Stay Out Of The Office Gossip Mill
Workplace conflict can take a major toll on your emotional well-being. Try to avoid participating in gossipy situations.
If you know that one of your colleagues is especially prone to gossip, find a way to spend less time with them or steer the conversation to safer topics.
Some other strategies for staying out of the fray include:
- emphasizing the positive
- ignoring the conversation and changing the subject to something unrelated
- walking away
If you need to get that presentation just right or find yourself working extra hours perfecting a report you finished days ago, it may be time to take a step back and reflect.
While perfectionism has some positive benefits, it can also be highly stressful and lead to burnout.
Try to keep your high standards in check by focusing on the effort you put into a project and not personalizing failure when you make a mistake.
Ways To Relax At Work When Youre Stressed
Much of adult stress tends to stem from the place they spend the most time at work. No matter what field youre in or where youre employed, stress on the job is pretty much inevitable. Whether youve got a big report to finish for a deadline or a major pitch to present in front of many people, there are ways to ease your anxiety in the meantime.
Here are nine tips for balancing yourself when youre at the office.
Whenever youre feeling overwhelmed, put on your headphones, and turn on meditation music. It may sound silly, but the breathy notes of a pan flute or the soft taps of a piano chord instantly slow your heart rate. A relaxing playlist can also do the trick.
Certain foods are great for de-stressing, including avocado, oatmeal, almonds, and oranges. Snack on a few throughout the day, particularly when you need a break.
If you feel like youre on the verge of screaming, let your boss know you need to go on a 10-minute walk to clear your head. Even if you cant leave the building, just getting away from your desk is beneficial. And make a conscious effort not to think about your impending tasks during your walk.
Its been proven that green tea reduces stress, and just having a hot drink in your hands will calm you down. Plus, it has a lot less caffeine than coffee, so you wont experience any jittery side effects.
Be Mindful Of Your Facial Expressions
Are you guilty of rolling your eyes and smirking at your boss when you disagree with them?
Sure, it can be tough trying to keep your thoughts to yourself, without advertising them across your face, but its important that youre mindful of your facial expressions at all times and how they can be portrayed by others.
On the same note, be careful of your actions, too. No matter how under pressure you are, theres no excuse throwing piles of paper in the air, crossing your arms and stomping your feet like a spoiled child!
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Write Down Your Stressors
Identifying and recording stressful situations can help you understand whats bothering you. Some of these can be subtle sources of tension, such as an uncomfortable workspace or a long commute.
Keep a journal for 1 week to track your stress triggers and your reactions to them. Make sure to include the people, places, and events that gave you a physical, mental, or emotional response.
As you write, ask yourself:
- How did this make me feel?
- What was my reaction?
- What are some ways of resolving it?
Tip : Support Your Health With Exercise And Nutrition
When youre overly focused on work, its easy to neglect your physical health. But when youre supporting your health with good nutrition and exercise, youre stronger and more resilient to stress.
Taking care of yourself doesnt require a total lifestyle overhaul. Even small things can lift your mood, increase your energy, and make you feel like youre back in the drivers seat.
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Take Care Of Yourself
Setting aside time for self-care is a must if you regularly find yourself feeling overwhelmed by work. This means prioritizing sleep, setting aside time for fun, and making sure youre eating throughout the day.
Feel like you dont have the time? Keep in mind that youll likely be able to tackle work issues more effectively when your core needs are being met.
Look For A Local Exercise Class Or Gym
Similarly, you could take a few minutes to find a local exercise class or gym to try out. You could also explore the range of online classes that are available, if you prefer a home workout. Adults are encouraged to do at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity a week to stay in good health, and this can reduce your stress levels too.
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Relaxation Techniques You Can Use In The Officewherever Youre Working
Many of the symptoms of stress are part of our natural fight or flight responsethe automatic physiological reaction that occurs when a situation is perceived as threatening. This extra boost of energy provides us with the resources necessary to deal with the threat at hand. However, if this extra boost is unnecessary or above optimal, it is a waste of energy, depleting us in the long run.
Breathing and relaxation techniques help us stop the pressure spiral created by our mind and body by lowering our heart rate and blood pressure and reducing muscle tension. We signal our minds that we are no longer under threat by relaxing the body.
There are four techniques you can use in the officewhether at home, in your workplace, or another remote locationthat can help you regain a sense of calm:
- Step 1: Diaphragmatic breathing. Take a moment to locate your breathing. Is it confined to your upper chest? If so, see if you can relax your chest and move your breathing down into your lower abdomen on your next in-breath.
