Make Food Choices That Keep You Going
Low blood sugar can cause anxiety and irritability, while eating too much can make you lethargic. A healthy diet can help you get through stressful work days. By eating small but frequent meals, you can help your body maintain an even blood sugar level, maintain your energy levels, stay focused and avoid mood swings.
Time Management Tips For Reducing Stress At Work
- Create a balanced schedule. Analyze your schedule, your responsibilities and your daily tasks. All work and no play is a recipe for burnout. Try to find a balance between work and family, social activities and lonely activities, daily responsibilities and downtime.
- Avoid overburdening yourself. Too often, we underestimate how long it will take. If you have too much on your plate, distinguish between “shoulds” and “musts.” Place tasks that are not really necessary at the bottom of the list or delete them altogether.
- If you’re a commuter, try to leave earlier in the morning. A mere 10-15 minutes can be the difference between frantically rushing to your desk and having time to ease into the day. Don’t increase your stress levels by running late.
- Plan regular breaks. Take short breaks throughout the day to go for a walk or to sit back and clear your head. Also, try to get away from your desk or work for lunch.
Ways To Let Go Of Stress And Enjoy Your Work
Big moves can stress you out. From solving critical problems to making impactful decisions, the anxiety brought about by striking those big swings is completely normal. This is especially true for leaders who carry the weight of the entire organization on their shoulders. Every micro detail in every business facet can be riddled with stressors.
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Quick Somatic Stress Exercises
Bob Soulliere, Oxygen Advantage instructor and level 2 Wim Hof Method instructor from Alexandria, Virginia, recommends these immediate stress interventions:
- Wide-angle vision technique: Focus on things that are distant from you, but still in your field of vision . Then, relaxing your vision, allow yourself to focus less and less for at least 20 seconds.
- Cadence breathing: Inhale for a 4-count, then exhale for a 6-count, repeating the cycle for 1 minute. You can use a stopwatch on your phone for this, or just try counting to yourself.
- The physiological sigh: Take a double-breath inhale followed by a slow exhalation. Repeat 3 times.
Both short- and long-term strategies often involve reframing your focus and perspective.
In a recent 2021 study, researchers looked at coping responses to fear and technology overload during the COVID-19 pandemic. They suggest that certain coping methods lessened anxiety in the long term more effectively than others.
Bonus: Kick Your Bad Habits
Managing stress at work is partially about your mindset. Your outlook can have a huge impact on your ability to cope with everyday stressors. Keep them in check so they dont become major sources of negative stress. Here are a few tips to change your mindset by break the bad habits that are holding you back:
- One way to do this is to express gratitude. Its surprising how much different your outlook is when you make a point to recognize the people and things in your life that youre lucky to have.
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This Post Will Teach You 11 Ways To Let Go Of Stress And Start Living
We all experience stress from time to time, and some of us more than others. Once the momentum of stress builds in the body, it can act as a domino effect triggering physiological and psychological symptoms. A body at dis-ease from stress can experience illness and feelings of fear, negativity, and anger.
When the body cannot relieve stress, physiological symptoms manifest, such as hormonal imbalances, high blood pressure, and sleep deprivation. Its the bodys way of crying out for help.
We often dont realize that the stress we experience can result from old traumas and wounds that havent healed. When something shocking happens, like losing a loved one, a job , we can carry these wounds with us for months or years after the event. This is because the cells in our body are still grappling with the stress of what happened.
Its important to become aware of how you handle stress when it occurs. You want to make sure you seek ways to release the stress instead of isolating or pretending it does not exist.
Numbing the body with drugs and alcohol is a temporary relief that only leads to more anxiety, stress, and depression. However, if you can learn effective ways to let go of stress, the mind can begin to find a sense of peace.
Hang Out With Friends
Spend time around the people you love the most. Talk to them about the crap going on in your life. Let all of it out, and then move on.
Sometimes, the best thing you need is listening ear. One that doesnt judge, and supports you no matter what. Hanging out with good friends will help you let go of the negative feelings you have, so you can feel less stressed.
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Listen To Music While You Work
One way of managing job stress is to listen to music while you work. Having background music can help you enjoy work a little bit more especially if you have a heavy workload causing your work related stress.
