Stepping Out Blog

Coping With Stress: 3 Ways To Deal With Family Issues

eyes-394175_640

Every family will have their ups-and-downs, and that is part of life. But there will be times when some family issues can just get too much.

We at Stepping Out, can understand that this can be extremely difficult, especially when you are young.

There are all sorts of family of issues, but the most stressful one are:

  • Separation or divorce.
  • Constant disagreements and arguments.
  • Difficult financial situations.
  • Not spending enough time as a family.

But never fear, there are a number of ways to cope with the amount of stress that you are facing when comes to dealing with family issues. Below, I have listed down three proven and most effective ways in coping with stress.

1. Tell Yourself That You Are Not the Only One

Let us take a look at the bigger picture; the world has more than 7 billion people. So, the question you need to ask yourself is whether these people have stress free lives? The answer is no!

Everyone goes through some sort struggle in life. It is normal. I know it is difficult to see this at the moment, but you really need to appreciate this fact.

One of the main problems in today’s world is caused by social media websites like Facebook and Twitter.

When you visit these websites, you are constantly bombarded with pictures of your friends having amazing parties and wonderful holidays. But here’s the truth, these people only want to show people what going good in their lives. They will never broadcast anything that is not good at all. And if they do, they are ones who usually seek pity, and you don’t want to be that kind of person.

People who constantly post good things on Facebook are more likely to feel ashamed when they are going through a tough time. And that is because they have difficulty in accepting their problem.

Once you acknowledge the fact that you are not the only one who is going through a tough time. Then you will gain a new perspective on your issue, and you will start to feel more relaxed.

2. Organise A Family Meeting

Once you have accepted the fact that you are not the only one who is dealing with this sort of problem. You can then move on to negotiating with your family. And the best way to do that is to organise a family meeting. It is very easy to organise a family meeting, you do it over dinner, whilst you are in kitchen. Anytime.

Once you have organised your family meeting, this is your opportunity to tell them how you feel about the situation. This will allow you to get any issues or concerns off your chest. Just remember one thing, when you tell your family about your concerns or issue, make sure you do it in calm and amicable manner.

Once you tell your family about your feelings, you will immediately feel better because you took the courage in facing your problems. Many people choose to avoid confronting their problems and resort to harmful measures, like alcohol and drugs, in an effort to cope with stress. In the long term, that’s bad for your health.

3. Don’t Forget to Listen Them

There are two sides to every story. Just because you’re family, will not mean you think in the same way.  Having these family meetings will allow you and your family to clear the air and be able to reach a solution.

It may not eliminate the problems completely, after all money does not grow on trees, but it is the first step in the right direction.

Read more

The 4 Noticeable Benefits of Doing Voluntary Work

volunteer-422598_640

Money is usually the main motive for working, so it’s understandable that voluntary work is not at the forefront of people’s minds. Yet, the only way you can get work if you have experience. It’s kind of a catch 22.

And here’s why:

If you do not have any work experience, your chances of finding work are very slim. Especially in London when there is a lot of competition out there. But if you don’t have any work experience in the first place, how are you met to find work?

A good answer to that is to gain voluntary work experience. You can gain voluntary work experience by asking different companies if you can help them out free.

Most companies will be willing to help you, although some may not due to insurance purposes. But fortunes will always favour those who continue to persist. Don’t forget, there are many charities and not-for-profit organisations who always looking for volunteers.

And when you voluntary work, you will notice these 4 significant, yet very noticeable, benefits.

1. Improve Your People Skills

When you are in working environment, you will need to speak to your colleagues in a polite, amicable and assertive manner. Voluntary experience allows you to start developing these skills because you will interact with a wide range of people. You’ll be talking to senior members of staff, co-workers and customers.

And by talking to these different individuals regularly, you get to build up and practice on your social skills. And by having more exposure to these settings, you get establish your own professional personality.

2. Gain Valuable Experience

Earlier in this article, I briefly mentioned that most employers are looking for candidates with experience. They want to employ someone who is able to quickly get his/her mark off the ground. With voluntary work, you are able to gain this valuable experience without having any experience in the first place.

It’s a win-win for both you and the organisation who you are volunteering for. You get to gain that experience and the organisation gets their work done.

3. Looks Good on Your CV and You Have a Reference.

Putting your voluntary work experience in your CV, will make it look it. In fact, it will make it look amazing. Any potential employer who looks at your CV and sees voluntary work experience will be very impressed. Voluntary work experience that is put down any CV will immediately show that used your initiative to get the experience.

Also, you can use your manager to where you are volunteering as your reference as well.

4. You Feel Great.

The final, and probably the most important, benefit that you will notice from volunteering that it will make you feel good. It is good to go out and meet new people when you are volunteering and it is great way to past the time.

Plus, if you are volunteering for a charity, it is a rewarding feeling when you give something back to the community that you are working for. And also, it keeps your mind busy and you learn new things along the way.

Read more

How To Stop Being Shy (And Meet New People)

office-336368_640

Being shy and trying to meet new people can be really intimidating sometimes. You begin to feel uncomfortable, you constantly feel stuck for words, and you just want to hide in a corner away from everyone.

But meeting new people is something that we should all do more. It helps build confidence, it helps you find work, move forward in your career, learn, and more.

Read more

Stepping Out Enters 2015 With Progress On All Fronts

unnamed (3)

Following the innovative steps taken to bring Gamification to the world of social care and semi independent living, along with our brand new website, Stepping Out has continued to progress throughout the first few weeks of 2015.

Read more

Brain Scans Can Locate Suicidal Behaviours in Young Adults

man-390339_640

A report presented at the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology annual meeting in Phoenix, Arizona has stated that abnormalities in the prefrontal cortex and related brain areas are observed in adolescents who have attempted suicide.

The study suggests that deficits in frontal systems may be associated with risk for suicide attempts in youths with mood disorders.

Most suicide attempts occur in the context of mood disorders, including bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder.

The report suggests that 25-50% of those affected attempt suicide; 15-20 % of individuals with the disorder die as a result, based on evidence provided at the US meeting.

Early intervention is needed as suicidal behaviour often first presents in adolescence. The development of new interventions, however, requires a better characterization of how features of brain structure and function are linked to the development of suicidal behaviours.

This Work Presents an Important First Step in Understanding Suicidal Thoughts

Using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), Hilary Blumberg and colleagues at the Yale School of Medicine examined brain structure and function in adolescents and young adults, 14 – 25 years of age.

68 participants with bipolar disorder, of whom 26 attempted suicide, were compared with 45 healthy volunteers matched for age and gender.

The investigators found that, compared with bipolar patients who did not attempt suicide and healthy control subjects, the participants who attempted suicide showed less integrity of white matter in key frontal brain systems, including the uncinate fasciculus, a fiber tract that connects the frontal lobe with key brain areas that control emotion, memory and motivation.

Further, there were links between the circuitry deficits and suicidal ideation, the number of suicide attempts and the relative lethality of those prior suicide attempts.

This work presents an important first step in understanding the neurobiology of how suicidal thoughts and behaviours are generated and may facilitate earlier identification of individuals at risk and development of targeted interventions to stop suicide.

Is the surface of a major problem just being scratched with this research and what more can we expect to find out from other experiments like this in the future?

Please let us know your opinions in the comments below.

Read more