With exam season kicking off this month, it can be an extremely overwhelming and pressured time for students. Dee France, Thrive’s Wellbeing Lead, shares her advice on handling exam stress and anxiety  It is a perfectly normal experience to feel worried and stressed when faced with impending exams or any type of performance situation.  A healthy and ordinary amount of stress can even be good for you, giving you the motivation to push through and keep you focused. However, when worry, self-doubt, fear of failure and the pressure to perform well become too intense, they can interfere negatively with exam preparation and performance.  As feelings of stress push past optimal levels, it can have a devastating effect on our concentration, and our ability to learn, remember and demonstrate what we know.  Causes of exam anxiety  To effectively manage anxiety, it is important to understand why you are feeling this way. There are many variables that may contribute to and relate to these feelings:  Past experience with exams;  Poor preparation, inexperience undergoing exams and unfamiliarity with exam and study techniques;  Poor self-care, such as bad sleep habits, unhealthy eating, lack of exercise and limited relaxation time; Intrusive and unhelpful thinking patterns such as saying to yourself, “I can’t do this” or “I’m going to fail”;  Strong sense of failure; or  Extreme pressure to achieve placed on you by yourself or others. Tips for handling exam anxiety  How you spend your time leading up to your exams can have a huge knock-on effect on your anxiety and stress levels.  Routine  Essential to managing anxiety and stress when faced with exams is creating a study routine early in the year as opposed to haphazardly cramming a year’s worth of learning into a few days.  Design a study schedule and map out how you will spend your days.  Schedule your study time in short, succinct time blocks with a 10-minute break for every hour.  It is important to have a hard stop each evening to allow some time to unwind, and block out a day each week that is revision free. By carving out a comprehensive and realistic schedule, you will focus better, feel in control and be less likely to procrastinate.  Being prepared will help you feel more relaxed and confident and goes a long way to easing stress levels and keeping your nerves in check. Mind and body  When we are busy, other parts of our life can be easily neglected, and we can forget to take care of ourselves.  When it comes to managing anxiety and stress, nourishing your mind and body should not be underestimated.  It is important not to push yourself too hard or overlook your needs.  Regular exercise, eating well and sleeping properly are some of the most effective stress relievers at our disposal and are essential for being at our best physically, mentally and emotionally.  Incorporating fundamental self-care practices into your study routine can ease the pressure of trying to balance your time with other vital activities. Relax  To relieve symptoms of anxiety and stress, practise deep breathing or other relaxation techniques such as progressive muscle relaxation or yoga to help calm the body, alter the body’s response to anxiety and release tension.  In general, relaxation techniques are about refocusing your attention and increasing awareness in the body. It is a good idea to engage in these activities when you are relaxed and practise regularly to reap the benefits.  Ask for help  If you are overwhelmed by upcoming exams, you might find it helpful to share how you are feeling.  At Thrive, we witness a spike in students contacting our services at this time of year regarding exam stress and anxiety, which is one of the most common concerns students are dealing with.  Thrive is the Institute’s dedicated well-being hub, which is freely accessible to all students.  The hub provides a wide range of services tailored to our students' well-being, such as wellness coaching and professional counselling. All services are delivered in complete confidence and are available at any stage of your journey with the Institute.  For more advice or information, check out Thrive’s dedicated wellbeing hub.  Alternatively, you can contact the Wellbeing team by email at: thrive@charteredaccountants.ie or phone: (+353) 86 0243294

Each year in January we have Blue Monday.  Often referred to as the most depressing day of the year, researchers have cited the third Monday of January as a day when we are at our lowest, but it doesn’t have to be this way.  Blue Monday was awarded the gloomy title due to a combination of reasons. Christmas and New Year joy has evaporated, resolutions and motivation begin to crack and wane, finances can be stretched and we find ourselves in the thick of winter.  However, it is important not to allow the concept to become a self-fulfilling prophecy. The day can present an opportunity to check in with yourself, practise some self-care and a chance to look after your physical and mental health. Perhaps it is time to retrain our brain and change our outlook on the month itself- maybe January could be a time for gentleness, reflection and self-compassion rather than abstinence and self-criticism. January is a bleak month but a positive spin on the gloomy dark days of winter is to think of the days getting a little brighter with each one that passes and is another step closer to Spring and Summer. There is something reassuring about the subtle change in nature in anticipation of better weather that can lift our spirits and encourage us to look to the future. Or why not carve out some time for yourself this blue Monday and make plans to brighten up the day.  Enjoy a sunrise morning walk Have a slow, gentle morning or breakfast Spend quality time with family/kids  Explore, and appreciate, your local area and surrounds Get out in nature Plan an adventure or complete a task you have been avoiding Embrace online learning Tackle that big DIY project and much-avoided clear-out Develop a new gardening skills Learn to cook or bake something new Catch up with friends Activity/Health Now is a good time as we start new beginnings to think about your health. Being active and having a healthy heart has never been more important. A regular walk will make a big difference and there is plenty of workouts or classes online, no matter what your fitness level. Carve out time for you!  Self-care Managing our stress and anxiety levels is essential and many people use meditation or yoga. But everyone is different, and some find painting or gardening works. Explore some options and find what works for you.  Appreciation The New Year gives us time to reflect and consider our surroundings, our family, friends, and appreciate all that is good in our lives. It also gives us the opportunity to consider changing things which perhaps were not so good for us.   

