University Students Support Smile Away Stress Campaign
Students from the University of Greenwich have been Passing on a Smile to mark National Stress Awareness Day (Wednesday, November 1).
The students, who are studying for a BSc in Complementary Therapies (Stress Management) were taking part in the Smile Away Stress campaign organised by the International Stress Management Association UK (ISMA).
“Awareness of the impact stress has on the UK economy, businesses and organisations is growing dramatically. There is an increasing demand for qualified specialists to assist organisations, as well as individuals, overcome the many personal and social difficulties stress can cause,” said course co-ordinator and lecturer Josephine O’Gorman.
“Specialising in all aspects of stress management means our students will be very well placed to pursue professional careers in this challenging field. They will be able to make a significant difference to the overall health of a wide range of companies and organisations as well as the people working for them.”
Stress is now known to be one of the highest causes of absence from work and it has been estimated that 80 per cent of patients sitting in a doctor’s surgery are there because of a stress-related or psychosomatic illness.
According to the government’s Health and Safety Executive (HSE), each case of stress-related ill health leads to an average of 30.9 working days lost. A total of 12.8 million working days are lost to stress, depression and anxiety costing the nation more than £4 billion every year
And ISMA is using its campaign to demonstrate that stress is infectious.
‘We often only associate stress with major life issues such as divorce or financial problems but a huge amount of our anxiety comes from minor day to day annoyances,” said Ms O’Gorman.
“The campaign is aiming to show how easy it is for stress to pollute our lives spreading from one person to another. Positive actions need to be taken to reverse that trend.
“The HSE offers lots of guidance on how businesses can reduce stress in the workplace while ISMA is an excellent source of top tips on how individuals can identify stressful factors in their lives and take action– ranging from exercise programmes, improving diets and relaxation techniques.”
For further information about stress and stress management visit www.isma.org.uk or www.hse.gov.uk. To find out more about courses available at the University of Greenwich, including BSc Complementary Therapies (Stress Management) call 0800 005 006 or visit www.greenwich.ac.uk
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Caption: University of Greenwich students, from left, Amy Nicholas, Carla Smith and Rachel Price Pass on a Smile to mark Stress Awareness Day
For further media information, broadcast, photographic and interview opportunities, please contact:
- University of Greenwich Public Relations, tel: 020 8331 9420
- Delphine Houlton, Andrew Metcalf or Jez Durrant, at Maxim, tel: 01892 513033