At some time or another, we all experience stress. Sometimes it stems from family, relationships, or work; but regardless of its source, it still feels the same. Stress cannot be avoided, however, we can learn to effectively manage and prevent it from overtaking our lives.
The first step to coping with stress is to recognize its source and to identify what it is about this source that is causing you distress. As mentioned earlier, stress can come from many different reasons that is why it is helpful to explore these sources and why they can be troubling.
Probably the most common source of stress comes from the family. Families are made up of individuals, each with their own unique personality. When you place these different personalities together, conflict will undoubtedly surface and cause stress. Individuals will also experience distress when a family member becomes ill or engages in self-destructive behaviors.
Family-related stress is perfectly normal and most people can overcome the pressure in due time. However, if you find that you or your family is unable to cope with the stress, it may be time to seek professional counseling to help open up the channels of communication again.
Another big source of stress is relationships. We can experience tension with a loved one because each person has their own way of doing things and interacting with others. When one person fails to meet the expectations of the other, conflict can arise. Problems can also occur during the course of normal (or abnormal) life changes, such as divorce, illness, and work-related issues.
If you think that you and a loved one are having difficulty managing stress, it may be time to sit down and have a heart-to-heart. Sometimes the best medicine in the world for a heavy heart is just being to express yourself openly with someone you care about who will listen.
A final – but not last – source of stress that many of us will encounter stems from work. Many people are not happy with their current job, have interpersonal conflicts with coworkers or the boss, are not being paid enough, feeling powerless or undervalued, and the list can go on indefinitely. .
The best way to deal with job-related stress is to identify what’s causing the stress and determine if you have any control over the situation in order to make changes, if not consider working in the dental field and helping others.
Effectively managing the stress you experience in the various areas of your life is possible with the right tools and mindset – discover what’s holding you back from overcoming your stress today.
Archive for the ‘Managed Stress’ Category
Managing Stress – How to Effectively Deal with Pressure
Sunday, March 14th, 2010Managing Well Being to Naturally Manage Stress
Saturday, March 13th, 2010Managing stress is becoming more important as our environment becomes more tension-inducing every year. From traffic jams to work-related stress, there are more stimuli that can make the heart race and the adrenaline flow than at any time in the past.
What is the best way to improve physical and psychological well-being?
Exercise is a proven stress-reliever. It releases endorphins that counteract stress hormones, and improve mood. It’s always difficult to start an exercise program, so it makes sense to start gradually and work your way up. Stretching and flexing the muscles in the neck, back, shoulders, arms and abdomen help to take away tension and make it easier for the muscles to relax. Exercises that improve cardiovascular function benefit the heart and lungs and affect the blood. This causes chemical changes in the body and the release of and balance of hormones that improve overall mood. Starting and sticking with a regular exercise plan also encourages a healthy concept of self, giving one a better outlook on things and a line of defense against stressors.
There are also relaxation techniques, or exercises that are extremely helpful in managing and reducing stress. One such technique is trying to touch the shoulder to the ears. Hold your shoulder for a few seconds and then let the shoulders drop. Rotate one shoulder toward the rear and then the other, do each shoulder up to ten times and then do both shoulders together.
Another exercise that is good for relaxing and good for the body is to lie down with knees bent, press the back down so that all parts of the back touch the surface, while doing so pull in hard on the stomach muscles. Then just relax them. This helps to let go of tension as well as firm abdominal muscles and strengthens the back. Many people find specific exercise programs such as Pilates, tai chi and yoga to be very relaxing.
Getting adequate sleep can do wonders for the body and mind. Just going to bed a half an hour earlier at night, or taking a short nap during the day, can reenergize the body and recharge the mind, If you’ve had enough sleep, you can make clear, thoughtful decisions.
If a nap is not possible make sure you take time to relax or take a break. Even a fifteen minute respite from work, school, or regular daily activities is advisable for quiet, privacy and introspection.
