Care For Your Spiritual Need
Happy are those conscious of their spiritual need.MATTHEW 5:3.
Meaning: As humans, we need more than food, clothing, and shelter. We have a spiritual need. To be happy, we must be conscious of that need and attend to it.
-
Prayer can be a big help. God invites you to throw all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you. Prayer and wholesome meditation can result in deep inner peace.Philippians 4:6, 7.
-
Read spiritually uplifting things. The principles discussed in this magazine come from the Bible, which was written to satisfy our spiritual need. These also foster practical wisdom and thinking ability. Why not set a goal to read the Bible? The book of Proverbs might be a good place to start.
Taking Steps To Manage Stress
The full text of articles from APA Help Center may be reproduced and distributed for noncommercial purposes with credit given to the American Psychological Association. Any electronic reproductions must link to the original article on the APA Help Center. Any exceptions to this, including excerpting, paraphrasing or reproduction in a commercial work, must be presented in writing to the . Images from the APA Help Center may not be reproduced.
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.
You May Like: Can Stress Make Ms Worse
Coping With Stress At Work
Working hard should not be confused with overworking at the expense of relationships and physical health.
Coping with stress at work.
Everyone who has ever held a job has, at some point, felt the pressure of work-related stress. Any job can have stressful elements, even if you love what you do. In the short-term, you may experience pressure to meet a deadline or to fulfill a challenging obligation. But when work stress becomes chronic, it can be overwhelmingand harmful to both physical and emotional health.
Unfortunately, such long-term stress is all too common. In fact, has consistently found that work is cited as a significant source of stress by a majority of Americans. You cant always avoid the tensions that occur on the job. Yet you can take steps to manage work-related stress.
The Perception Of Stress
While we know that stress is associated with health problems, plenty of people with high-stress lives are thriving. How is that possible? In 2012, researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison published a seminal study looking at how 28,000 people perceived stress in their lives. People in the study answered these two questions:
The researchers looked at death rates in the study group over nine years. The results are startling. The study found that having a lot of stress in your life was not linked with premature death. But having a lot of stress in your life and believing it was taking a toll on your health increased risk of premature death by 43 percent.
Also Check: How To Regrow Hair From Stress
Up Your Avoidance Of Caffeine Alcohol And Nicotine
We previously said that it was a good idea not to have too much caffeine, alcohol and nicotine as a way to avoid stress. If you are already feeling stressed, this becomes even more important. Caffeine and nicotine are stimulants and so will increase your level of stress rather than reduce it.
Alcohol is a depressant when taken in large quantities, but acts as a stimulant in smaller quantities. Using alcohol as a way to alleviate stress is therefore not ultimately helpful.
Swap caffeinated and alcoholic drinks for water, herbal teas, or diluted natural fruit juices and aim to keep yourself hydrated. This will enable your body to cope better with stress.
You should also aim to avoid or reduce your intake of refined sugars – they are contained in many manufactured foods and can cause energy crashes which may lead you to feel tired and irritable.
There is more about this in our page What are Carbohydrates?.
Stress And Your Appetite
Stress can have a huge impact on your eating habits. During acute stress , the stress response can shut down appetite. The fight-or-flight response is designed to suppress hunger you wont be effective in battle or run that fast if you are thinking about food. But chronic stress has the opposite effect. Repeated doses of cortisol in your body due to high stress can lead to an increase in appetite.
According to the Harvard Health Letter, gender can play a role in how you eat during times of stress. Some research suggests women are more likely overeat due to stress while men turn to alcohol or smoking.
And the reality is that food really can make you feel better during times of stress. So-called comfort food like chocolate cake and ice cream literally blunt the bodys response to chronic stress. The problem with continuing to self-medicate chronic stress with comfort foods is that it will lead to weight gain and poor health.
Just as you need to reframe your view of stress and exercise and meditate to give your body a break from stress, you can also adopt strategies to use food to help you better cope with stress.
Read Also: How To Handle Stress Eating
How Do You Handle Stress Interview Question And Answer
Chances are, you’ll be asked about how you handle stress and pressure during your next job interview. Instead of, well, stressing out, these tips will help you nail your answer.
Everyone’s familiar with the most common interview questions: Can you tell me about yourself? Why are you interested in this job? What are your greatest strengths and weaknesses? And, of course, how do you handle stress?
