Time-Proven Strategies Against Work-Related Stress
By Stan Goh | Submitted On May 10, 2011
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Do not avoid stress. You cannot run away from it. Even if you think you can, you will eventually reach a dead-end or it will catch up with you. When that happens, you will only end up with more stress than you can originally handle.
Stress is a fact of life, and no one can avoid it entirely. The most that you can do is either
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But, when the stress becomes excessive, overwhelms you, and/or starts to impair your job performance, then it's time for you to raise a warning flag. It's time to nip excessive stress in the bud.
First of all, how do you know that you are overwhelmed by work stress? Look out for the warning signs. Such signs include moodiness and irritability, loss of appetite for your job, physical and mental exhaustion, trouble with sleeping and concentrating, tense muscles and frequent headaches, diminished sex drive, avoiding social interaction, and other coping mechanisms such as drinking or using drugs. There are other possible causes for each of these behaviors, but if you observe yourself manifesting majority of these behaviors, then the most likely culprit is work stress.
The first step towards reducing work-related stress is to take good care of your physical and emotional needs. This is actually your first line of defense against stress. If your body and mind are healthy and strong, you will less likely crumble under the heavy weight of stress. As a matter of fact, taking care of your physical and mental health should be done even if you do not feel the threat of stress from
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First, it can relieve you of the stress that you are already experiencing. Second, it conditions you and strengthens you so that you can endure more stress.
The ideal average time for exercise is a total of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity spread out over the days of the week. The physical exertion will strengthen your heart, burn extra calories, improve breathing and circulation, release your body's natural stress relievers, lifts your mood, and keeps you in tip-top shape.
Balanced Nutrition
Food can influence your ability to adjust to excessive stress. If you improperly feed yourself - either by eating the wrong food or by eating the right food in inappropriate amounts - you will become vulnerable to stress. Make sure that you are getting your daily requirement of go, grow, and glow foods. There is no universal formula for this. Each person has different requirements, depending on the person's overall health, current medical condition, and level of physical activity.
Proper nutrition also means moderation with alcohol and caffeine intake, as well as avoiding cigarette smoking. Alcohol, caffeine, and nicotine have been known to jack up stress and anxiety rather than lower them.
Enough Rest and
You must try to change the situation or change your reaction to the situation. At times stress can be avoided. You must know your limits and stick to them. You must try to avoid people who stress you out. You must look at your daily work and decide between the “should” and the “must”. If you can’t avoid a stressful situation you would change things to avoid the problem in the future. You must focus on the positive things in life more than negative because by keep thinking about the negative things u will be more stressed. You must share your feelings with others and learn to forgive. You must also make time for fun activates and relaxation.
Stress can be caused by many different things within an organisation but the main causes of stress can be broken down into “six management standards” Anon (2009) how to tackle work related stress http://www.hse.gov.uk/ I used these areas to construct the chart below and discussed stress at a team meeting and asked my team to complete a Circle of influence around areas over which they felt they had no control Appendix 1 we also discussed what we / I could do to manage the six main causes of stress
I lived a relatively stress-free environment until I went off to college. I started to meet people that grew up in a rough childhood and I started to realize how lucky I was. This realization paired up with one of the most difficult quarters I had experience so far. The stress from school and this realization that so many of my fellow peers had experienced such a difficult upbringing caused me to have an anxiety attack for about a week. Luckily I live with two of my closest friends who were able to pick up on the fact that I was not acting myself and they helped me realize what was going on. The stress caused me to overthink everything with in turn only lead to more stress. I started to sleep less, eat less and that also only caused more stress. I vividly remember a time during that week when my roommate sat me down and said she wanted to show me something that could help relax me. She lead me through a guided meditation. At first I was skeptical. I had no idea how a simple exercise was going to help me but to my surprise it really did! Just by focusing on my breathing and shutting my mind off for a few minutes I was alleviated of my stress. Kelly McGonigal’s video on how to make stress your friend gave me a light of insight on how I can combat a situation like this in the future. She asked the audience to “view stress as a positive thing rather than a negative thing” and just by
To draw your attention at this moment, I have compiled information as the easiest to do solutions as you can see the screen. In order to cope with stress at work effectively, I suggest you Maintain a balanced lifestyle, Focus on the positive aspects to work, and Clarify what is expected of you.