Taking a brisk walk or even just going outside or to another room, the change in scenery can eliminate existing stress or to counter it before it gets to be too much.
It is also necessary to eat properly. Eat an adequate and nutritious breakfast each day. Hunger cannot only leave you less able to cope with stress but can also be considered a stressor in itself. It is also important to make sure to eat a well balanced diet for optimal health.
Avoiding or reducing the consumption of caffeine containing substances is a simple and effective way to reduce tension and stress. Caffeine stimulates the sympathetic nervous system in a similar fashion as stress as do other substances like alcohol and tobacco that people often use as a means of reducing stress.
Managing Stress Through Yoga
Friday, March 12th, 2010Contrary to common belief, yoga is not just all about experiencing pure ecstasy through the union of the mind, the soul, and the body. It is also about dealing with one’s self and an effective means of stress management.
Today, most yoga practitioners and teachers believe that apart from providing relaxation and peace, yoga is about the seemingly limitless capability of a person to be in control and unite with him or her inner self. With these underlying principles, yoga can be an effective way of stress management if used properly.
Be definition, the word yoga came from a Sanskrit term which means union or joining. It is considered as almost an ambiguous term because it encompasses a wide range of purely physical disciplines to purely spiritual. When people talk of yoga, the term asana is always mentioned. Asana is known as one of the eight types of yoga wherein mental and spiritual well being than are prioritized compared to physical endurance. Today, the two words have become almost synonymous to modern-day yogis because they embody the same concept: relaxation though meditation.
If you’re planning to practice yoga as a form of stress management, it shouldn’t be as confusing as it seems because you don’t need to learn all the concepts and philosophies behind it. This ancient tradition that requires deep meditation has been proven as an effective way to relax, what you need to learn are the basic information you will need for you to apply the concept in your everyday life.
Starting out with yoga
People have different reasons and purposes for practicing yoga. This is because through yoga, people may explore the almost limitless possibilities of health and relaxation. Since this ancient form of exercise can help people delve into depths of the meditative practice for spiritual discipline, it can also be used to manage stress and maintain physical and emotional health.
If you are going to use yoga as a form of stress management, it is best to understand your main objectives and your level of interest because these can definitely help you find the right yoga program.
The first thing that you have to bear in mind before you totally indulge in practicing yoga is setting and determining your goals. You can do this by knowing first what are the possible health and fitness benefits you can get from yoga. Most yoga practitioners agree that the major potential benefit of yoga is to relieve stress.
Apart from this, it can also increase of strength and flexibility, creation of balance as well as the improvement of breathing and overall posture. On the spiritual aspect, yoga can serve as an exercise that can help you soothe your nerves, calm your mind while increasing your focal and concentration skills.
After determining your goals, it is best to undergo a general check-up. This is very important because it will help you know your limitations when it comes to practicing it. Discussing with your physician the advantages and disadvantages of yoga in your total health and well being is very important to ensure that you will not suffer from any complication. Since yoga involves physical endurance, you might also want to visit an orthopedic before you undergo a class to avoid injuries that will come with the postures and positions.
Aside from knowing your goals and updating your overall health status. You must also consider the qualification of your yoga instructor, your physical and emotional limitations. The best time suitable for you to practice yoga, the basic yoga poses before slowly advancing to the difficult positions, and proper equipment and clothing to be used before using yoga as a means of stress management.
Managing Stress 101
Wednesday, March 10th, 2010Your stress is defined as your physiological response to an event, memory or internal or external stimulus that sets off your flight-or-flight response. Managing stress is all about using specific techniques to cope with or alter your response to stressful situations.
If your response to a stressful event is inadequate you will experience certain physiological responses: sweating, rapid heart rate, slowing of your digestive system, and a shot of adrenaline.
Over time your continued inappropriate responses to stress will cause the triad of stress affects: swelling of the adrenal glands, atrophy of the lymphatic system, and irritation of the digestive system.
