5 ways to cure stress, anxiety and depression for a PR professional

Stress, anxiety, depression and other mental health issues are rife within the communications industry.

Public relations are listed as one of the most stressful careers one can have, not because of the stress of the job but because no-one is taught how to deal with it. Also, at the same time, it is one of the highly satisfying careers, no day is like another, and it’s fast-paced and very rewarding to those who do it well. Some of the latest records speak as-

● 34% of PR professionals have been diagnosed with or experienced some form of mental ill-health (PRCA)

● 30% of PR professionals say they are 'somewhat unhappy' or 'not at all happy' when indicating their level of workplace wellbeing (CIPR)

● 60% of PR professionals report that they are 'stressed' or 'very stressed' at work (Comms2Point0)

● Public relations have been listed as the sixth most stressful career you can have (Career Cast). The list can go on and on.

Stress, anxiety, depression and other mental health issues are rife within the communications industry. It's safe to assume that if you're working in an office of 20 people, at least a couple are suffering from poor mental health right now. The stigma around mental health is massive. Considering the prevalence of anxiety, stress and depression, how often have you heard anyone in your workplace talking about having an issue with it?

A PR is the person who is supposed to keep relation among people of the workforce healthy, they are expected to be good listeners as well as speakers at the same time, and communication is their real weapon and skill required. But this can't be achieved without a cool, calm and collective mind.

Through this article, we would like to bring forth some suggestions to cure the rising level of stress, anxiety and depression which has seen a sudden peak during this period of work from home culture due to pandemic.

1. Time management: - As this work from home culture is going to stay and will be a new revolutionary norm in work field so to deal with the consequences of it on our lives one should follow a routine based habit while staying home as well. The work-based environment needs to be created at home to differentiate oneself from work and personal space. As the recent cases of stress have risen due to the chaos of management between work and home while staying at home. The time slot-based target and work lets our mind keep distinct and focus on the tasks and increases our efficiency at the same time.

2. Physical exercise: - One of the basic day-to-day things one should always take care of being from any field is their fitness, a physically fit body can only have a healthy mind has been a concept we have always heard in Indian culture. The pandemic also gave time to people to look back and pay attention to their fitness and see the results in their personal and professional lives. Yogic practices help people deal with the gravest of health issues that remain untreated even after consuming a lot of medicines. Therefore, one should include exercise in their routine before beginning the day preferably to manage the stress and anxiety level. Few basic practices we can include are-

3. Knowledge of current issues: - acknowledging facts and current situations helps us relate and ease ourselves from rising work pressure. One should always keep themselves updated about the happenings in their surroundings and world. Should go through a good newspaper to start their day and prefer news portals that provide better see through to the outside world and at the same one should also refrain from fake and manipulative news. Some times staying unaware of the ongoing things in the world and society makes us an alien to our environment, and learning new things, adding a piece of new information and knowledge can be useful to deal with near-term stressful situations. Learning as a tool has always been evident to ease stress and anxiety level as it involves our mind in thinking, exploring and questing process.

4. Stay easy and humble: - One of the things we should learn from Buddhist culture is staying humble, kind and calm. Humble people handle stress more effectively and report higher levels of physical and mental well-being. They also show greater generosity, helpfulness, and gratitude—all things that can only serve to draw us closer to others. Given what scientists have discovered about humility, it's evident that cultivating this quality is not for the faint-hearted, nor does it appear overnight. Yet it would seem that one of the great rewards of humility is inner freedom from having to protect those parts that we try to hide from ourselves and others. In other words, we develop a quiet, understanding, and compassionate heart.

You can never have an impact on society if you have not changed yourself. Great peacemakers are all people of integrity, of honesty, and humility.

5. PR & Soldier are always on duty: - Just as soldiers are always on duty to a country, PRs are also expected to be critically available and active to their organizations. Public relation is about sharing the right information to the right places and people, to build the brand reputation. Public relation agencies work with organizations and help them to build their image in a certain industry. Through effective marketing strategies, it promotes its client's agenda. Public relation strengthens community relation. When you make new connections, it means you are building ties with the local market by joining groups, donating time to a charity or any causes related to your business. Being an active member of a community establishes your reliability. Great public relation means setting up on-going relationships with many important influencers and knowing how your business may become an excellent data source for the influential.

A positive attitude and approach are always most expected from a PR to look into the situations and give it a convincing insight to bring the most productive and satisfying solutions. The pandemic situation made public relation management an important factor to keep the businesses, firms, industries or any working sector thriving and functional even in such grave times of crisis. The liabilities of a PR rose to an unexpected level that brings its pros and cons too at the same time as a bad mental health condition. So, to take care of that workforce needs to be more co-operative, compassionate and generous to ease their pressure and keep the mental balance intact.