Stress plagues our everyday lives. It’s sad, but true. When we’re not worried about dodging deadlines at work, weaving through strangers on hot, overcrowded subways, or precariously avoiding family drama, we’re stressed about what to wear to that party on Saturday, and how on earth we’re going to make time to get our nails done before then.
The fact is, stress is everywhere, and it permeates all aspects of our everyday living.
And if you’re anything like me, getting bad news can take the relaxation out of my sails and make something as pleasant as a stroll in the park or a day at the spa somehow “stressful.” While I’m not trying to be Polly Pessimistic, it’s something that we have to embrace and deal with. But that doesn’t mean there’s nothing we can do to help mitigate the unpleasantness and succumb to the terrors of stress (which for me, includes sleepless nights, terrible skin rashes, internal havoc, and periodic eye-twitching).
Because stress is but a mere symptom of our physiological and psychological breakdown, we can still alter the situation and manage to keep our sanity before things turn awry. When we learn to recognize and deal with burnout, we will have the power to do what we actually want and take better care of ourselves.
Being mindful of your stress, and integrating different practices into your daily routine can help minimize the likelihood that you’ll have a nervous breakdown. Here are some ways you can keep control of your stress throughout the day:
1. Pause and refresh
When you’re at work and you’re having one of those moments where you’re ready to kick over the water cooler, take a moment. And to prevent those inevitable freak-outs, try and pause for 5 or ten minutes every 2 or 3 hours. Stand up, stretch, and get fresh air. Meditate.
Also, throughout the day, try drinking an excessive amount of water and organic herbal tea. Not only is water great for flushing toxins out of your body, but it’ll force you to take more frequent bathroom breaks, which equates to more time away from your desk to help recalibrate your brain.
2. Try to take things one at a time
All day long, we’re multi-tasking to get a million things done. And sometimes, it feels like there is just not enough time in the day, week, or year. Well, that’s life. Embrace it. And instead of panicking about everything you have to accomplish this millennium, try to limit your anxiety to what you need to get done today. You have all day to worry about tomorrow, tomorrow.
3. Give yourself some credit
I’m awesome. Go ahead, say it out loud. This may sound a bit narcissistic, but it’s important for us to recognize the accomplishments that we have made each day – no matter how insignificant they may seem. When we are stressed-out, everything around us seems chaotic and we get disappointed because we cannot put things in order no matter how hard we try. By giving yourself a little credit, it may give you an extra boost of optimism and that kick-in-the-ass you need to just get things done.
4. Make every day a “healthy” day
While smoking cigarettes, binge drinking, then sitting around all day eating Cheetos may sound fun, your system and your stress levels won’t agree. Going to bed by 10pm and getting regular physical exercise are basic steps of any stress reduction program because they helps calm the nervous system. Sustained exercise, like aerobic, produces more of the natural soothing hormone endorphins in the body.
Healthy balance can also be achieved by reducing our sugar intake. Too much sugar can deplete B-vitamins, which are essential for a healthy nervous system. More importantly, we have a tendency to stress out about our skin, our weight, and our overall health – so why torture yourself via self-destruction? Feeling good about our health and our bodies gives us one less thing to stress about.
5. You can cry if you really want to
Repressed feelings are often intense and destructive — like monsters that slowly eat us from the inside. We have to let go of our emotions when we feel like it. Modesty and professionalism should not stop us from expressing our feelings, but keep it balanced – nobody wants to be known as the office lunatic. Sure, crying not only helps release toxins from the body, and it is also liberating, but have some discretion. Cry under your desk or in the supply closet, and feel free to punch the paper towel dispenser in the bathroom to get some anger out. Just release your emotions before you attempt to discuss your frustrations with co-workers.
6. Laugh all day, at least at yourself
Finding humor in simple things is not synonymous with being mischievous. Instead, it means accepting the fact of life that we are imperfect and we put ourselves into awkward situations every now and then. When those awkward moments happen, try and let yourself appreciate how funny awkwardness actually is. It’s hard “not to take things so seriously,” but laughing at yourself is easier than it seems – and you can still take life seriously at the same time. There are lots of ways to have fun, and stay productive. So laugh – it’s a contagious de-stressor.
At the end of the day, it’s up to you to decide how to deal with stress. While we can’t control every stressful situation that surrounds us, we can certainly control how we let stress control us and our emotions.
What are other ways you’ve been successful at keeping stress at bay throughout the day?
Love this simple and easy steps that can keep stress at bay.
Stress can be managed, and this article has 6 tips to get it off the table.
Stress is an essential part of our lives. It is almost impossible to eliminate it totally. And that is why it becomes important to make stress. According to some management theories, a certain level of stress is necessary for an individual to produce his best output. On the other hand, too much of stress can cripple you and prevent you from getting the most out of life. Left unchecked, stress is harmful, causes both physical and psychological damage. In extreme cases, the person suffers a breakdown. It is for these reasons, it is necessary to manage stress. There are several ways to handle stress including exercises, meditation, and yoga.
Unfortunately, I do not find a better word at present or would have used it instead of manage. But psychosomatic diseases are a result of stress in the mind. Therefore a way to think but to remain unloaded in the mind must be there. Psychosomatic diseases manifest in all forms, disturbed digestion being the most common and you don’t require any other disease! Impaired nutrition is sufficient for all others to follow. Besides, blood pressure, heart issues, arthritis, diabetes are others to name a few.
In my work in counseling and meditation therapy, I came to have quite a deep understanding of this. Stress is a real and serious problem that contributes to many health problems, such as high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity and type 2 diabetes. The American Psychological Association has found that stress is close linked to the six main causes of death: heart disease, cancer, lung ailments, accidents, cirrhosis of the liver and suicide. What is more, three-quarters of cases treated by doctors are stress-related. Worldwide, 110 million people die every year as a direct result of stress. That is over 200 people every minute.
All this talk of stress from work can leave you thinking that hard work isn’t worth it. I disagree. Working hard is worth every bit of your effort. You’ll never regret choosing greatness for your life and going for it. But the question you need to ask is, “Are you working hard on the right things?” Do you give your health as much focus as your work? Do you give your relationships as much emphasis as your deadlines? Do you make time for exploring, creating, and traveling, just like you make time for meetings, conference calls, and clients? Or are you simply spending all of your time at work? In the words of President Theodore Roosevelt, “Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.”
The disconnect between the advances of the human mind and physical body are never more apparent than when we look at stress.
When you leave work, leave work. I’ll admit that I’m just as guilty as anyone else when it comes to answering work emails at all hours of the day. That said, on the evenings when I’ve ignored my inbox I’ve noticed something: nothing changes. When the work day starts, I still have things to do and people to respond to; the additional time the night before doesn’t make the next day any easier. Give your email a rest for a night or two and see if work is any different the next day. Your time outside of the office should be spent on you and the people you care about, not in your inbox.
I’m also guilty for this.
We all know that feeling of pressure called stress. It can happen when you’re stuck in traffic and running late, when you’re juggling too many demands on your time or grappling with work or family problems, or all of these. Some stress can be energising, it can give you an extra push to meet a deadline or a challenge. But too much ongoing stress can leave you feeling burnt out, affecting both your physical and emotional health.
Whenever I get stressed, my entire body is in havoc…
There is one age-old method that can reduce stress levels. It’s free, doesn’t require a prescription, and has zero side effects or drug interactions. You will know it as faith, and millions of people around the world rely on it to see them through hard times. The results are not just anecdotal, there is evidence that it works. Faith and spirituality are abstract concepts, but they can lead to concrete results in mental health improvement and stress reduction.
Faith works in so many ways, and a prayer will always answer a lot of problems.