The theme of Alcohol Awareness Week 2022 is change, something that most people find challenging, but change is ever present. We can all easily slip into patterns and routines, and drinking more than we should or using alcohol as a coping mechanism is one. However high levels of alcohol consumed regularly can undermine our physical and mental health. One of the biggest challenge is to force a change in our mindset and seek alternative tools.  If you are finding you are inclined to drink more heavily and frequently, then perhaps it is an opportunity to explore alternative coping strategies. Being mindful and observing a low-risk relationship with alcohol can make a big difference to your anxiety levels and mood. Below are some tips to get you started: Stick to the weekly low-risk alcohol guidelines If you can stick to these guidelines it will reduce alcohol related problems The recommended weekly low-risk alcohol guidelines are less than: 11 standard drinks for women 17 standard drinks for men Drinks should be spread out over the week –no more than 2 standard a day for men, or 1 standard a day for women. Have 2-3 alcohol-free days per week. For more on these guidelines and what is a standard drink check out the HSE site. The Ask About Alcohol  drinks calculator also provides fact-based non-judgmental information about how drinking affects health, wallet and weight. Be aware of your mental health & wellbeing An awareness of how you are feeling can help you identify behaviours and any self-destructing tendencies. Do you use alcohol to ward off or cope with a bad day, stress or low mood?  If so, it is important to look for alternative ways to deal with our mental health and wellbeing.  Connecting with others is essential as it gives us purpose and a sense of belonging. Get out and about, walking and being outside is so good for our mental health. Keep a routine that works Most of us not only like routine, but we need it, so find a routine that works for you and reap the benefits. Keeping structure to your day and evenings will really help you to stay focused. Find alcohol free alternative tools Explore new options and find something you enjoy and works for you. Reaching for that drink each evening can become a bad habit and one which could be hard to break. Reconnect with hobbies or interests you once had or learn a new skill and try some relaxation or mindfulness. Take a news break Turn off the endless newsfeed for a few hours. Anxiety, depression, and alcohol are linked, so give yourself a break and take sometime out from social media and all news feed. You will be amazed how quickly your mood can change once these distractions are removed.

