taught me that I am good enough. I will probably never be the best, but I give my best and try to do my best and this is good enough for me. I have taken a good look at myself, warts and all and I have stopped trying to be someone perfect.

Nutrition, exercise and sleep

Everyone needs these basics to survive. They are incredibly important but sometimes really hard. I do try to have a relatively balanced diet and I don't deny myself the occasional treat. I am lucky in that sleep is not a problem, however, I have been known to use a comfortable eye mask for me, and I feel like I get a better quality sleep.

As I age, my body can no longer do the things that it could when I was 20, but I know how important it is to keep moving. I love walking and dancing. I'm not great at dancing but I don't care. I love it and I love making people laugh.

Choose an exercise that you love and enjoy. It gets the body moving, it's sociable and it's fun. As someone who has struggled with back pain, I can say that for me, stretching and pilates have been invaluable. I don't stretch nearly enough and one of my goals is to stretch for 10 minutes every day.

Learning and development

The brain needs exercise, just like the rest of our body, to keep it functioning well. Maybe try a new skill, or a language, or a short course. You may feel more fulfilled, you may achieve something you always wanted to and it may open up new opportunities.

Socialise, laugh, make new friends

I love people. I love making new friends. However, I appreciate that this can be very hard for people, so if you see someone new in a class, go and say hello. Be kind, smile and enjoy yourself and what others have to offer.