StressDrive

DO YOU FEEL UNDER PRESSURE?

Do we really understand stress, what it looks and feels like? Or how we cope with stress and what it does to our bodies?
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When you talk to scientists and those folks in white coats, they say there are 3 types of stress; acute, episodic and chronic. It seems to us all these words are extremely difficult to define and certainly hard to measure, so how does a person know which category they fit into and how mild or strong are their feelings. In this modern world we love to label things because it’s easier and we can all rush out and say I have this syndrome or that ailment.

It seems arbitrary to have just 3 types of stress - why not 6? Also why not have a scale from positive to negative and design a scale - say from 1 to 6? Is stress internally developed or externally driven? Is short term stress an issue and what are the effects of long-term stress? All these things should be considered, and we attempt here to go through these issues.

Click on a heading below and see a summary, and if you're interested you can GO and read more about it

Here are some initial thoughts about stress. GO!

Here are some initial thoughts about stress. GO!

See what causes stress. GO!

See why women are more likely to experience physical symptoms of stress. GO!

See what the main elements of stress are. GO!

See what other types of stress there are. GO!

See what impact stress has on our bodies. GO!

See what we can do to control stress. GO!

See whether it’s all in the mind or affected by the body. GO!

See whether you can stay above it all – until someone p&^%ses you off! GO!

See how we can take control of our brains. GO!

If you’re a visitor to our site you can join and download information, assess your own health and create your own action plans, and even contribute to our site.  GO!

We have a couple of videos and a testimonial. GO!

See what you can do next. GO!

We have some additional information and stuff on this subject. GO!

Some Initial Thoughts

man showing stress

Physically

Stress is naturally created in the body as a result of a series of external factors. The hypothalamus, a collection of nuclei that connects the brain and the endocrine system, signals the pituitary gland to produce a hormone, which in turn signals the adrenal glands, located above the kidneys, to increase the production of cortisol. If this happens for a reason there is no problem. Some people are clearly more prone to stress whilst others seem to absorb it easier.

Often stress is hidden and comes on slowly. Things happen – perhaps something goes wrong – and this builds up and as each item is added we start to struggle to deal with them. People handle stress and anxiety differently. Some people get nervous over the slightest thing whilst others seem to be able to cope with huge amounts of pressure and load. In fact, some see stress and pressure as a bit like feeling powerful like a bodybuilder: "I am strong and can cope with this." Often this is totally wrong as the long-term effects can creep up on us and have a massive impact on other parts of our body.

In this Drive we look at stress as a natural bodily function. In some aspects, stress is natural but too much stress is bad for us. We show you the signs of stress, how to deal with it and control it, how to feel calmer and how to get help and support.

Facts About Stress

people
1 ,000

822,000 people off sick with stress which is 3% of the total workforce in 2021

Experience stress
79%

In 2020, of British adults in employment – a staggering 79% commonly experience work-related stress. This is 20% higher than 2018’s findings (perkbox)

public sector
1

3140 per 100,000 population of public sector are off sick with stress in comparison to private which is 1780 in 2021

Work stress
60%

Work stress was a primary cause of stress and the second most common cause of stress (60%), with ‘family stress’ coming third place (48%)

women
1

Women under 35 were the highest stress groups with 3,570 per 100,000 population in comparison to men 2250 per 100k

Office politics
40%

40% of work stress cases said the number one cause of stress was work-related office politics.

work days
1 million

70 million work days are lost each year due to mental health issues costing employers £2.4 billion

Overwhelmed
74%

74% of people have felt so stressed they have been overwhelmed or unable to cope in the last year.

2 types of stress body

Stress is a hormonal response from the body

This response all starts with a part of your brain called the hypothalamus. When you’re stressed, the hypothalamus sends signals throughout your nervous system and to your kidneys. This has the reaction to activate the stress hormones.

These stress hormones are the same ones that trigger your body’s “fight or flight” response - your heart races, your breath quickens, and your muscles ready for action. This response was designed to protect your body in an emergency by preparing you to react quickly.

But when the stress response keeps firing, day after day, it could put your health at serious risk.

Women appear more prone to stress than men

Women are more likely to experience more physical signs of stressed compared to their male counterparts.:

This doesn’t mean that men don’t experience stress. Instead, men are more likely to try to escape from the stress and not exhibit any signs...

