Stress Awareness Series: Episode Four

Wow – Julian talks a lot of sense! We now have Episode Four: Living with Pain Points

But firstly, what is a ‘pain point’?

A pain point is something that you can clearly recognise as a factor which is causing stress to your life. For example – if you put pressure on yourself to go to the gym, and  cannot go because you are too busy. If you find you work in a negative environment which is counter-productive and beat yourself up for completing less work. Or you have a group of friends who aren’t always as friendly as they claim.

All of these are examples of pain points as they undoubtedly cause us discomfort.

Click below to watch this insightful episode!

Estimated watch time: 3 minutes

Don’t have 3 minutes to kick back at your work desktop? It’s okay, we get it. You can save the link for later, or scroll down to read Julian’s main tips below!

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

Episode Four: Living with Pain Points

If you have a healthy relationship with stress – you are able to differentiate between yourself and the pain point easily. Things like your self-esteem and negative thinking will also impact your stress levels. If we assume that you are a really positive person and can identify that the pain point is impacting negatively on your life, you can make an objective decision about the situation (like a toxic relationship or workplace for instance).

This goes back to the point about workplace stresses, in that you should always self-assess first. Secondary should be the pain points that you feel are causing the most pressure in your life. This will help you avoid stepping into your victim personality where you blame exterior factors for your stress.

If you are looking after your relationship with stress well, and not contributing towards your own levels of stress, then this is when you should consider removing the pain points from your life. But do be careful – if you are noticing a pattern with identifying a pain point regularly (going from relationship to relationship, or job to job) when the only consistent factor is you – it may be that you need to delve further into your own stresses in life.

See all episodes below!

Episode One – Stress Relief

Episode Two – Workplace Stress

Episode Three – The Links Between Mental Health and Stress

Episode Four – Pain Points

Episode Five – Symptoms of Stress

Episode Six – Stress ‘Crutches’

Episode Seven – What Workplaces Can Do

Are you interested in learning more about mental health awareness? Click here to find out more about Fundamental Wellbeing First Aid !