Stress: Are we coping?

This content mentions suicide or suicidal thoughts, self-harm, depression and anxiety. Please read with care. There are details of where to find help at the bottom of this page.

1. Health and social care professionals should assess and address the psychological and other stressors experienced by people living with long-term physical health conditions
2. People presenting to a 'first point of contact' service in distress should receive a compassionate and trauma-informed response, regardless of where they live in the country
3. Government and the Health & Safety Executive must ensure that employers treat physical and psychological hazards in the workplace equally and help employers recognise and address psychological hazards in the workplace under existing legislation
4. Governments across the UK should introduce a minimum of two mental health days for every public sector worker
5. Mental health literacy should be a core competency in teacher training. This should be combined with rolling out mental health literacy support for pupils in schools across the UK to embed a 'whole-school approach' to mental health and wellbeing
6. The government should conduct an impact assessment of welfare reform and austerity programmes on mental health
7. More research is needed on the prevalence of stress in the population and on how the experience of stress can be reduced at the community and societal level

If you are feeling like ending your life or feel unable to keep yourself safe, please call 999 or go to A&E and ask for the contact of the nearest crisis resolution team. These are teams of mental health care professionals who work with people in severe distress. If you feel affected by the content you have read, please see our get help page for support.