When attempting this technique for the first time, it is often helpful to lie on the floor to better direct your breath. On the out-breath, the abdomen moves in, and the diaphragm moves up toward your chest. This series of movements contrast with breathing that only engages the chest, that rapid rising and falling feeling that can heighten our sense of danger and anxiety.
Work With Anxiety Not Against It
Steven Hayes, professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Nevada in Reno, a prominent figure in the field of mental health and, more importantly, a man who is no stranger to panic attacks himself advocates for a more self-compassionate and self-accepting way of dealing with anxiety.
In fact, Prof. Hayes is the founder of one of the newest and most innovative forms of cognitive behavioral therapy, called acceptance commitment therapy . This form of therapy starts with the acceptance and neutral, non-judgemental observation of negative thoughts, and moves toward bringing the client into the present moment and helping them lead a meaningful life.
In this video, he explains why seeing anxiety as your enemy is not helpful. If you see your feelings of anxiety as your enemy, he says, then you see your personal history as your enemy if your physical sensations are your enemy, then your body is your enemy and fighting your anxiety means fighting yourself.
This self-denial and self-avoidance are what ultimately leads to psychopathologies, Prof. Hayes notes. Instead, he suggests, try to hold your fear in a self-compassionate way. Bring that frightened part of you close and treat it with some dignity.
Its perhaps worth mentioning that ACT has proven effective in the treatment of anxiety in a wide range of
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Stress is nothing more than a socially acceptable form of mental illness.Richard Carlson
Stress sucks. It is one of those things that can sneak up on you at work and explode in terrible and hurtful ways.
When stress strikes it is really important to have some simple techniques in your arsenal that allow you to deal with the emotions in the short and long term.
This way you can avoid the angry outbursts, sleepless nights and anxious binge trips to KFC that all happen because of stress. Here are a few of my favorites:
- Find Your BreathOne of the most effective and simple ways to deal with stress at work is taken from an ancient Buddhist meditation. It is called calm abiding and it is where you bring your attention and focus to the breath coming in and out of your nose. I talk about this a lot in Enlightening Stress Relief, because I believe it is one of the best ways to deal with stress right there in the office.
The main purpose of calm abiding meditation is to attain a state called single pointed concentration where the mediator can focus on any given object for as long as they want without their thoughts wandering away to other areas. Of course, this takes years to master and is not really what we are concerned with here. We are concerned with relieving stress.
So how do we do it?
In case you dont know there are five main types of tea:
- Green Tea
- Black Tea
- Pu Erh Tea
So how does tea help stress?
Ironic.
Stressed Out At Work Try These 8 Simple But Powerful Relaxation Tips
So often, clients tell me about their complete inability to simply “get stuff done.” They talk about how — despite their efforts and long work hours — they can’t seem to get their A-game back. Work performance has taken a hit, their social life is almost nonexistent, and they’ve lost their mojo. They wonder, “What is wrong with me?” The answer: stress. Stress can affect people in almost insidious ways, especially among high achievers. The very attribute that up to this point has led them to succeed — their dogged determination — is now exactly what’s stressing and burning them out.
This is far from surprising. According to the latest Weekend Getaway Survey by Enterprise Rent-A-Car, more people reported a desire to escape in 2019 than last year, and sum up the reason in this one word: stress. Moreover, this same survey found that 87 percent of respondents believe that turning off alerts and notifications on their devices it will help them de-stress . Through my partnership with Enterprise, I’ve learned that survey participants are actually not too different from the clients whom I see in my office. People today are stressed out and truly need a break. Given that it’s National Stress Awareness Month, I’m offering up some easy-to-implement tips that have helped many of my clients to turn down the work stress levels on the spot.
Here’s how to keep your body and mind in check:
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How To Leave Job Stress At Work
Tie Up Loose Ends Before You Leave: One of the first and best ways you can leave job stress on the job is to prepare yourself before you leave. To cut down on after-hours troubleshooting, prepare a to-do list for yourself when you get back the next day. This can allow you to come in and feel focused, and it can allow you to leave and feel that things are taken care of as much as they can be until tomorrow.
If you are prone to stressing about unsolved problems when you get home, you may even take it a step further and create a list of possible solutions to any issues you think may follow you home then you can remind yourself you’ve thought about it as much as you can, and now you need to take your mind off of things and sleep on it. Things will be clearer when you get to work again tomorrow. Knowing this can help you to leave things there.