Executive Coach, Facilitator and Founder of xPotential, Ewan Dunbar shares his experience of dealing with cancer and how his journey changed the trajectory of his life, career and mindset. 5,000 Steps!! That was my goal … if I could achieve that then I was sure that my system would kick back in, my wounds would start to heal properly, I would be able to cope without morphine and I would recover fully mentally.  24 hours earlier I had undergone significant surgery to remove stage three cancer and fit a temporary stoma bag for a year.  I had cried for the first time in over a decade when I looked down at my stoma wound, exhausted from the pain and a sleep deprived night in the “Zombie ward” (as I ‘affectionately’ named it). The Zombie Ward was intensive care where patients were typically on morphine and definitely not in control of their senses during the night (I only have admiration for the nursing staff).  I decided to take control of the situation… I declined any more ‘purple tablets’ (the morphine), forced myself out of bed and started putting one foot in front of the other to get walking.  I achieved the 5,000 steps within a couple of days much to the amusement (and possible annoyance) of the nursing staff as I marched up and down blocking the hospital corridor.  I achieved 10,000 steps after day five (not to be recommended) and was released from hospital in half the time I was originally told I had to stay for.  I had set a goal. I had a purpose. I had prepared through significant physical training in advance of my operation and apart from the ‘wobbly 24 hours’ mentioned above, I was determined to live up to the expectations that my friends, family and colleagues expected of me.  Throughout the year of my cancer treatment, the importance of having a really strong network was emphasised to me.  Everyone viewed me as being really positive but I was only positive because of them (they were the fuel to my fire in trying to cope with the challenges presented to me). How did I get there though? As everyone is all too aware, there are carcinogens throughout the world in which we live.  There is not any way to know definitively the cause of my disease however for me it was not coincidental that I was experiencing the most stressful period of my working career.  Whilst smiling on the outside and still being that positive person that everyone expected at work, I was going through so many challenges that I was not sleeping properly.  Despite a rigorous exercise regime, I was constantly exhausted from a lack of sleep and worrying about work issues.  It also does not surprise me that all the cancer sufferers that I befriended who are in their forties also developed cancer whilst going through a particularly stressful period in their lives. This is anecdotal and unfortunately people can just be extremely unfortunate, but this journey has led me to a large number of realisations which also prompted a career change.  I now coach and provide leadership talks to support business executives in navigating the challenges of business life. One of my regular questions to senior executives is “if you woke at 2am, what would you be thinking of” … unfortunately this transpires to be the reality for almost all of my clients, who are able to tell me exactly what they were thinking about.   In this ‘always on’ world, leaders need to check themselves (both physically and mentally) before they wreck themselves.  So please, if in doubt, get it checked out! (early detection is key to saving lives, possibly even yours!)  If you are struggling with business challenges then please reach out to someone for support. Written by Ewan Dunbar on behalf of Thrive. Ewan is an Executive Coach, Facilitator and Founder of xPotential. Ewan spoke at Thrive's Movember webinar, Movember Lessons: Surviving the Corporate World & Beyond, that focused on men’s health and their journey through the corporate environment. You can watch this webinar on-demand here. 

Dawn Leane examines the main barriers to success experienced by women and what organisations can do to break the career inhibitors down In workshops organised after the publication of the research study carried out by Fiona Dent and Viki Holton for their book Women in Business: Navigating Career Success, women were asked to identify factors they believed had hindered their progress. Their responses are broadly categorised as follows: Limiting beliefs; Family issues; Work colleagues; Personal style and skills; Lack of organisational support; Gender issues; Taking the wrong career path; and Politics and bureaucracy. The most frequently mentioned issues focus on self-doubt and limiting beliefs. As this is a nuanced subject, it is important to distinguish between limiting beliefs and confidence.  Limiting beliefs vs confidence Beliefs are assumed truths developed over time from our direct experiences and observations. They usually don’t exist as explicit propositions. We may barely be aware of them, but they influence what we think, say, and do.  When they manifest self-doubt, they become limiting beliefs. An example of a limiting belief may be ‘I can’t handle conflict’, which could lead to a lack of assertiveness or the tendency to give in to others. Limiting beliefs can have a significantly negative impact on our ability to achieve our full potential. Confidence, however, can be significantly influenced by workplace culture. Women are regularly told that they should be more confident, which is particularly unhelpful as it puts the responsibility firmly back on women, as opposed to examining the environment as a contributing factor. One way in which the office environment can impact confidence is ‘backlash avoidance mechanism’, whereby women feel uncomfortable self-promoting due to perceived social consequences. Feedback and career development In the workshop, 59 percent of participants believed that men and women are judged unequally, particularly when it comes to feedback and development in the workplace. This is supported by the Women in the Workplace study—a study of US women in the workplace conducted by LeanIn.Org and McKinsey & Company—which found that women report receiving feedback much less frequently than their male co-workers. In fact, women are more than 20 percent less likely than men to receive difficult feedback, which is essential to improving performance. One reason cited by managers is their fear of an emotional response, which is less of a concern when giving feedback to male employees. Further, the feedback that women receive is often vague and non-specific. In their Harvard Business Review article, ‘Research: Vague Feedback is Holding Women Back’, Shelly J. Correll and Caroline Simard advised that “women are systematically less likely to receive specific feedback tied to outcomes, both when they receive praise and when the feedback is developmental.” They also found that when women did receive feedback, it was largely focused on their style of communication. Family issues While it is widely accepted that family issues can be a barrier to success, most participants in Dent and Holton’s research recognised that decisions made in relation to family life require compromise—and that it was typically the woman in the relationship who compromised out of personal choice. Many women accepted this as an inevitable consequence of motherhood and feel obliged to take responsibility and be available for their children. Managing employee long-term success The overarching message from these pieces of research is that what happens early in a woman's career significantly impacts her long-term success. It is important that both the career accelerators and inhibitors discussed in this series are considered by organisations when developing talent management and career development programmes. You can read the first two articles in this series: Empowering women for better balance in the workplace Four success factors for women in the workplace Dawn Leane is Founder of Leane Leaders and Leane Empower. 