Your job if you choose to accept it is to cope with stress and even reduce stress by finding the correct stress management technique and using them over a long period of time.
Just like anything, there are rules and procedures to follow. To stop your stress freight train you need resistance. You stop fueling it. You apply the breaks. You use gravity or another natural force to assist you.
Observe how you control stress right now. Does anything about stopping a freight train apply to you?
Can you find some form of struggle — something to keep yourself from collapsing in the face of stress? Your body needs energy from real foods, adrenal gland support, rest, exercise, and relaxation.
Stop fueling your stress. Stop giving it power. It will continue to grow unless you stop fueling it. Stop giving your stress what it needs to multiply. If you can avoid stressful situations in the first place you will be far ahead of the game. What are some areas, places, or people that you can avoid that by doing so will reduce your stress?
Apply the breaks to your stress. Where can you draw the line and make boundaries? Make your own rules about this stress and stand firm on them. No more taking on extra work. No more dating that certain person. No more eating that big glob of ice cream at night and regretting it in the morning. Make new rules – stress-free rules you can use to guide yourself before you put yourself into that stressful situation again.
Memories causing stress need to be addressed. Not the memory but your response to it. There are ways to neutralize your responses to negative or stress-causing memories. These require some physical work on your part but are well worth doing. I have detailed several techniques in my manual.
Use some natural force to assist you. Laughing is in. What can you do everyday to increase your laughter? Who makes you laugh? What do you read that cracks a smile?
Exercise reduces your stress. It is a fact that exercise improves your body’s muscle tone, circulation, oxygenation, and other functions thereby improving your ability to cope with stress.
Music sounds good. Music can change a mood and stress levels in moments. What can you listen to that takes your mind of the stress at hand? Turn it on and turn it up and take it with you all day.
Relaxation is a pleasant thought. Have you just sat for five minutes and not done anything? Sit for a moment and take some deep breaths. Do nothing for a change on purpose.
Managing stress is two points.
1. Find out what it is that causes you stress; avoid it and make new rules about it.
2. Do something that powerfully reduces stress and do it over a long time, daily.
This is a simple process but it is not easy; it takes time and attention but what other choices you have?
Time as Effective Key to Managing Stress
Tuesday, March 9th, 2010Many studies show that one of the best ways to manage stress is through effective time management. Why? It is because lack of time usually pressures people. When people are being pressured, stress surfaces, which hinders them from finishing their tasks ahead.
While it is true that nobody’s born with precise skills in time management, this should not be difficult because people can always learn it. All they have to do is organize their thoughts and everything will most probably fall into place.
Managing your time well
To effectively manage your time, the first thing that you need to do is to set your mind into it. You have to recognize your strengths and weaknesses when it comes to managing your time and set appropriate actions for it. What you can do is list down what are your difficulties in achieving goals and tasks behind the given schedule. Once you have determined the factors, which hinder you in achieving a certain task on time, you can make a draft of alternatives to solve them.
By doing this, it also shows a sign of maturity because you can admit to yourself what are the things that you’re doing wrong when it comes to managing your time and performing tasks at hand. This is a very important part of gaining time management skills because maturity will help you think straight and prioritize your goals.
The following are other considerations when it comes to time management. These will help you not only gain time management skills but can also help you manage stress in various situations easily.
1. Gain skills in decision-making. Experts say that good decision making skills is key to achieving effective time management skills. This is because if a person is able to decide and prioritize things at hand, he or she can easily cut off so much time contemplating and can move on to the next task. If you want to manage stress through time management, it is best if you equip yourself with information on how to achieve effective decision-making skills and various techniques to do so.
2. Familiarize yourself with techniques that can help you manage your time well. This is very important in gaining time management skills because it can help you save more energy in doing things. Gaining prioritizing skills is quite important in effective time management because it will allow you to pay attention to things that are of most importance. These techniques on effective time management can be researched on the Internet or can be learned from the stories of people who were able to gain success through managing their time effectively.
