Connect With Your Spiritual Side
For centuries, religious groups and native tribes worldwide have used prayer beads to guide their spiritual practice, and research shows that;spirituality might boost happiness in times of stress. Buy a set of prayer beads or make your own, suggests Hall, and then create a positive affirmation or mantra that resonates with you. Then, next time stress hits, repeat your affirmation as you work your way around and touch each bead. “The more you go around, the more you’ll experience a sense of power and detachment from the source of anxiety as your brain switches into a meditative cadence,” explains Hall.
Giving Your Mind A Rest
For people dealing with high levels of stress, it can be hard to fathom how a few moments of meditation will help. After meditation, the stressors are still there youre still getting divorced, caring for an aging parent, struggling with the demands of a high-stress job. How can a few moments of deep thought possibly help your life?
It may help to think about how muscles get stronger. Unrelenting exercise simply tears down a muscle and leads to injury. Smart exercisers know the value of a day of rest thats when your muscles regenerate and come back stronger than before.
Now think about your mind as an emotional muscle. Unrelenting stress without a break will not make it stronger. Your emotions, your brain and your body need moments of recovery to get stronger from stress.
Its about stress and recovery. Just like you build a physical muscle, just like you build biceps, you have to take the same approach to life stressors, says Jack Groppel, co-founder of the Johnson & Johnson Human Performance Institute, which offers a course called The Power of Positive Stress.
Think of meditation like high-intensity interval training for the brain. During H.I.I.T., you go as hard as you can, then you give yourself a few minutes of recovery before returning to the exercise. This cycle is repeated multiple times and has been shown to be more effective for building strength than long, slow bouts of exercise.
Tips For Giving The Best Answer
Show the employer how you manage stress.;That way, the interviewer can build;up a clear picture of how well you adapt;to stressful situations. For example, describe a time when you were given a difficult task or multiple assignments and how;you rose to the occasion.
Focus on success.;When you respond, share examples of how you succeeded despite being in a stressful situation, or of;how you problem-solved to resolve the issue that caused stress.
When its a stressful job.;Some jobs are stressful by;nature. If youre applying for a high-stress job, be sure to let the interviewer know that youre used to working under stress and that;its part of your normal routine.
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Focus On Stories And Examples That Communicate A Moment Of Personal Growth
This will help any potential employer understand how you turn stress into a positiveespecially if you give examples where stress has actually helped your work in some way.
Here are a few examples of a good response to this question, for reference:
Example 1
Planning is an important tool in handling stress for me. Drawing up detailed plans for projects and even my daily work helps me to get ahead of stressful situations. When stress does inevitably arise, planning helps me to tackle the situation one step at a time to prioritize what needs to be done in an efficient way for myself and my colleagues. In fact, some of my best work in streamlining processes has come from a stressful situation. Ive been able to design simpler, more efficient workflows with less room for error.
Example 2
Stress can be a big motivator for me. A healthy amount of pressure helps me produce efficient, quality work by giving me a picture of what my colleagues need from me and when. Ive experienced stressful situations that bring my team together, and have seen some of our best work come from pressure.
Example 3
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Listen To Music On The Drive Home
Listening to music offers many benefits;and can be an effective way to relieve stress before, during, and after work. Playing an uplifting song while you make breakfast can help you start the day off feeling better prepared to interact with the people in your life. Likewise, combating the stress of a long day with your favorite music on the drive home can help you wind down and feel less stressed when you get there.
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Identify Your Personal Stress Triggers
We all have particular situations or people that make us more stressed. Some of these are easily identifiable and may be avoidable. However, sometimes stress may build up over time, and result from a pattern of incidents or events, rather than a single trigger.
It may therefore be helpful to use a tool like our quiz Whats Stressing You Out? or keep a stress diary for a few weeks to help you identify what makes you stressed.
This will make it easier to take action to address your stress levels.
Learning To Handle The Stress Will Benefit Your Life
One of the things Ive learned while handling stress is that I cant take it all on. Even with me knowing that I still do it. However, Ive begun to learn that if I cant control it, I shouldnt worry about it. Worry is only going to drain me anyway, and that makes everything a pointless endeavor.
Worry Is A Rocking Chair. It Gives You Something To Do, But It Gets You Nowhere.
Unknown
Stress doesnt affect your mental faculties, eventually, it will mess with your body as well. Stress will raise blood pressure cause migraines and even messes with bodily functions.
