Dr Angela Armstrong: How to Solve the Stress Epidemic at TEDxLeamingtonSpa (Transcript)

Here is the full transcript of leadership coach Dr Angela Armstrong’s TEDx Talk: How to Solve the Stress Epidemic at TEDxLeamingtonSpa conference.

Listen to the MP3 Audio: How to Solve the Stress Epidemic by Dr Angela Armstrong at TEDxLeamingtonSpa

Dr Angela Armstrong – Leadership coach

Seven years ago, I thought I was going to die. I didn’t!

Back then, I worked in a global consulting firm, leading change programs. Now, I’m an independent leadership development consultant.

Seven years ago, I learned the hard way that my body is not designed to absorb the level of stress I was subjecting it to. And I learned some lessons about thriving and surviving in corporate life, lessons I believe can literally save lives.

I’m normally a very private person. Being vulnerable on a public stage is a massive stretch for me, but the potential to save lives is a compelling reason to be here.

My hope for today is that, by sharing my story and a simple three-part model, you will realize that the key to the stress epidemic is in your daily habits. And you will commit to making small daily changes that will improve the quality of life for you, for business, and for society.

You may think that solution sounds too simple. It is simple, and simple works.

Workplace stress has reached epidemic proportions. Imagine the sound and energy of a full-capacity crowd at Wembley Stadium cheering, and now imagine that same crowd observing a minute’s silence on Remembrance Sunday. At any one point in the UK, 40,000 voices are not heard in the workplace because they are on long-term stress leave, due to workplace stress.

The total number of working days lost due to stress in the UK last year is the equivalent of 50,000 people taking one year off work. It is costing UK businesses billions. The solution, I believe, is to act on three parts of the stress ecosystem: banter, beliefs, and body.