3. Learn the ropes of planning. Experts say that people who know how to plan well are also good in managing their time. This is because planning is a skill, which needs a lot of patience and preparation at hand. Planning is a vital part of gaining time management skills because it can help people do things ahead of their time, thus, enabling them to patch up things that go wrong along the way in no time.
4. Put ideas and techniques into action. In acquiring the skills of effective time management, you must learn how to put into action that techniques that you have learned. By doing this, you can easily make a timetable for yourself in finishing the tasks ahead of you.
5. Arm yourself with tools. To manage time effectively and help you draft suitable means of stress management, you need tools and gadgets, which will make things easier for you. Today, there are so many modern gadgets that can be used to help you manage your time such as the Personal Digital Assistant or PDA and others.
Hand held devices can help you calendar your activities, thus, giving you more time for other things.
Managing Stress – A life Changing Journey
Monday, March 8th, 2010
MANAGING STRESS – A LIFE-CHANGING JOURNEY
What is stress?
Stress is our body’s way of reacting emotionally and physically to any kind of external pressures or demands. Although this kind of response may be beneficial at times, like when it provides the needed strength and energy in times of danger, too much stress or a prolonged state of stress is harmful to our body.
What causes stress?
Stress is caused by a variety of factors for different people. For most people and for most of the time, it is usually caused by unexpected and unpleasant changes which we are not physically and emotionally prepared to handle.
Some of the factors that have been found to contribute greatly to stress include the following:
Overwork – Working too hard with little time for rest and relaxation has been a constant source of stress for many people.
Home stressors – This is particularly true for those who live with an extended family or relatives. Another classic example of a home stressor is when a stay-at-home mother chooses to do everything for the family thereby tiring herself out everyday and lacking the time for a much needed rest.
Survival Stress – This is the body’s natural reaction when faced with physical danger. Our body responds with a burst of strength and energy which enable us to either “fight” or “flee” from the situation. We can therefore consider this as an acceptable kind of stress.
Internal Stress – This one is caused by none other than our own selves. When we think negatively and worry too much about things we can’t control and put ourselves in situations which may cause too much pressure or demands in our emotional state, we become stressed.
Environmental factors – These are the things around us that disrupt our normal lives and can put a strain on our emotional well-being. Some of these factors may include irritating people, noise, crowded areas, and emergency situations.
Who gets stressed?
Stress is a classic feature of human life and has become part of almost everyone else’s system. I’m pretty sure that we have all experienced stress at one time or another, whether working on a highly demanding task, trying to get along with difficult people whom we have to spend most of out time with either at home or at work, or taking care of our family and having to work at the same time.
People of any gender and from all age groups can suffer from stress and anxiety when exposed to any of the different stressors mentioned above.
How does stress affect us?
Stress has been known to cause negative changes to our physical, physiological, and psychological well-being, either directly or indirectly, leading to health problems, low work productivity, poor judgment, and broken relationships among many other things. Some studies even suggest that stress can literally kill us in the long run, as it contributes to the risk of having a heart attack or other fatal diseases.
Some of the changes that can happen to us when we are stressed may include the following:
Physical changes – headaches, weight loss, abnormal fatigue levels, difficulty sleeping, body aches, increased susceptibility to colds and infections
Psychological / emotional changes – short temper, depression, lack of confidence, poor concentration, helplessness, anxiety attacks, loss of direction, inability to relax, crying spells
Behavioral – turning to drugs or alcohol, becoming destructive, forgetfulness, inability to commit to something or to make decisions
Relationships – intolerance of certain people, not wanting to socialize, decreased sex drive, nagging, resentment, problems with spouse and/or children
How to reduce stress
One of the most important things to remember when handling stress is that everything has to start within us. We can never control what happens in our lives but we can always choose how to face the stressful situations. Here are some ideas that may help prevent or reduce stress.
Think positively. Negative thoughts have never solved any problem!
Accept changes as part of life and learn to deal with them.