Create a Post-Work Ritual: Just as it helps children relax and go to sleep when they have a bedtime ritual, having a post-work ritual is a great way to help yourself unwind after a stressful day of work. Even better, it can be a way to create a mental habit of relaxing your mind and letting go of job stress after a long day of work.
Find Meaning In Your Job
What do you love most about your job? What gives your work meaning and purpose?
These questions might sound simple, but they’re important. If you know what gives your work meaning, you’re more likely to be able to develop intrinsic motivation .
This motivation comes from knowing that what you do has value in its own right. It can help you to manage the stress that goes along with the work you do, and to build resilience
Use tools like the MPS Process
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Rely On A Strong Support Network
Keep in touch with trusted friends and family members to help cope with stressful work situations.
If youre struggling with an especially challenging work week, try asking parent friends if they can help out with carpooling your kids to school on certain days.
Having people you can rely on during the tough times can alleviate some of the built-up tension.
What To Do When You Get Home
Create a Soothing Home Environment for Yourself: Because we spend so much of our non-work hours at home, it’s important to have a home environment that soothes your stress rather than one that leaves you feeling more stressed and tired than it should. Because clutter has a subtle but very real effect on our stress levels, it pays to declutter as regularly as possible. If your home is a haven from stress, it’s easier to let job stress melt away once you get there.
Treat Yourself: Think about those little treats in life that put a smile on your face, and get more of them into your day. These little happiness-boosters, known as “pleasures” by psychologists, can lift your mood in a measurable way and reduce stress in the process. It can be a cup of tea, your favorite comedy, a long walk with a loved one, a soothing bath, or anything else that brings you a bit of joy. Try to mix them up so they have a bit of “newness” to them and you’ll enjoy them even more. You deserve it.
Enlist Support: If you need to talk about the things that stress you at work before you can let go of them, it helps to have a supportive person who will listen and help you to let go of the stress.
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Make Time For Regular Exercise
Aerobic exerciseactivity that raises your heart rate and makes you sweatis a hugely effective way to lift your mood, increase energy, sharpen focus, and relax both the mind and body. Rhythmic movementsuch as walking, running, dancing, drumming, etc.is especially soothing for the nervous system. For maximum stress relief, try to get at least 30 minutes of activity on most days. If its easier to fit into your schedule, break up the activity into two or three shorter segments.
And when stress is mounting at work, try to take a quick break and move away from the stressful situation. Take a stroll outside the workplace if possible. Physical movement can help you regain your balance.
Run An Errand Away From Your Desk
If you have an errand that involves leaving your usual work space, now may be the time to do it. Taking a letter to the Post Office, or running a USB stick to another department, can provide a welcome distraction and a change of scenery for a few minutes. Plus, youll have ticked another item off your to-do list!
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Exerciseeven If You Really Dont Want To
While you may be thinking a few more hours of work on that strategy document will ease your stress level, youre probably better off doing some strategic sweating. Remember: Exercise doesnt just burn caloriesstudies show that it burns off stress and anxiety, too.
What’s more, scientists at University of Colorado, Boulder have done research in mice to suggest that even if exercised is forced, it reduces anxiety. So, even if you’re not naturally inclined to work out, see if you can get yourself into a set regimen inspired by a class, a friend who is willing to speed walk or jog with you after work, or even a fitness app or gadget. Your bodyand your stress levelswill thank you for it.
Put Your Mental Health First And Listen To What You Need
This is the most important point on the entire list.
That’s why it’s essential to put yourself first and do whatever’s necessary in order to improve your mental health.
Feeling relaxed and ready to go back to work? Be sure to spread some of the best tips on how to de-stress at work with your coworkers in need!
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Assess Your Skills And Resources
Look at the work that you do. What are your biggest frustrations? Where are you most inefficient? Where are your bottlenecks ?
These situations often point to a lack of tools, resources, skills development, or help all of which can contribute to workplace stress.
You need to keep your skill set under continual review, particularly if your organization is developing new ways of working. You also need to have the right equipment, and know how to use it.
Make a list of what you need. Let your boss know what you’re lacking, and explain how these items will improve your productivity and effectiveness. If your boss can’t provide the resources that you need, think about how you might be able to negotiate for them with others, or acquire them on your own.