Women are more likely than men (28 percent vs. 20 percent) to report having a great deal of stress (8, 9 or 10 on a 10-point scale).

Men and women tend to react differently with stress–both psychologically and biologically. There is a clear pattern for the sex-specific prevalence rates of various mental and physical disorders.

main elements of stress

What are main elements of stress

Stress can be categorised in a number of areas acute, episodic and chronic. There are many more and different philosophies of stress. There are also environmental, postural, emotional, dental and nutritional. Some sceptics might say stress is a great business to be in. The more of an issue, like climate change, the more money there is to be made in the business of stress and practically every living being on the planet will be suffering from stress of sort or other.

The key point is if the body produces reactions that we know as stress then it must be a natural thing and in moderation cannot be bad for us. Therefore, extreme stresses need to be identified and managed but what is the degree of stress that we are willing to put up with. I guess it’s like pain, some people have a greater tolerance to pain than others.

posture stress

What other types of stress are there

There are more stress indicators; Environmental stress, Postural stresses, Emotional stress, Dental stress, Nutritional stress

stress impact on body

How does stress impact on our body?

Here we look at how stress of all kinds moderate or extreme effects the body and therefore why it is so important to take control of our emotions.

Stress has a profound impact on a number of areas of the body, as you will see from the tabs below.

tips to reduce stress

How do we control stress - top tips

There are thousands of things we can do to avoid stress. But each stress situation has a different solution. The key is if you feel stressed about anything or everything then it’s not the situation but how you deal with it. It’s you and you need to take a step back and really analyse yourself. Here are few generic tips to help.

• Eat and drink to optimize your health. ...
• Exercise regularly. ...
• Stop using tobacco and nicotine products. ...
• Study and practice relaxation techniques. ...
• Reduce triggers of stress. ...
• Examine your values and live by them. ...
• Assert yourself. ...
• Set realistic goals and expectations.

stress in the mind

It’s all in the mind - or is it?

Well, it is really but it’s not. Psychosomatic connectors make it a joined-up thing. If you read early about how stress impacts on the body in a number of ways and also your environment/nutrition impacts on the body which in turn causes stress. So, if you have a hi pressured role in the city with the smog, grabbing quick bits and then going to the bar afterwards and then eating at 10pm and then to bed all these things have an impact on stress and creates an unstable environment. When we are in our twenties, we are invincible but when we get into our forties it starts to take its toll.

Carry out a lifestyle questionnaire will enable you to see how much stress you are putting your body and mind under. This will enable you to take actions to reduce some of the stress areas. But,
Top Tip: which comes first chicken or egg. You need to make a list of each area and then score it out of 10 tackle some of the smaller easily achievable things first, they are small but it gets you into changing your lifestyle, then tackle some of the bigger one but don’t go crazy or you will give up.

man in bubble

I am very calm - it’s others that P… me off

I have PMA [ positive mental attitude] I am invincible, yeh right until you step out of the house and the bloke in front of you nicks your parking space at the train station. Then your PMA bubble is under attack then the bubble bursts and your mood shifts.

Many people work so hard to develop a PMA and develop inner peace and tranquillity. They reduce their stress levels down and feel that they have reached their Nirvana and then Boom!!! Your mobile phone breaks and you have to contact a mobile phone customer service.

The good thing is you are not alone. There are millions of Positive people out there trying to do the same. They are generally cup half full people but there is also the opposite the cup half empty. These people hate you for been so positive and smiling whilst they see the dark side of life.

emotional intelligence chart

It’s all to do with emotional Intelligence and taking control of the grey matter

So what does emotional Intelligence mean?

It is the ability to understand, use, and manage your own emotions.

Taking control of the grey matter. We cover emotional intelligence in MindDrive and PersonalityDrive, specifically in this Drive we concentrate on why having emotional intelligence helps you to manage stress.

Taking control of what I think and feel – taking control of the brain

Some would say that is easier said than done. As an Icon if we consider that by 2026 half the UK will be classified as obese and in the main this is due to lifestyle, eating and drinking too much and not exercising. If we cannot even control our own food and lifestyle intake, how can we be expected to control our brains.

If you can lose weight and get healthy it’s called Willpower!! it’s the same with the brain. You can control your brain if you wanted to and stop the stress. There are hundreds of books written by experts on how to take control of your brain and make it do what you want rather than react to emotions.

What are the main things emotional intelligence will do to help me manage my stress?
• Learn to be more self-aware. Take a good look in the mirror and see yourself GOOD and BAD bits and smile, say this; That’s me. I need to build my strong bits and get rid of my bad bits.
• Self-regulation, when to shout; STOP that is enough with the negative thought.
• Motivation to not allow yourself to feel the way you do.
• Self-management is all about controlling every move and action in your body and mind and not being over influenced by external social media and quick fix solutions.
• Social awareness, seeing yourself as who you are not what you think others want you to be.
• Relationship management with people around you, understanding them and things you don’t like letting them bounce off you like you are surrounded by a forcefield.

Creating that Habit

As babies we learn to crawl and walk. We learn to know when to go to the toilet, we learn to start to control our emotions. As teens we learn how to moderate and adjust our behaviour to fit and not to cry when we don’t get our own way, we learn that hitting someone does not solve the problem or win an argument. These are all habits we form. We also form bad habits by eating and drinking too much, becoming lazy and when things don’t go our way we go into a meltdown.

As humans we can all learn new habit over the top of old or bad habits.

For visitors

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You can register to join us as a member, when you’ll be able to download our stuff and comment, or as a YouDriver when you’ll also be able to check your health and set up your own action plans to make some improvements.  If you’ve already registered, sign in below. Or let us know what you think.

What does stress do to your body

What does stress do to your body

This YouTube video describes what stress does to your body

Stress is a natural body function and we can’t do without it in short bursts

Spurts of acute stress (known as “eustress” in research, if you like learning new words) can increase your memory, concentration and more. Learning to embrace stress is beneficial, so start by watching this video. If you’re actually reading this, you REALLY care about good stress 👏 and there is further reading below.

Stress is a natural body function and we can’t do without it in short bursts
“If the mind can cause stress, the mind can alleviate it. It’s within our power to choose one thought over another — to choose optimism over pessimism.”
Ernest Cadorin
Author

Next Steps

It doesn’t matter what stage  you’re at – it’s important to be the best you can be.  At the end of the day it’s about taking personal responsibility – You Drive!

It’s really your choice. You can find out more information about the subject, or see other institutions that can help by going to Support. There you will find organisations, training, coaching, self-help courses and other items to support your personal change. We have also started developing a panel of experts to provide info, advice, help and support. 

Get Support

There are times when you need some help to meet your aims –  a helping hand. That might be  an organisation that can provide you with some help,  some specialised information, a particular book or tool to help, or just getting some background reading material.

We have a lot of items which appear on our Drives and other pages, which you can go to by clicking on the picture or link.  Some contain affiliate links and we may receive a tiny commission for purchases made through these links.

If you know of anything which could help you or our other visitors then please click the button on the right, which will take you to a Contacts page where you contact us.

Experts

We are compiling a list of experts who can provide advice, help or specialised services.  You will be able to access these experts from anywhere on our site you see our ‘Experts’ symbol.  Click the green E to see what our Experts list will look like, with a couple of imaginary ‘experts’ added!

More Information

Scroll down to see more information on this Drive. 

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More information

Master Your Emotions

A Practical Guide to Overcome Negativity and Better Manage Your Feelings: 1 (Mastery Series)

Have you ever thought…

…about your thoughts?

Do you have a bias toward the negative?

Go to Amazon

A Life Less Stressed

The Five Pillars of Health and Wellness – Paperback

Life has never been more stressful. It is no coincidence that chronic degenerative disorders such as cancer, heart disease, autoimmune illnesses, and mental-health conditions are on the rise. But if we want to tackle them, we need to look beyond their symptoms. That is the message of dentist and health advocate Dr Ron Ehrlich.


Go to Amazon

Managing Stress – Mindfulness, Meditation & Reflection For Busy People

A how-to guide for managing stress through mindfulness, meditation and reflection in work, family & everyday life.

Do you live a hectic life? Are you feeling stressed over family, friends, relationships, work or one of the many thousands of things that place pressure on you?


Go to Amazon

The Mental Toughness Handbook:

A Step-By-Step Guide to Facing Life’s Challenges, Managing Negative Emotions, and Overcoming Adversity with Courage and Poise

Bravely Endure Hardship, Perform Under Pressure, and Overcome Challenges More Easily Than You Ever Thought Possible!


Go to Amazon

It’s All In The Mind, You Know!

Chronic overwhelm is one of the biggest problems of our age. Stress, ill health, absenteeism from work and deteriorating relationships seem to be inexorably on the rise.
The metaphors in this book point to the solution to these problems and more. They will not provide tips, techniques or strategies, but reveal a simple truth about how the human experience works.


Go to Amazon

Eliminate Negative Thinking

How to Overcome Negativity, Control Your Thoughts, And Stop Overthinking. Shift Your Focus into Positive Thinking, Self-Acceptance, And Radical Self Love

If You Want To Break Free From Negative Thought Patterns, Stop Worrying And Learn To Think Positive, Here’s The Right Book For You!


Go to Amazon

The Little Book of Emotional Intelligence

How to Flourish in a Crazy World

The Little Book of Emotional Intelligence is an immediate, outcome-focused primer on the important topic of EQ, which provides practical, no-nonsense life advice and takes a sideways look at a world which is complicated and overwhelming at times.


Go to Amazon

Squishy Stress Balls with Gel Beads

Jumbo Size (Colorful) – Anti-Stress ADHD Anxiety Relief Sensory Toy Fidget Toys for Kids and Adults

Calming Sensory Fidget Toy – These fun, squeezable gel stress balls contain soft jelly beads that can be squished, squeezed, and pulled to help relieve stress or anxiety, promote focus and calmness, and help reduce tension.


Go to Amazon

Anxiety UK specialise in managing anxiety and have help on hand with specialists online.

Psycom explain the difference between stress and anxiety

WebMD have tips for reducing stress

Stuff you might want re stress

Now you’ve read about stress you might want to make a bit of a statement.  Have a look at some stuff below we think has some humour value!  We may make pennies on commission, but that’s not the point really.  Click on the image to see more details.

Funny I have the patience of a Saint Cunty McFuckoff

11OZ Coffee Mug Novelty, Office, Job. By Aviento by Aviento Blanco

Go to Amazon

joke stress mug

Funny “Real Meaning of Stress”

Novelty 11oz Mug LBS4ALL

Go to Amazon

stress mug

Scented Love Aromatherapy Essential Oils Scentered Candle

Encourages Feelings of Romance, Sensuality & Wellbeing – Rose, Cedarwood & Jasmine Blend – Small Candle

Available in small or large

Go to Amazon

scented candle

MindCare Balance, Natural Anxiety & Stress Relief Supplement

L-Theanine, Magnesium, Omega-3 & B-Vitamins, 60 Capsules

Go to Amazon

fish oil

Med-Fit Dual Channel Wireless TENS Machine for Total Body Relief & Muscle Relaxation

Nerve Stimulator with 4 Programmes to Reduce Stress & Improve Sleep – Maximum Strength & Rechargeable

Go to Amazon

massager

All areas of health are interlinked

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Find your initial focus

You might think that physical, financial and mental health are quite separate, and for some people they are. However, often a problem in one area has a knock-on effect on others. Losing your job can lead to anxiety and depression, which can turn you to drink and impact your health.

You might have a severe issue in one area but that can lead to problems in other areas, and the people treating you for the first problem won’t be equipped to deal with these linked issues.

For example, doctors and nurses can treat you for a physical problem but can’t advise you about your job or finances.  Nor for the anxiety that comes with it, apart from prescribing some drugs, which might or might not be the best solution.

We encourage you to take a holistic view – we look at all areas and offer support across the whole spectrum.

health areas interlinked

Even this view of health is simplistic, as you’ll discover later if you go down that route.  You might want to consider overall health, or wellness or wellbeing, which include additional types of health, such as occupational health (how you are in your job).   Then there’s happiness and quality of life – how do these fit?

If you’re interested in that, click the link here to see more information.

To close this box and go back click the X at the top or just click outside the box

The Little Book of Emotional Intelligence

How to Flourish in a Crazy World

The Little Book of Emotional Intelligence is an immediate, outcome-focused primer on the important topic of EQ, which provides practical, no-nonsense life advice and takes a sideways look at a world which is complicated and overwhelming at times.

Go to Amazon

emotional intelligence book

Master Your Emotions

A Practical Guide to Overcome Negativity and Better Manage Your Feelings: 1 (Mastery Series)

Have you ever thought…

…about your thoughts?

Do you have a bias toward the negative?

Go to Amazon

master your emotions

A Life Less Stressed

The Five Pillars of Health and Wellness – Paperback

Life has never been more stressful. It is no coincidence that chronic degenerative disorders such as cancer, heart disease, autoimmune illnesses, and mental-health conditions are on the rise. But if we want to tackle them, we need to look beyond their symptoms. That is the message of dentist and health advocate Dr Ron Ehrlich.


Go to Amazon

life less stressed

Stress Ball for Kids and Adults

9 Pack Fidget Squishy Balls Bulk Squeeze Toy, Soft Mesh Glitter Balls Sensory Balls Relaxing Toys to Help Anxiety ADHD Autism4 KINDS OF STRESS BALLS 9 PACKS: This sensory fidget balls toy set contains 4 different kinds of squeeze balls. Each of them will give you a different squeeze feeling, it is special and relaxing. All of the squishy balls are of great elasticity provide kids and adults unique squeeze and stretch experience
stress balls

Managing Stress – Mindfulness, Meditation & Reflection For Busy People

A how-to guide for managing stress through mindfulness, meditation and reflection in work, family & everyday life.

Do you live a hectic life? Are you feeling stressed over family, friends, relationships, work or one of the many thousands of things that place pressure on you?


Go to Amazon

managing stress

The Mental Toughness Handbook:

A Step-By-Step Guide to Facing Life’s Challenges, Managing Negative Emotions, and Overcoming Adversity with Courage and Poise

Bravely Endure Hardship, Perform Under Pressure, and Overcome Challenges More Easily Than You Ever Thought Possible!

Go to Amazon

mental toughness

It’s All In The Mind, You Know!

Chronic overwhelm is one of the biggest problems of our age. Stress, ill health, absenteeism from work and deteriorating relationships seem to be inexorably on the rise.
The metaphors in this book point to the solution to these problems and more. They will not provide tips, techniques or strategies, but reveal a simple truth about how the human experience works.

Go to Amazon

all in the mind

Eliminate Negative Thinking

How to Overcome Negativity, Control Your Thoughts, And Stop Overthinking. Shift Your Focus into Positive Thinking, Self-Acceptance, And Radical Self Love

If You Want To Break Free From Negative Thought Patterns, Stop Worrying And Learn To Think Positive, Here’s The Right Book For You!


Go to Amazon

negative thinking

Health Areas in Domains

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Domains

We break down the overall concept of health or wellness into ‘bite-sized chunks’ that we can actually do something about.  The first level we call health domains. 

We like the Life of Wellness site and we have chosen the following domains.

1. Emotional Wellness: Awareness and acceptance of feelings
2. Spiritual Wellness: A search for meaning and purpose
3. Intellectual Wellness: Recognition of your creativity, knowledge and skills
4. Physical Wellness: Need for physical activity and balanced nutrition
5. Environmental Wellness: Positive awareness and impact on your environment
6. Financial Wellness: Debt reduction, cash flow balance or financial future planning
7. Occupational Wellness: Personal achievement and enrichment from your career
8. Social Wellness: Contribution to your community

Health Areas

Within each domain, we have included a number of health areas. These are specific issues that you can tackle.  Within each health area, e.g. Depression, we have built additional information and exercises which you can do to help in the area. You can create your own Action Plan to address this area, and see

Emotional: Anxiety, Compassion Fatigue, Depression, Gambling, Laughter, Narcissistic, Personality Disorder, Sleep, Stress

Environmental: Environmental Issues, Greenness

Financial: Debt, Family Finance, Financial Planning, Financial Wellness

Intellectual: IQ, Personality, Procrastination

Occupational: Jobs for Different Personality Types, Retirement Income, Work Life Balance

Physical: Alcohol, Disabilities, Dizziness, Drugs, Fitness, Food Preferences, General Health, Healthy Ageing, Illness, Nutrition, Sleep Apnea, Smoking

Social: Communication Skills, Communication Styles, Domestic Abuse, Emotional Abuse, Love Partnerships, Mental Abuse, Parenting Styles, Sexual Addiction

Spiritual: Are You Sensitive, Mystical Guidance, Spirituality

Each health area has supporting information and its own questionnaire.

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Understand Health

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Physical, financial and mental health

One definition of health is:

Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. 