Listening to your favorite new songs when they come out every Friday can help the workday fly by. You can reduce stress by listening to positive songs that just make you so happy.
Not only is music good for your well being but its also good for your productivity.
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You can also get support by hiring a coach or therapist. Their role is to be of service to you, to help you find ways to let go of the stresses of daily living. They can help guide you towards solid ideas and solutions to manage your life differently.
The hardest thing about asking for help is admitting you need help. Well, that and having to let go of some of the control. Darling, you deserve more than feeling stressed and overwhelmed.
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How We Take Work Home
We Think About It During Our Commute:The drive home from work could be a time to enjoy the freedom of being off the clock, or it can be a time to ruminate about the stresses of the day, replay frustrations in your mind, and think about everything that’s weighing on your shoulders as you battle road rage until you reach home. All too often, people choose the latter option when the formerletting the drive home be a freeing experienceis so much more beneficial.
The problem is that this can magnify stress levels so that they are even higher after the commute home than they were at the end of the workday. If this sounds like you, now is the time to take the reigns and make your commute a time to shrug off the stress of the day. In the coming week, try to really notice your thoughts and habits as you drive home if you’re not already aware of them.
Do your best to use commute time as a “transition time,” during which you reset and refocus. Think of it as having some “me-time” to prepare for what you are going to walk into when you get home.
We Vent About Job Stress to Our Loved Ones: Complaining about work to a loved one is a common pastime of people with stressful jobs. It feels good at the moment but may take a toll over time.
Clearly, the less time we can spend complaining about work, the more time we’ll have focused on things that make us happy. This week, try to notice how much time you spend complaining about work and see if this is the right amount of time for you.
Ways To Unwind And Avoid Harm To Your Relationship
Transitioning to home-life after a stressful day at work can present challenges for even the best of relationships. Stresses may include long commutes, disgruntled coworkers, overbearing bosses, and just plain mental fatigue.
To make matters worse, once you get home, you may face a hungry family, homework completion to supervise, childrens sporting events or music lessons, housework, and family events. In addition, we are supposed to get in 30 minutes of exercise? Unfortunately, my Fitbit tells me that doing dishes doesnt meet my daily cardio requirement.
I fully acknowledge that the Mom or Dad working at home, caring for young children, is no less taxed than those working outside the home. These ideas are meant for anyone who feels worn out by the end of their day.
Why Take Time to Relax?
Most of us know that good relationships require cooperation, patience, and good communication skills, among other things. All of these behaviors can be challenging by the end of a long work-day. You may know which issues are better discussed when you and your spouse are rested, but do you use that level of judgement when you are completely exhausted by your work-day? Good communication skills are much more difficult to practice when you are highly stressed.
Recognize Your Stress Response
Strategies for De-Stressing
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Tip : Dont Skimp On Sleep
You may feel like you just dont have the time get a full nights sleep. But skimping on sleep interferes with your daytime productivity, creativity, problem-solving skills, and ability to focus. The better rested you are, the better equipped youll be to tackle your job responsibilities and cope with workplace stress.
Improve the quality of your sleep by making healthy changes to your daytime and nightly routines. For example, go to bed and get up at the same time every day, even on weekends, be smart about what you eat and drink during the day, and make adjustments to your sleep environment. Aim for 8 hours a nightthe amount of sleep most adults need to operate at their best.
Turn off screens one hour before bedtime. The light emitted from TV, tablets, smartphones, and computers suppresses your bodys production of melatonin and can severely disrupt your sleep.
Avoid stimulating activity and stressful situations before bedtime such as catching up on work. Instead, focus on quiet, soothing activities, such as reading or listening to soft music, while keeping lights low.
Stress and shift work
Working night, early morning, or rotating shifts can impact your sleep quality, which in turn may affect productivity and performance, leaving you more vulnerable to stress.
The Importance Of Managing Stress
If youre living with high levels of stress, youre putting your entire well-being at risk. Stress wreaks havoc on your emotional equilibrium, as well as your physical health. It narrows your ability to think clearly, function effectively, and enjoy life. It may seem like theres nothing you can do about stress. The bills wont stop coming, there will never be more hours in the day, and your work and family responsibilities will always be demanding. But you have a lot more control than you might think.