None of these are good issues, and some are life-threatening. This is why you need to handle the stress that comes your way as soon as you can.
Im a classic worrier. I remember being on vacation at 9 years old, and I broke down crying. Eventually, it came out that I was worried about what I was going to be when I grew up.
I still havent answered that question 30 years later
However, I have realized that I need to enjoy the journey and not just the destination.
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Prayer And Bible Reading: Handle The Stress:
This isnt the most popular category so I placed it last. For me, its the one I go to first. Being stressed out is a sign that Im not hearing Gods voice, and that Im not placing my trust in him.
Whenever I find myself stressed out, I open my bible to Psalm 121. Its a Psalm that King David wrote a few thousand years ago.
He was in a lot of battles and had to put his trust in God. But he gives us a glimpse of his heart while hes in despair as armies are coming to harm him.
It also really shows the love Jesus has for everyone.
I understand if youre reading this and laughing. I used to be the same way. However, Ive had way too many encounters with a loving God who really cares for me.
I hope youll give him the same chance I have, just ask him for one.
Effects Of Uncontrolled Stress
Work-related stress doesnt just disappear when you head home for the day. When stress persists, it can take a toll on your health and well-being.
A stressful work environment can contribute to problems such as headache, stomachache, sleep disturbances, short temper, and difficulty concentrating. Chronic stress can result in anxiety, insomnia, high blood pressure, and a weakened immune system. It can also contribute to health conditions such as depression, obesity, and heart disease. Compounding the problem, people who experience excessive stress often deal with it in unhealthy ways, such as overeating, eating unhealthy foods, smoking cigarettes, or abusing drugs and alcohol.
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Simple Steps To Deal With Stress And Anxiety
Carly Snyder, MD is a reproductive and perinatal psychiatrist who combines traditional psychiatry with integrative medicine-based treatments.
Do you wonder if you may worry too much? And how much anxiety is officially “too much?” To answer these questions, you may need to deepen your understanding of stress and anxiety, and how they help and hurt you.
Meet Up With Friends: Handle The Stress
When you get out of the house or exercise, invite a friend with you. Make sure you speak with them about your fears and what is stressing you out. Often the act of speaking out loud will give you freedom. In addition to that, you might also score some advice that you were otherwise lacking.
People have different perspectives, and their perspectives can be the difference between freedom and sleepless nights.
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Top 5 Tips For Answering The Question
How Successful People Handle Stress
There are two kinds of people in this world: those who believe they can make things happen and those who believe things happen to them.
The first group are convinced that the outcome of their lives and careers is more or less in their own hands, and they wouldnt have it any other way.
The second group take more of a Forrest Gump approachthey sit around and wait for the bus to take them somewhere.
University of Florida psychologist Tim Judge and his colleagues have shown overwhelmingly that people who feel that they control the events in their lives and are confident in their abilities end up doing better on nearly every important measure of work performance.
In Judges studies, these individualswell call them the Empoweredwere found to do the following:
In Good Times And;Bad
Of course, when good times are rolling, nearly all of us believe we have the world by the tail. What makes the Empowered in Tim Judges studies specialwhether they work the shop floor or in the C-suiteis that they dont get overwhelmed when the going gets tough.
Whether the Empowered find themselves presiding over a division with tanking revenues, on the receiving end of a scathing performance review, or staring yet another job-hunting rejection in the face, they refuse to wave the white flag. They redouble their efforts.
Heres How It Works
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What The Interviewer Wants To Know
The interviewer really wants to know whether you can handle job-related stress, and what you do in particularly stressful situations at work. This is especially important if youre interviewing for a position where stress is;an;integral part of the job. That’s because job stress can have a negative impact on workplace performance.
The hiring manager may also be wondering whether stressful issues outside of work can impact your job performance. Employers look for candidates who can deal;with;a;range;of stressful situations, whether these are personal or work-related.
Helping Children And Youth Cope With Stress
Children and youth often struggle with how to cope with stress. Youth can be particularly overwhelmed when their stress is connected to a traumatic eventlike a natural disaster, family loss, school shootings, or community violence. Parents, caregivers, and educators can take steps to provide stability and support that help young people feel better.
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The Importance Of Learning How To Handle Stress
Living with stress doesnt feel good. Stress can weigh heavily on your mental health and negatively impact your physical health as well. While it might present itself in slightly different ways, some of the;signs of stress;in your life could include:
- Irritability and lack of patience
- Muscle tension
- Digestive issues
- Feeling overwhelmed
If youre experiencing these common signs of stress, it can be a good indication that it would be helpful to learn stress management strategies to use in your life.