Do you get the overwhelming feeling of being burdened, behind, or stressed at work? Well you wouldn't be alone. In this article we explore 10 specific techniques you can use at work and at home to alleviate some of the stress on your body.
I will always learn to say no to stress to avoid endangering my health, I make sure I eat good food that are healthy because diets have positive effect on our mood. Foods with vitamin B and vitamin B12 are very important.
A way one can manage stress is to build their physical reserves. This includes exercise for cardiovascular fitness three to four times a week (moderate, prolonged rhythmic exercise is best, such as walking, swimming, cycling, or jogging), eat well-balanced, nutritious meals, maintain your ideal weight, avoid nicotine, excessive caffeine, and other stimulants, mix leisure with work, take breaks and get away when you can, get enough sleep, and finally be as consistent with your sleep schedule as possible.
Studies show that stress greatly affects memory, judgment making, and concentration. In fact, too much stress is as bad for your heart as smoking. The more you are exposed to stress, the more likely you are to experience fatigue. If you are in constant fatigue, then your immune system may turn down its security levels and make you more susceptible to common health illnesses such as colds, fever and flu. Experiencing such common illnesses will affect your daily routine in work or even in your personal lifestyle. The moment you get back, you also get to back to experiencing stress. The cycle continues. This is called the ‘stress-fatigue-disease’ cycle. To lessen one’s stress, take a moment to relax, to unwind. You are most likely to be productive once you realize that your body has higher energy levels because of the rest and relaxation you did.
Stress in today's workplace is growing faster due to individuals dealing with constant work-related demands. Most workers that take on constant demands in the workplace also deal with conflict that can even throw off their work life balance, such as poor career development and the physical
In broad biological terms, work-related stress can be defined as the harmful physical and emotional responses that occur when the requirements of the job do not match the capabilities, resources, or needs of the worker (Hudzik, 2005). Thus, the hurtful physical and enthusiastic reactions may be the reason for individuals ' degenerate conduct that may lead them to have conflict in their work place or even in affiliation. Stress at work can be conceptualized as an
If your over stressed slow down. Try moving, talking and behaving in a relaxed, slower manner. (4.) Some tips on how to slow down is to drive slower than usual. Wait five minutes in the driveway before going in the house. All you need to do is relax and ease into the
Although small doses of stress are good, too much stress is unhealthy and tends to overrule us at times, causing physical and mental harm.
In fact, research reveals that school teachers experience of some highest levels of stress among working professionals (citation). When it comes to the reality of the stress pandemic, it is not the reaction itself that is the problem. Rather, it is the way we deal with stress that determines the effects of stress on our mind and body. In fact, it is stated in Feldman (2009), “our attempts to overcome stress may produce biological and physiological responses that result in health problems” (p. 417). Therefore, it is always prudent to try to find ways to deal with stress effectively before it takes an irreversible toll on us. Nonetheless, the fact remains that work stress and mental health are directly intertwined.
It is critical to understand important stress management skills. If stress is not dealt with, it can result in a burnout, or perhaps worse, "People who experience high levels of anxiety are four to five times more likely to die of a heart attack or stroke" (Morrison
It is estimated that the average person works 40 â€" 50 hours a week, 50 weeks a year. That translates to 75% of our waking hours and most of our energy being spent on the job. When work conditions are unsatisfactory our health and well being are highly impacted. Job stress is defined as the harmful physical and emotional responses that occur when job requirements do not match the capabilities, resources or needs of the worker. Numerous studies link such occupational mismatches with a wide range of illnesses. The National Institute of Occupation and Safety (NIOSH) warns that job stress can put workers at higher risk for cardiovascular disease, muscle and skeletal disorders, workplace injury, and mental health problems including depression, anxiety, sleeplessness, and emotional exhaustion. In a