And because they are so common, you might spend less time before your interview preparing for these seemingly straightforward questions. The answers will be obvious, right? But the truth is, the interviewer or hiring manager is collecting important information from your answers. A wrong answer or even phrase could really turn them off.
Instead of winging the How do you handle stress? interview question, take some time to prepare beforehand. Follow these steps when considering your response:
Effects Of Too Much Stress
“If constantly under stress, most of us will eventually start to function less well,” says Malaika Stoll, M.D., chief medical officer of SutterSelect. Multiple studies link chronic stress to a higher risk of heart disease, stroke, depression, weight gain, memory loss and even premature death, so “it’s important to recognize the warning signals,” she says.
Talk to your doctor about ways to manage stress if youre experiencing any of these symptoms:
- Prolonged periods of poor sleep
- Regular, severe headaches
- Unexplained weight loss or gain
- Feelings of isolation, withdrawal or worthlessness
- Constant anger and irritability
- Loss of interest in activities
- Constant worrying or obsessive thinking
- Excessive alcohol or drug use
- Inability to concentrate
Don’t Miss: How Can You Manage Stress
What To Avoid When Discussing Stress In An Interview
There are a few areas that are recommended to avoid when talking about stress during an interview. To give yourself the best opportunity to succeed during your interview, avoid these mistakes:
-
Saying stress doesn’t affect you. This answer avoids why the interviewer is asking about stress, and it doesn’t help them or you. Use the interview as an opportunity to show how you can effectively manage stress, not to try to convince them that you’re resistant to it.
-
Bringing in emotional responses when answering questions. You want employers to see that you’re professional, so it’s best not to focus too much on your emotional reaction to a situation. Try to avoid this by staying objective and on topic â give examples of how you overcame stress rather than hammering home how stressful it was.
-
Using examples that make you look bad. When talking about stress, it can be easy to bring up stressful situations because of your inaction or a bad decision. Avoid talking about these as it can be unappealing to employers â instead, focus on situations where the cause of the stress was out of your control.
Map Your Social Network
During times of high stress we have a tendency to retreat. We cancel social plans and focus on the work, money crisis or trauma that is our source of stress. But friends and social support are among the best forms of therapy to help you escape stress for brief periods of time. Friends can also make you feel better about yourself, and that mountain of stress in your life wont look so steep.
When Dr. Southwick, Yale Medical School psychiatrist, co-wrote his book on resilience, he interviewed a number of people who had shown resilience against all odds, including former prisoners of war and people who had survived trauma. One thing they had in common was social support.
The resilient people we interviewed actively reached out for support, said Dr. Southwick. They dont sit around and wait.
Even POWs held in isolation devised a tapping method of communication with their fellow prisoners. Most, if not all, said it was life-saving to know they werent alone and they were cared for, said Dr. Southwick.
When Dr. Southwick, a psychiatrist, meets with a new patient, one of the first things he does is construct a diagram of the patients social network. Sometimes they just talk about it some patients want to map it out on paper. Who is in your life? Who can you count on? asks Dr. Southwick. Make your own list of your social network and keep it handy when you need to call on someone for support.
Don’t Miss: How Do I Control My Stress And Anxiety
What Can Prolonged Stress Lead To
Stress is a natural reaction to many situations in life, such as work, family, relationships and money problems.
We mentioned earlier on that a moderate amount of stress can help us perform better in challenging situations,34 but too much or prolonged stress can lead to physical problems. This can include lower immunity levels,35 digestive and intestinal difficulties, e.g. irritable bowel syndrome ,36 or mental health problems such as depression.3 This means it is important to manage your stress and keep it at a healthy level to prevent long-term damage to your body and mind.
To See How You Have Handled Situations In The Past
This may seem like an obvious statement but drawing on past experiences is the most important thing to include in your answer.
Rather than being a straightforward do you or a can you question, how do you handle stress? really requires you to explain the ways you do, and provide solid evidence to back up your reply.
Think of the interview question, then, as how have you handled stress in the past? and draw on your experiences to show the employer how you have dealt with a stressful situation.
You might like to use the STAR method to show them how you work in a productive and resilient way. Check out more information about the STAR technique.
Looking for graduate jobs? Search and apply for jobs today, and register to our website to receive job alerts tailored to your search preferences!
Feeling lucky? Enter one of our monthly competitions to win vouchers, cash prizes, and more! From student writing competitions to YouTube vlogging contests.
