This week at Remtek Systems we’re encouraging staff and partners to support International Stress Awareness Week. International Stress Awareness Week was created in 2018 to raise awareness about stress prevention, following the success of ‘Stress Awareness Day’.
Supporting stress management and mental health issues has never been more important than now, especially with the challenges presented during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Stress Management Society explains how ‘Stress is one of the great public health challenges of our time’. However, it still isn’t being taken as seriously as physical health concerns.
We know that stress is a significant factor in mental health problems including anxiety and depression and is also linked to physical health problems like heart disease, problems with our immune system, insomnia and digestive problems.
So, let’s get behind Stress Awareness Week and get people talking.
Stress support at Remtek Systems
As always, student welfare is the centre of our approach. A recent review with our trainers identified the following as some of the key causes of stress for our students:
- Spelling and grammar mistakes within student work and how this may cost them points or marks on their overall grade.
- The shift to an online learning approach during the pandemic has caused confusion, as students explain that approaches from lecturers are different. Some classes use teams, some use zoom, some are recorded, whilst some are downloadable. There is a new mass of information for students.
- Some lecturers aren’t comfortable with certain software resulting in less informative lessons.
- Knowing who to speak to within University and how to approach them is also a worry.
Direct feedback from students: The AT we train on has been more valuable than ever:
- Dragon software has been a key tool, as there has been a large amount of information given to students within quick succession.
- Claro software for the screen overlay has helped students with long online sessions.
- Note taking software has been extremely invaluable, removing the stress from worrying about not taking enough notes, as lectures can be recorded and played back at free will.
- Text to Speech software has helped students with the overwhelming number of journals they are required to read for each assignment.
Managing Stress
The Stress Management Society has come up with some activities that you could do for Stress Awareness Week including:
- Talk about stress and its effects – let's work together to reduce the stigma that is associated with stress by talking about the topic openly and freely with friends, family and colleagues.
- Share your coping mechanisms – if something has worked for you why not share it. It might benefit someone you care about and in the meantime, it might help you take your focus off your own challenges.
- Be nice to those who are stressed and anxious – we are all undoubtedly going to experience stress and anxiety in our lifetime so treat others going through wit with compassion and empathy.
- Look after yourself – we all need to think more about self–care. Take time out of your day to relax or do something that you enjoy. Don’t forget to exercise and eat well, even when you feel too stressed.
Supporting Student Outcomes
Our goal is to ensure that each student achieves their outcomes in a way that works for them.
We are always trying to understand what is causing students stress and learn what steps we can take to reduce it for them.
One student, Ellie Stiles explained how the software we train on helps her manage stressful situations:
“I feel extremely lucky to have the opportunity to be using some new programs to support me I my learning which have been able to reduce a great deal of stress from my lectures, studies, and assignments.
I would like to say that all the staff at Remtek have been extremely helpful and friendly and this has reduced a lot of stress as I feel confident to ask the questions I need to, to ensure I am using all the programs correctly and to their best ability to assist me with my studies. I have been lucky to have Thomas Jackson as my trainer who I feel has gone beyond what is expected to help support me through training.”
If you are a student and have found yourself in a situation where your to-do list seems endless, deadlines are fast approaching and you feel overwhelmed, contact our team today for support.
Our staff are ready to help you with your DSA needs. Get in touch with us via the following:
Phone: 0161 745 8353
Fax: 0161 745 8343
SMS: 07854 359160
Email: admin@remtek-online.co.uk