Example Answers To How Do You Deal With Stress
Example answer #1:
Ive found that stress at work often comes from having too many tasks to handle. So the first thing I do is step back and prioritize. I cant do 10 things at once, but I can take time to identify which tasks are the highest priority and then take care of the most important things first. Also, Ive found that communicating well with other team members is key. If Im overwhelmed, Ive learned to ask for help or to clarify my priorities with my boss to make sure Im working on the most essential things first. I think stressful situations pop up in any job, but if you stay calm and level-headed and keep your team members informed, the stress doesnt need to hurt your productivity.
Example answer #2:
I like to take ten minutes to write down everything thats on my plate in terms of work, and determine why Im feeling stressed. Then, I look at what actions I can take to move my work forward most effectively that day. This helps me look at the situation logically instead of getting overwhelmed. For example, in my last job, I had days where I couldnt possibly complete every request from customers that I received. However, by identifying the most crucial tasks and doing them first, I was able to keep our customers happy and finish the secondary tasks a day or two later.
Example answer #3 :
Note that you can also use the sample answers above if they ask, how do you work under pressure? Its essentially the same interview question.
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Accept The Things You Can’t Change
Changing a difficult situation isn’t always possible. Try to concentrate on the things you do have control over.
“If your company is going under and is making redundancies, for example, there’s nothing you can do about it,” says Professor Cooper.
“In a situation like that, you need to focus on the things that you can control, such as looking for a new job.”
How Not To Answer How Do You Handle Stress
Stress? Never experienced it.
As we said, an interviewer wants to hire someone they know will be reliable when things get tough but playing the emotionless robot card isnt going to win you any points.
Besides, everyone experiences stress, so saying you dont just means youre lying and nobody wants to hire a liar.
Stress just motivates me to work harder.
While this might seem like the right answer, its not. Hiring someone who is convinced they need to solve every problem themselves means they might not realize at some point that their problem is too big to handle alone.
A lone wolf employee might end up waiting too long to bring in additional help resulting in a problem that could have been solved much earlier and cheaper blowing up into something much bigger and much more expensive.
I remove myself from the situation, take time to look at it from all angles, and then attack whatever is causing me stress in the most efficient way.
Another sounds like it should be rightbut its not! answer.
In this case, youre telling the hiring manager that when things get toughyou leave. And yes, we know you said you come back after youve formulated your plan of attack, but stillwe cant get past the part where you walk away for an unknown amount of time.
Dude, I dont know about you, but I like to unwind by grabbing a beer and just feeling the mellow wash over me after work.
All were going to say istheres a thing called oversharing.
Mike’s Tip:
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How To Answer How Do You Handle Stress At Work
When the interviewer asks about stressful situations and how you handle stress, the best approach is to demonstrate that youve encountered these situations in the past and arent phased by it. And then, describe the steps you follow to calmly get through the challenge.
Its best if you can sound like you have a proven process/plan in place. Employers love to hear that you have a system or a series of steps that you follow that you know works for you.
Now that you know the right way to answer questions about how you deal with stress, lets look at some word-for-word examples:
Is Stress Making You Sick
Stress isnt just unpleasant mentally and emotionally it also has the power to make your body sick. Stress weakens your immune systems, making it harder to fight off common cold viruses and other germs. Stress has also been shown to raise blood pressure by temporarily constricting blood vessels and speeding up heart rate. Coronary heart disease is also more common in those suffering from chronic stress.
Stress can prompt emotional eating and make it harder to resist other cravings for unhealthy foods. There is little wonder, then, that stress is also connected to weight gain; however, what may be news to you is the fact that the high cortisol levels linked to stress encourage fat storage, particularly in the lower abdomen area. This, in turn, increases insulin resistance in the body, which can lead to changes in blood sugar. Other symptoms may include heartburn, IBS, diarrhea and stomach cramping. For pregnant women, severe stress may affect the fetus brain development and increase chances of premature labor.
Chronic stress isnt good for your brain, either. Stress causes tension headaches and sometimes even migraines. It reduces spatial memory, which helps you remember locations and relate objects, as well as impacts your ability to form new memories and regulate emotions and self-control. Acute stress has been shown to cause three different kinds of hair loss as well as premature aging.
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