Managing Overwhelming Stress at Work
Do you wear your work stress as a badge of honor that you are doing a good job and getting things done? Any job can have stressful parts, even if you love what you do. You may experience pressure to meet a deadline or to fulfill on a challenging task. But when work stress becomes chronic, it can be harmful to both physical and emotional health! This chronic toxicity can permeate every aspect of our being, even if we try our best to keep it confined to our work desks. So how exactly can we de-stress and take back our lives?
To effectively manage work stress, three areas of our lives come into play: our physical health, mental health, and our sense of perspective (emotional health.) Here are some of my favorite methods for managing stress, many that are very simple to incorporate into your routine!
The Effects of Uncontrolled Stress
First, stress sucks! A stressful work environment can have far-reaching effects and can contribute to chronic problems such as headaches, stomachaches, sleep problems, short tempers, and difficulty concentrating.
Chronic stress can also result in heightened anxiety, insomnia, high blood pressure, and a weakened immune system. Stress can also contribute to health conditions you might already have, such as depression, obesity, and heart disease. To make the problem worse, those who experience excessive stress at work often deal with it in unhealthy ways such as overeating, abusing drugs or alcohol, and leaning on vices like smoking cigarettes for some relief.
It doesn't have to be this way! If your stress level at work is over the top, you aren’t alone. EPT is a holistic therapy that gets to the root and applies the science of forgiveness and positive affirmations to reduce the impact of stress and the pain you may feel throughout your body. Call Open Heart Holistic Therapy for a consultation, and learn to de-stress today -- 813-922-8768!
De-stress Your Mind
Many believe that stress is something that happens to us. However, stress is really our response to external factors which includes deadlines and traffic!
The stress response, also known as the fight-or-flight response is automatically triggered by the belief that we are in danger. This signals our bodies to produce cortisol and adrenaline which help us get out of danger as quickly as possible. Pretty impressive isn’t it!? The bad thing though is when this stress response is triggered often and for extended periods of time.
Since stress begins in our minds, it is important to change our outlook and neutralize the stress with positive and gratitude-filled thoughts instead.
Cultivate Gratitude.
To mitigate the negative events that happen to you at work or in your day-to-day lives, try to focus on what is great in your life. There are numerous ways to cultivate a sense of gratitude, so it’s an easy place to start.
Every evening, take a few moments to write down a few things that made you feel grateful that day. No need to overthink. