International Stress Awareness Week is held annually during the first week of November, an opportunity to focus and acknowledge the prevalence of stress in modern life.

A 2023 report by NHS England focusing on the mental health of children and young people found that 23.3% of 17 to 19-year-olds had a probable mental disorder in 2023, while in 20 to 25-year-olds it was 21.7%.

One of the Team Managers at our Canterbury Safe Haven, which students from Canterbury Christ Church University regularly access, has shared practical tips to help young people in education manage stress effectively.

• Be honest with your school: You can always reach out to your school if you're struggling with your mental health. Schools can support you with special measures such as extending deadlines and putting you in touch with the school's wellbeing team for emotional support or counselling.
• Stress toys: Stress toys, such as fidget toys, can help to release stress by grounding you in the moment, rather than getting lost in your thoughts. This can help you manage stressful situations better and not respond emotionally.
• Journaling: This is a fantastic way to get some space to reflect on the day and help to understand your thoughts and feelings, helping to process them better. Journaling is also an opportunity to write down things we would like to tell others, offering us validation and acceptance.
• Mindfulness techniques: Mindfulness aims to bring you to the present moment which can help to relax our body and mind. The techniques are great with intrusive thoughts and anxiety as they often relate to something from the past/future. Mindfulness activities include deep breathing techniques like square breathing, grounding techniques, and meditation. They work by engaging our senses like taste, smell, and sound to anchor us in the present moment.
• Peer support: If you often feel misunderstood by others, peer support can help to break this barrier by connecting you to people who share similar experiences. There are various peer support groups across the country for specific needs like eating disorders or depression. You can also use the Kooth website to engage with your peers through web forums and seek 1-1 support from trained professionals.
• Apps: Lastly, there are a lot of apps aiming to reduce stress and provide healthy habits and positive coping mechanisms. Some good examples are Calm Harm, Hub of Hope to find services for support, Fabulous for Habits, Antistress app for easy games that reduce your stress, Finch for self-care, Headspace for meditations, and Catch It.