The NHS define health as: ‘We use a broad definition of health that encompasses both physical and mental health, as well as wellbeing. This means we are not only interested in whether or not people are ill or have a health condition, but also in how healthy and well they are.’

We believe we also have to consider financial health, as this can easily impact physical and mental health. Click the button to see an example of how these are connected.

 It gets more complicated…

What is Health? How about Wellness, Wellbeing or Happiness?

The Active Wellbeing Society (TAWS) define Health as a state of the overall mental and physical state of a person; the absence of disease. They define Wellbeing or wellness as a way of life that aims to enhance well-being and refers to a more holistic whole-of-life experience which also includes emotional and spiritual aspects of life.  We expand on this definition of health to include financial health and mental health, to make it synonymous with wellbeing or wellness.  

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Values, Attitudes and Beliefs

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We all have our beliefs, attitudes and values – these have developed throughout our life based on who we are and what we have done. Let’s look at what these are.

The University of Reading explain: “People’s values, beliefs and attitudes are formed and bonded over time through the influences of family, friends, society and life experiences. So, by the time you’re an adult, you can hold very definite views on just about everything with a sense of “no one is going to change my mind”.

The combination of your personal values, beliefs and attitudes are your moral principles that guide you in life and affect your behaviour. However, your views can wildly differ to others and in an institution such as a school, these beliefs may be counter to the values of the school, child development or indeed the law.” 

Let’s look more closely at the differences between beliefs, attitudes and values.

Beliefs

These come from real experiences – we think our beliefs are based on reality, but in fact our beliefs colour our experiences; also, an original experience e.g. when we were a child is not the same as what’s happening now. Beliefs can be moral, religious or cultural and reflect who we are. They can be rational (‘it gets colder in winter’) or irrational (‘I am never going to make something of myself’).

Attitudes

This is an immediate belief or disposition about something specific. It is a recurring group of beliefs and behaviours aimed at specific groups, people, ideas or objects. They will normally be positive or negative and we will always behave that way to the target group. Examples of attitudes include confidence (I can or can’t do something), grateful (I an entitled to / grateful for XXX) and cheerful (I am generally happy / miserable).

Values

These are things (principles or qualities) that we hold in high regard or consider to be worthwhile or right / wrong. They are formed by a belief related to the worth of something – an idea or behaviour. Some values are common (e.g. family comes first, the value of friendship) or cultural (which the whole community have – see video at Study.com here)

The theory

Links to Wikipedia

Expectancy Value Theory suggests you balance your beliefs about something with the value you attach to it. The Theory of Reasoned Action suggests that beliefs and evaluation about behavioural outcomes determine attitudes, and intentions lead directly to behaviour.

Beliefs

Expressions of confidence – can change over time

Attitudes

Learned predispositions to something – are subject to change

Values

Ideals that guide our behaviour – Generally long lasting and often need life changing experience to change

Iceberg demonstrating implicit and explicit bias – from Owlcation

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Assess your overall health using a health questionnaire

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At YouDrive we try and help people improve their health. We use ‘health’ but we understand there are other terms such as wellbeing or even happiness that reflect how we are doing in our lives – if you’re interested in the different definitions and ideas see our page on the subject.

We want to help whether you have a particular problem – physical, financial or mental – or if you just want to improve some specific part of your life or just make some improvements overall.

You’d be surprised, but there has been a serious amount of scientific work done in this area over the last twenty years.

So first we allow you to assess your current health (or wellbeing, or happiness).  We do this by questionnaire.  Which one is determined by the type of person you are:

  1. You understand yourself well and want a quick overview of your health and wellness, and will drill down in any areas needing work
  2. You want to do a more detailed assessment and then focus on areas you’re already aware of
  3. You want to look at the whole situation in more detail across all the health domains.

By the way, we take your privacy seriously – we collect information that you choose to provide but we de-identify it as much as possible and will never share it with anyone without your explicit consent.

You can then drill down into some specific areas and there are more questionnaires to see your situation in these particular areas.  We provide you with specific information and refer you to other potential aspects of help. Our next step is to build a personalised action plan – for now we will make a suggestion for you to develop your own plan and then after a time you can see whether this has had a positive impact by retaking the test.

In future we will be engaging with medical and behavioural specialists to devise action plans for individual people with specific situations.