Do something enjoyable at least once a day. This may take as little as 5 minutes of your time!
Strengthen family ties and develop healthy relationships with friends and co-workers.
Eat well and maintain a healthy lifestyle. Join weekly yoga or dance classes, attend group exercises, or indulge in recreational activities that interest you. Having a healthy body is one sure way of protecting oneself against stressful situations.
Be aware of the different factors that cause stress in your life and make every possible way to avoid them.
Develop skills in money and time management.
Reach out to other people and try to help others in your own little ways. The feeling of fulfillment that comes from being able to help people can boost your self-confidence and strengthen relationships.
Strengthen spiritual resources and develop a strong faith.
These are only among the tried and tested ways to reduce the stress in our lives. Some may be effective for other people while some of these may not cause any positive change at all. What is therefore important is for us to know ourselves better and to figure out which solution can help us overcome the different challenges that life throws at us each and every day. Remember, managing stress is not a one-time deal but rather a life-long journey to a happy and healthy life!
How To Manage Stress Through Meditation
Sunday, March 7th, 2010Stress is often referred to as the curse of modern era. Meditation is one of the proven methods for stress management. Meditation is a natural healing therapy, famous for its multifarious effects on a person. The routine practice of meditation therapy in the daily life has been seen to remove most of the ill effects of stress. The reasons of stress include busy schedules, change in working patterns and revisal of the relationship concepts. However stress management techniques are given much importance because of the serious impact of stress in the physiological, psychological and social aspect of the person. The relevance of meditation in stress management is mainly due its capability to provide alleviation to the effects of the stress.
Meditation is primarily a concentration technique, in which you focus to provide relaxation to mind. The relaxation of the mind is the basic necessity of stress management. Meditation is not a new technique; it prevails from ancient times as the method to bring tranquility to the mind. The increased acceptance of meditation in stress management is mainly because of the scientific evidence that support its effectiveness in that area. Experiments have shown that meditation will shift the brain waves from the right frontal cortex to left front cortex, which helps to change the mind from a tensed condition to a calmer state. With this practice, the body can switch the brain waves to resting alpha state or relaxing theta state and the stress inducing endocrine secretions such as cortisol and adrenal hormones can also be suppressed. The secretion of endorphins is also substantiated, which is a natural stress and pain reliever.
You can manage your stress through meditation effectively by including it in your daily routine. There are many different types of meditation techniques such as mindfulness meditation, concentrative meditation and transcendental meditation. Meditation practice is simple irrespective of the technique and requires only 15-20 minutes daily. It will be an effortless procedure and does not require any other probes to perform the meditation. To begin your meditation, simply sit or lie down and concentrate on a particular object or your breath.
Meditation is actually referred to as a fourth state of consciousness and regular attainment of the state will reflect in your outlook about the life positively. Not only your mind, but the body is also well maintained by the meditation. Meditation will reduce the psychological symptoms of stress such as depression, anxiety and panic attacks. This will provide behavioral and social changes, which will make you more creative and boost the talents to increase productivity.
The regular practice of meditation will help to manage stress as well as to avoid stress inducing situations. The natural enhancement of talents and mental capability will help for better planning, time utilization and proper management of the situation.
Simple, Effective Techniques To Managing Stress
Saturday, March 6th, 2010We all experience it at one time or another; this trespasser called stress. It is perhaps the number one cause of most health problems today. Whether the stress be a result of work, school, family problems or other issues, it is very important to learn how to effectively manage your stress levels. Let’s explore ways managing stress in your life can be accomplished in a healthy and appropriate manner.
Managing stress can be dealt with in many ways. Talking about the problems you are experiencing with friends, loved ones or a professional can often be a great help. Keeping everything bottled up will only create more problems later on, and often cause stress-related health problems.
You should also exercise often. Go to the park and walk for 20-30 minutes either every day or every other day. Exercise relieves tension and produces a calming effect. Yoga exercises are an effective form of exercise that decrease stress as well. Sit in a quiet room alone and begin breathing exercises. Choose a mantra which will help you to stay focused.
