Managing Stress At Work

Managing Stress At Work – We are not born knowing how to deal with stress. Instead, a person will slowly learn over time what does and doesn’t work for them – mostly. While stress is a normal part of everyday life, it’s still tough to live through. And sometimes you get thrown some curveballs that you weren’t expecting or haven’t dealt with before. That is one of the reasons why it is so important to learn how to cope with stress the right way. Also, it is nearly impossible to fully banish stress from your life.  Over the course of a lifetime, everyone will be confronted with various types of stress. Because of this, it’s important to develop healthy ways for managing stress at work.

(1)    Get outside.

There is lots of research that indicates that the vitamin D boost from sunlight may elevate your levels of feel-good serotonin. And there’s something about being in nature that’s just good for your mental health. Being outside is a time-tested way to reset your emotional balance. Not just a change of scenery and an opportunity to leave our personal spaces, being outdoors can be a great way to manage stress and anxiety. If you can’t get outside? Then bring the outside in and introduce plants into your home or workspace, it can help lower blood pressure.

(2)    Move more.

Exercise may be the healthiest stress-buster. It revs your body’s production of feel-good endorphins, helps regulate your sleep, lowers the symptoms associated with depression, boosts your energy levels, and helps you remain calmer and more focused, all of which can go a long way toward stress management. While it’s easy to let a daily exercise routine slide when you’re overwhelmed, take steps to incorporate it into your day, try to pick an activity that you love and will look forward to doing, enlist a friend to help motivate you, or schedule it into your calendar like any other task, and you’ll soon understand why it’s a critical part of any stress-management plan. Over the moderate to long term, it will help you feel more fit and energized, and you’ll feel better equipped to take on the challenges that come your way.

(3)    Stick with a routine

Whether it’s taking a bath before bed, listening to your favourite music on the way to work, or walking the dog in the park or down the street every day, in times of stress it helps to turn into a comforting routine. (A consistent routine can also help you sleep.) For some people, this helps because you’ll have less idle time to sit around and think about the things that are stressing you out in the first place. The key is to create a reasonable schedule and one that includes taking breaks, involving time for fun activities, and making time to have meals, and importantly time for sleep so that the schedule itself works for you and doesn’t become another source of stress.

(4)    Do something with your hands

Do you ever get that never-ending loop of negative thoughts and what-ifs playing around in your head? That’s because stress likes to mess with your mind. A sure-fire and fun way to get out of your head is to engage in activities that put the focus on your hands or body (think kneading bread, drawing a picture, knitting a scarf, or climbing a rock wall), getting a work-life home-life balance is essential. As your hands and fingers begin to fall into those familiar rhythmic moves, it sends a signal to your brain that can have an immediate effect of helping you relax and makes you feel grounded. So immerse yourself in a creative, engaging activity and get ready to press the mute button.

(5)    Connect with your spiritual side

For centuries, religious groups and native tribes worldwide have used things like prayer beads and such to guide their spiritual practice, and research shows that spirituality might boost happiness in times of stress. But there is no need for this unless it resonates with you, creating something as simple as a positive affirmation or mantra that resonates with you. (You could even use your favourite inspirational quote.) Then, next time stress hits, repeat your affirmation as often as you feel, and the more you repeat it the more you will believe it to be true. The more you repeat it, the more you’ll experience a sense of power and detachment from the source of anxiety as your brain switches into a meditative state, and the stress you are feeling will hopefully ease.

(6)    Watch your vices

Drowning your stress in a bottle of wine or a pack of cigarettes might bring a release at that moment, but turning to unhealthy vices like drinking, drugs, smoking, or too much caffeine only sets you up to stress out more once the high wears off. Sugar, caffeine, and alcohol can all exacerbate stress and therefore should be consumed with caution, especially if you are feeling a lot of stress. Since these habits tend to increase the negative impacts stress is already having on your body (raising your blood pressure, making you jittery, keeping you awake at night to name just a few), you enter into a vicious cycle of feeling more stressed out and then returning to the vice over and over.

(7)    Try a different perspective

If you make a mistake at work, do you assume you’re going to get fired? Have a fight with your partner and worry the relationship may be over? It’s not uncommon to jump to worst-case scenarios when dealing with an upsetting issue but blowing things out of proportion only intensifies your stress. When we’re feeling stressed it’s very easy to view ourselves in a negative light. To soften your inner negativity, try looking at things from a different perspective. Talk to yourself as if you were offering advice to your best friend and more often than not, you’ll have much more compassionate and positive things to say.