Effective stress management helps you break the hold stress has on your life, so you can be happier, healthier, and more productive. The ultimate goal is a balanced life, with time for work, relationships, relaxation, and funand the resilience to hold up under pressure and meet challenges head on. But stress management is not one-size-fits-all. Thats why its important to experiment and find out what works best for you. The following stress management tips can help you do that.
Affordable Online Therapy for Stress
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Letting Go Of Stress: Using Yoga And Other Meditative Movement Activities To Relieve Stress
Jeni Green, MS Graduate Student, Arizona State University School of Nutrition and Health Promotion
Laura Redwine, PhD Associate Professor, University of South Florida College of Nursing
We can say with 100% confidence that everyone reading this article has experienced some type of stress in their life. Being alive means having to face challenges that threaten our feelings of comfort and/or safety. Some of you may be thinking, So what? We all have stress. Sure, occasional stress may not be a big deal. It becomes a concern when stress is experienced over the long-term and becomes chronic. Over time, repeated stress responses can take a toll on the body and may cause the development of mental health issues or physical ailments such as headaches, high blood pressure, pain, or trouble sleeping .
Some individuals may cope with stress in unhealthy ways and engage in addictive or risky behaviors such as smoking, alcohol or drug abuse, gambling, over/under eating, or taking prescription or over-the-counter medications. These types of coping strategies may only provide temporary relief and act as a Band-Aid to make you feel better.
Healthy ways to feel less stress include exercise or walking, listening to music, praying, or participating in yoga or meditation. Recently the use of Meditative Movement Activities are becoming more popular as a healthy way to relieve stress.
What are Meditative Movement Activities?
What is Yoga and Tai Chi?
Yoga:
Meditation:
Take Mental Health Days
One way to manage job stress is to take advantage of mental health days. If you struggle with mental health outside of your job, consider looking for roles with four day work weeks or Fridays off in the summer.
Keep in mind that a day off or two wont solve the problem of work burnout. They simply give you a much needed break to recover from it. Youll still need to work on a solution for managing difficult coworkers, a heavy workload, and tight deadlines.
But taking time to recharge your batteries can be beneficial to your wellbeing. No one can stay switched on all the time.
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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.
Tired Of The Daily Grind
Are you always trying to swim upstream?Does everything you look at feel like a struggle to you?
Are you working too hard for too little reward?
If you answered yes to most of these questions, then you have probably fallen into the trap of most people, which is thinking they can FORCE things to happen instead of letting the stress go, letting the inspiration flow and letting your universal energy lead you in the right direction.
But dont worry you will not be alone in using this approach to pursue your dreams and goals. Most motivational speakers will tell you that taking ACTION is the key to getting things done. You need to be laser focused, create some SMART goals, make lists of things to do to set you on the path to your destination and then, one day, with supreme effort, dedication and hard work, you will achieve your goal.
And then I learned something that changed my life. I learned to just trust, to let go and go with the flow.
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Task Management Tips For Reducing Job Stress
Prioritize tasks. Tackle high-priority tasks first. If you have something particularly unpleasant to do, get it over with early. The rest of your day will be more pleasant as a result.
Break projects into small steps. If a large project seems overwhelming, focus on one manageable step at a time, rather than taking on everything at once.
Delegate responsibility. You dont have to do it all yourself. Let go of the desire to control every little step. Youll be letting go of unnecessary stress in the process.
Be willing to compromise. Sometimes, if you and a co-worker or boss can both adjust your expectations a little, youll be able to find a happy middle ground that reduces the stress levels for everyone.
Tip : Learn How Managers Or Employers Can Reduce Stress In The Workplace
It is in a manager’s best interest to keep workplace stress to a minimum. Executives can act as positive role models, especially in times of high stress, by following the tips outlined in this article. If a respected manager can stay calm in stressful work situations, it is much easier for their employees to stay calm.
In addition, there are a number of organizational changes that managers and employers can make to reduce workplace stress, including:
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