Music does calm the savage breast. Listen to some classical or instrumental music. Ocean or nature sounds are a perfect way to release stress. They slow down your heartbeat and clear your mind, great things to assist you in managing stress. Of course, if you have any little children in the house, gentle sounds and music can often calm them down and reduce your stress.
Healthy meals can become an important factor in limiting your stress. Ensure you eat three meals a day, and make an effort to avoid too much caffeine and sugar, especially around bedtime. Sleep deprivation can cause stress. Remember to go to bed early. Seven to eight hours sleep can make all the difference.
Managing stress can be challenging. Every day you seem to be pulled in every direction, trying to accommodate others. The first priority is to take care of you. You are the thread which holds your family together. If you are stressed, you won’t be much good to anyone. Give yourself a break every now and then. Laughter is a wonderful release; laugh as much as you can. Avoid stressful situations whenever possible. Take everything in stride. If you can’t finish a task, don’t worry about it. If dinner doesn’t turn out as you expected, improvise or order out.
Life is too short; and stress can reduce it further. Nothing is more important than your health or state of mind. Managing stress depends upon your ability to understand its cause, and utilize every measure available to nip it in the bud.
7 Tips For Managing Stress
Thursday, March 4th, 2010They say there’s more than one way to skin a cat. The same applies when you start tearing your hair out with all the frustration, grief, anxiety, and yes, stress.
It’s a state of mental conditioning that’s like taking that bitter pill down your throat. It causes you to lose your sense of self, and worse, your sanity. Just thinking about it can drive anyone over the edge and out of control.
As one (ex)stressed-out person to another, I know how it feels. Believe me, there are many variants when it comes to stress. Coping with life, and carrying the problems that may or may not belong to you, can whittle away at the little joy and happiness that you carry once you head out that door.
You can’t blame people for being like that; they have their own reasons, just like we have our own reasons for allowing stress to weigh us down too.
They say that stress is all in the mind. Ok … so … what’s bugging you anyway?
There are several ways to manage stress, and eventually remove it from your life. So let’s divide it into a seven different processes. I promise it’s not going to be too taxing on the body or the mind.
1. Acknowledge that stress is good
Make stress your friend! Based on the body’s natural “fight or flight” response, that burst of energy will enhance your performance at the right moment.
I’ve yet to see a top sportsman totally relaxed before a big competition. Use stress wisely to push yourself that little bit harder when it counts the most.
2. Avoid stress “sneezers”
Stressed people “sneeze” stress germs indiscriminately and before you know it, you’re infected too!
Protect yourself by recognizing stress in others and limiting your contact with them.
Remember, in some of my other articles I mentioned getting the negativity out of your life? Disassociate yourself from negative people and things. It won’t be easy, but just this one thing alone will relieve a whole pile of stress!
3. Learn from the best
When people around you are losing their head, who keeps calm? What are they doing differently? What is their attitude? What language do they use? Are they trained and experienced?
Figure it out from a distance, or sit them down for a chat. Learn from the best stress managers and copy what they do.
4. Practice socially acceptable heavy breathing
This is something I’ve learned from a friend of mine who is always at the gym: You can trick your body into relaxing by using heavy breathing.
Breathe in slowly for a count of 7 then breathe out for a count of 11. Repeat the 7-11 breathing until your heart rate slows down, your sweaty palms dry off and things start to feel more normal.
5. Give stressing thoughts the red light
It’s possible to tangle yourself up in a stress knot all on your own. “If this happens, then that might happen and then we’re all up the creek!”
Most of these things never happen, so why waste all that energy worrying needlessly? Focus on the task at hand, it’ll all work out!
Give stress producing thoughts the red light and stop them in their tracks. Ok, so something might go wrong; but how likely is that, and what can you do to prevent it?