We have an overall questionnaire which you can complete which will assess your current state.

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Add your attitude to change - see how you view changes in your life

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Do you need to change?

No matter how healthy you are at the moment, the chances are that there are some areas you could improve. It may be that you have a real problem in one or more areas, and you would like to make some improvements.

At YouDrive we accept that there are many different degrees of ‘not wellness’ in a large number of different health areas, ranging from physical illness such as covid-19 through mental illness such as anxiety through to financial problems like debt.  We try and help where the problem ranges from ‘slight’ to quite bad’ – after this expert help and intervention may be needed.

However, especially in these times, we have to try and make these changes ourselves, possibly with some help from others, whether remotely or face to face.

The thing is, to make an improvement we have to change some things.

This involves changing our behaviour in some respects, and that’s not always easy.

Henry Ford, the creator of the assembly line, is quoted as saying “if you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got”.  

henry ford

Another way of looking at this: “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.” – attributed to Albert Einstein.

Consequently we need to make some changes.  The problem is that we have already developed a lot of habits, some of which we need to break and replace by better ones.  Some of our bad habits have become entrenched, and the bad results they create in turn engender further bad habits to develop – in effect the bad habits can feed on themselves.

We need to understand how we can make changes and stick to them, and that’s what this part of your health profile is about.

It will involve some learning, through reading, some videos and some additional information and also seeing how you react to change currently.

It will also ask you to consider whether you feel you are in charge of your future, or whether you feel it’s all fate.

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Locus of Control

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  • We want to help people in all aspects of their health  – physical, financial and mental. We also provide detailed explanations of how overall health (or well-being) is measured.
  • We believe these things are often linked, so we try and address health holistically. We are building templates, questionnaires and exercises to help you identify what’s important to you.
  • We think people should try and take responsibility for  of their own health as much as they can.  See below for what that means.

People look at things differently.  Some people believe things happen to them, while others believe they can influence what happens to them. Technically this is called the ‘locus of control’.  People can have an Internal or external Locus of Control

So how do you see things?

Psychology Today have a 15 minute test which gives you a summary of your position you can buy the detailed results if you want to.

My Personality Test have a 10 minute test which gives you a summary.

People tend to take more responsibility (locus gets more internal) as they get older.  However, external isn’t always bad – for example if you are physically unable to do some things you can accept it and focus on the things you can do.  This American video explains the concept and gives examples of how this can affect relationships.

locus of control

Internal

  • More likely to take responsibility for actions
  • Tend to be less influenced by others

External

  • Blame outside forces for what happens
  • Don’t believe they can change their situation themselves

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See which domains you should address

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Having established that we use 8 domains, you need to understand which you should concentrate on.

The 8 are:

  • Emotional
  • Environmental
  • Financial
  • Intellectual
  • Occupational
  • Physical
  • Social
  • Spiritual

 

You can take a questionnaire, which scores you in each domain.  You can decide which domains you are strong in, and which you need to improve.

Another analysis shows which domains you should look at, but also which domains you want to look at.

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Health domains

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We break down the overall concept of health or wellness into ‘bite-sized chunks’ that we can actually do something about.  The first level we call health domains.

We like the Life of Wellness site and we have chosen the following domains.

1. Emotional Wellness: Awareness and acceptance of feelings
2. Spiritual Wellness: A search for meaning and purpose
3. Intellectual Wellness: Recognition of your creativity, knowledge and skills
4. Physical Wellness: Need for physical activity and balanced nutrition
5. Environmental Wellness: Positive awareness and impact on your environment
6. Financial Wellness: Debt reduction, cash flow balance or financial future planning
7. Occupational Wellness: Personal achievement and enrichment from your career
8. Social Wellness: Contribution to your community

wellness wheel

Health Areas

Within each domain, we have included a number of health areas. These are specific issues that you can tackle.  Within each health area, e.g. Depression, once you have subscribed we have built additional information and exercises which you can do to help in the area.

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A Butterfly Life: 4 Keys to More Happiness, Better Health and Letting Your True Self Shine

Times of change can be a challenge, no doubt! Whether it’s a relationship breakup, job loss, or being diagnosed with a serious health issue. Or you may WANT things to be different, but it feels a little scary or overwhelming. The butterfly reminds us change can be beautiful, even necessary, in order to realize our full potential and live our best life.