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Managing Stress At Work – We are not born knowing how to deal with stress. Instead, a person will slowly learn over time what does and doesn’t work for them – mostly. While stress is a normal part of everyday life, it’s still tough to live through. And sometimes you get thrown some curveballs that you weren’t expecting or haven’t dealt with before. That is one of the reasons why it is so important to learn how to cope with stress the right way. Also, it is nearly impossible to fully banish stress from your life.  Over the course of a lifetime, everyone will be confronted with various types of stress. Because of this, it’s important to develop healthy ways for managing stress at work.

(1)    Get outside.

There is lots of research that indicates that the vitamin D boost from sunlight may elevate your levels of feel-good serotonin. And there’s something about being in nature that’s just good for your mental health. Being outside is a time-tested way to reset your emotional balance. Not just a change of scenery and an opportunity to leave our personal spaces, being outdoors can be a great way to manage stress and anxiety. If you can’t get outside? Then bring the outside in and introduce plants into your home or workspace, it can help lower blood pressure.

(2)    Move more.

Exercise may be the healthiest stress-buster. It revs your body’s production of feel-good endorphins, helps regulate your sleep, lowers the symptoms associated with depression, boosts your energy levels, and helps you remain calmer and more focused, all of which can go a long way toward stress management. While it’s easy to let a daily exercise routine slide when you’re overwhelmed, take steps to incorporate it into your day, try to pick an activity that you love and will look forward to doing, enlist a friend to help motivate you, or schedule it into your calendar like any other task, and you’ll soon understand why it’s a critical part of any stress-management plan. Over the moderate to long term, it will help you feel more fit and energized, and you’ll feel better equipped to take on the challenges that come your way.

(3)    Stick with a routine

Whether it’s taking a bath before bed, listening to your favourite music on the way to work, or walking the dog in the park or down the street every day, in times of stress it helps to turn into a comforting routine. (A consistent routine can also help you sleep.) For some people, this helps because you’ll have less idle time to sit around and think about the things that are stressing you out in the first place. The key is to create a reasonable schedule and one that includes taking breaks, involving time for fun activities, and making time to have meals, and importantly time for sleep so that the schedule itself works for you and doesn’t become another source of stress.

(4)    Do something with your hands

Do you ever get that never-ending loop of negative thoughts and what-ifs playing around in your head? That’s because stress likes to mess with your mind. A sure-fire and fun way to get out of your head is to engage in activities that put the focus on your hands or body (think kneading bread, drawing a picture, knitting a scarf, or climbing a rock wall), getting a work-life home-life balance is essential. As your hands and fingers begin to fall into those familiar rhythmic moves, it sends a signal to your brain that can have an immediate effect of helping you relax and makes you feel grounded. So immerse yourself in a creative, engaging activity and get ready to press the mute button.

(5)    Connect with your spiritual side

For centuries, religious groups and native tribes worldwide have used things like prayer beads and such to guide their spiritual practice, and research shows that spirituality might boost happiness in times of stress. But there is no need for this unless it resonates with you, creating something as simple as a positive affirmation or mantra that resonates with you. (You could even use your favourite inspirational quote.) Then, next time stress hits, repeat your affirmation as often as you feel, and the more you repeat it the more you will believe it to be true. The more you repeat it, the more you’ll experience a sense of power and detachment from the source of anxiety as your brain switches into a meditative state, and the stress you are feeling will hopefully ease.

(6)    Watch your vices

Drowning your stress in a bottle of wine or a pack of cigarettes might bring a release at that moment, but turning to unhealthy vices like drinking, drugs, smoking, or too much caffeine only sets you up to stress out more once the high wears off. Sugar, caffeine, and alcohol can all exacerbate stress and therefore should be consumed with caution, especially if you are feeling a lot of stress. Since these habits tend to increase the negative impacts stress is already having on your body (raising your blood pressure, making you jittery, keeping you awake at night to name just a few), you enter into a vicious cycle of feeling more stressed out and then returning to the vice over and over.

(7)    Try a different perspective

If you make a mistake at work, do you assume you’re going to get fired? Have a fight with your partner and worry the relationship may be over? It’s not uncommon to jump to worst-case scenarios when dealing with an upsetting issue but blowing things out of proportion only intensifies your stress. When we’re feeling stressed it’s very easy to view ourselves in a negative light. To soften your inner negativity, try looking at things from a different perspective. Talk to yourself as if you were offering advice to your best friend and more often than not, you’ll have much more compassionate and positive things to say.

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