What is stress, and is it bad for you? The dictionary definition of stress is “a state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or demanding circumstances”. In a medical or biological context, stress is viewed as a physical, mental, or emotional factor that causes bodily or mental tension. Stresses can be external (arising from environmental, psychological or social situations) or internal (stemming from an illness or a medical procedure). Stress can initiate the ‘fight or flight’ response, a complex reaction of neurologic and endocrinologic systems. And so we start to see the see-saw relationship we have with stress. It is needed to charge our body and mind, so we can best prepare to deal with challenging situations. It also releases adrenaline to make us the strongest and most productive we can be – this is our friend. However, it is when this delicate balance is tipped that it becomes our foe. The two sides of stress For me, good stress is the feeling before an Ironman – I am nervous, tense, anxious (and indeed, often questioning why I am here!) However, I know that this feeling means my body is preparing for pressure and that the adrenaline being released will fuel my muscles. It is the feeling before a presentation in work or a tough meeting – to some extent, it is a comfort as I know that this will ensure my reactions are charged and I will deal with unanticipated questions. However, stress becomes a problem when it significantly affects our emotional well-being and our ability to function at home, work or in our relationships. For a professional accountant, this pressure can sometimes arise from our work environment and as a member of the community of accountants, we should all be aware of the warning signs in others. Critically, the pressure often begins at the start of our career when we are juggling study, lectures, learning the tools of our trade with clients and dealing with our peers. However, throughout our careers, the lifecycle of an accountant exposes us to different pressures at different times.  It is okay not to be okay While we have come a long way in our ability to talk about our mental health, our profession appears slow to fully embrace the acknowledgement that it is okay not to be okay. From my interaction with students in the profession and my peers, who are often employers, we are still not 100% comfortable, or indeed perhaps don’t fully understand the impact stress can have on a person. Also, not all places of work have a safe environment in which individuals can talk openly. Yes, I am generalising here, but would you honestly feel 100% comfortable telling your employer that you were off on sick leave with mental health issues? If the answer is no, then as an employee or an employer we have an issue. And let us be honest, statistics demonstrate that we should see these sick certs as, on average, stress, anxiety and depression account for nearly half of all sick days taken in Ireland and the UK. Stark statistics Is stress, and the related side-effects when it becomes too much for us, more prevalent in accountants? Research by the Chartered Accountants Benevolent Association in the UK shows that more than eight out of 10 accountants suffer from stress-related problems. Over a quarter of accountants said they drink more than the recommended level and the study revealed that the suicide rate for female accountants is three times higher than the average for other occupations. Stark statistics. So, what can we do as a profession?  Well, we can ensure that our workplaces are open and transparent and that, most importantly, all staff can talk, voice their concerns and articulate when they are feeling stressed. We don’t need to go full throttle and bring in the massage chairs and yoga mats (even though this has been proven to help). However, we do need to ensure that as a community of accountants, we are there to assist each other and spot the warning signs. It is okay not to feel okay – and the more we say it and really believe it, the more we will help break the stigma of mental health and ensure that the profession is a compassionate one that supports its members and enables and empowers people to speak up. If any of the above strikes a chord with you, please note that CA SUPPORT is available to all members to help with matters of mental health. Sinead Donovan FCA is a Partner in Financial Accounting and Advisory Services at Grant Thornton.