Relax and think logically about the situation! If something does happen to go wrong, look at it as a learning experience so it won’t happen again!
6. Know your trigger points and hot spots
Presentations, interviews, meetings, giving difficult feedback, tight deadlines; my heart rate increases just writing these down! But they have to be done, so why worry about it? You’ll do just fine!
Make your own list of stress trigger points or hot spots. Be specific. Is it only presentations to a certain audience that get you worked up? Does one project cause more stress than another? Did you drink too much coffee (I used to)?
Figure out how you can change these things so they are not a problem and not a cause for worry for you. You’ll perform the task better, more professionally and with much greater ease without putting undue burden on yourself.
Knowing what causes you stress is powerful information. If you know the cause of your stress you can take action to make it less intense.
Do you need to learn some new skills? Do you need extra resources? Do you need to switch to decaf (I did and it helped immeasurably)?
7. Burn the candle at one end, not both ends
Lack of sleep, poor diet and no exercise all wreak havoc on our body and mind. Kind of obvious, but worth mentioning as it’s often ignored as a stress management technique. Don’t burn the candle at both ends; you’ll be the one ending up getting burned!
So having stress can be a total drag, but that shouldn’t hinder us in finding the inner peace of mind that we’ve wanted for so long. Learn how to manage your stress and you’ll be so much the better for doing it!
How to Manage Stress in Your Work Life
Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010Stress is a result of a series of complex reactions that occur in response to certain events and situations in your life. There are many ways of defining Stress. Some researchers categorize it either as Eustress or Distress depending on whether something changes for the better or worse respectively. It is also defined as being in a situation which is very difficult to cope with.
If you are going through a lot of stress in your career which makes it tough going, you’ve come to the right page. This piece will help you cope with stress.
Since there are multiple causes of stress, understandably, there are many ways to deal with it. Being aware of it isn’t enough; you should also know how to manage stress. This requires a change in the way you react to it and so on. Let’s see how to go about that.
Beware of stressors: Determine the causes of stress and don’t ignore them. Observe the events that bring stress to your work life. Try to figure out the meaning of such events. Also, analyze your reaction towards such circumstances; do you get panicky or physically upset?
Take heed of your reactions: If you really want to know how to manage stress, you’ll have to take cognizance of those reactions we talked about earlier. Stress is generated by your perception of danger, either physical or emotional. Take an objective look at the cause as well as your response to it. Recognizing the situation for what it’s worth will reduce the intensity of your reactions.
Be reasonable:
• Don’t take a difficult situation and make a disaster out of it.
• Bear in mind that it’s impossible to please everyone; hence don’t make an effort to do so.
• Never exaggerate and view things as extremely critical. Remember, it is not necessary for you to succeed in every situation.
• Keep the analytical quotient high and the emotional quotient low at work. Keep sentiment at bay.
• Think of stress as something you can handle rather than something that overpowers you.
• Maintain a positive outlook and steer clear of “What Ifs”.
Maintain both reserves: We are talking about physical as well as emotional reserves. Intersperse some free time with your work. Don’t make your work monotonous, and take reasonable breaks wherever possible. Learn to like your work, failing which, find work in a field that is to your liking. Also, developing a friendly attitude towards co-workers will generate a self of well-being.
While undesirable stress has a weakening effect on your body and emotions, “good” stress can be harnessed to improve efficiency. Stress can influence you positively by inducing you to exploit your strengths and achieve goals. Stress can also exhort you to enhance your knowledge and perception at work. But as a negative influence, it will result in feelings of doubt, refusal, anger and depression. These will ultimately have an impact on you and your work.
While you should know how to manage stress, remember, there is no way you can totally eliminate it. Too much of it will butcher you. At the same time, a complete absence of stress can be totally de-motivating. Hence, you need to find the optimal level of stress which can spur you on, not drag you down. Modules like “The Stress Management Masterclass” can teach you how to manage stress at work. You could also download the Stress Management Training program.