Recommended Reading: Do Stress Balls Help With Anxiety
Do Not Deny Your Stress
Feeling stressed is only human. So, do not deny your stress. Instead, try to answer it in a positive manner. However, if you cannot recall a specific time where you have faced workplace stress, then focus on how you manage stress on a daily basis.
It is best to avoid citing negative examples, such as the time you forgot that a project was due the next day. Such examples will leave a negative impression about you, and trust me that is not something you would want.
Perfect Answers To How Do You Handle Stress Interview Question
Stress is a normal human response, and we all deal with it in different ways. If youre in an interview and the employer asks you how you handle stress, its because they know youre going to deal with stress at some point in the workplace and they want to know how it will affect you.
How an employee handles stress is a pretty big indicator of how well they will work under pressure, and if youre interviewing for a job where stress will be a regular occurrence, the employer needs to know youll be able to keep your cool even in a stressful situation.
Here are some dos and donts on answering the question How do you handle stress?
Read Also: Can Stress Cause Acne In Adults
Healthy Ways To Cope With Stress
Feeling emotional and nervous or having trouble sleeping and eating can all be normal reactions to stress. Here are some healthy ways you can deal with stress:
- Take breaks from watching, reading, or listening to news stories, including those on social media. Its good to be informed but hearing about the traumatic event constantly can be upsetting. Consider limiting news to just a couple of times a day and disconnecting from phone, tv, and computer screens for a while.
- Take care of yourself. Eat healthy, exercise, get plenty of sleep, and give yourself a break if you feel stressed out.
- Take care of your body.
- Take deep breaths, stretch, or meditateexternal icon.
- Avoid excessive alcohol, tobacco, and substance use.
- Continue with routine preventive measures as recommended by your healthcare provider.
- Get vaccinated against COVID-19 as soon as possible get a booster shot if you are age 18 or older.
Stress Test Transcript: Rents Are Soaring What Does It Mean For Millennials And Gen Z
You had your best-laid plans and then COVID-19 came along and hammered the entire economy. But youve got this if you have the right information. Join Rob Carrick and Roma Luciw on Stress Test, a podcast guiding you through one of the biggest challenges your finances will ever face.
ROB: Today, were talking about one of the most ignored groups in the personal finance world: renters.
If youre one – you already know how unaffordable its getting, especially in big cities.
ROMA: So how are people dealing with the rising cost of rent?And what does it mean for their other financial goals – and for their life?
ROB: Welcome to Stress Test, a podcast about personal finance for Gen Z and millennials. Im Rob Carrick, personal finance columnist at The Globe and Mail.
ROMA: And Im Roma Luciw, personal finance editor at The Globe.
ROMA: So Rob, much like home ownership, there was a period earlier in this pandemic where the situation was briefly better for renters. And how at that time, you could actually try negotiating with landlords for a better deal – cheaper rent or improvements to your rental unit. The current situation is nothing like that – so whats changed?
ROB: In todays episode, were talking to three Canadians about their experiences renting. First up, well hear from a renter who feels stuck in her situation and has dealt with some nightmare landlords. Thats up next.
ROMA: But what does Fatema think?
Thanks for listening!
Don’t Miss: How To Stop Stress Dreams
Don’t Deny Your Stress
If you pretend you don’t experience stress in your job, your interviewer won’t buy it. Or they’ll think you’re out of touch with your emotions or that you don’t take your job seriously enough.
If for some reason you can’t recall and give examples of a specific time you’ve experienced pressure at your job, then focus on how you manage your daily stress. Do you practice mindfulness and self awareness? Do you schedule in a 30-minute lunch break and force yourself to leave your desk? Do you run after work? This information will give interviewers and hiring managers a better glimpse into who you are and how you operate in and outside of the job.
Get Enough Sleepbut Not Too Much
The thought of hiding away under the covers sounds pretty great when there’s so much to deal with beyond your bedroom door, but sleeping too much isn’t the answer. Research shows that the more you sleep, the more tired you actually feel. Plus, studies that have shown an association between chronic oversleeping and diabetes, heart disease, weight gain, and even higher rates of death . Adding health problems to your already heavy load is only going to exacerbate your stress levels. That said, too little sleep can make stress worse, too. “When you are tired and depleted, things look worse and less manageable than when you’re rested,” Smith says. The sweet spot to aim for, per the National Sleep Foundation, is between seven to nine hours of shut-eye a night.
You May Like: How To Help Cat With Stress
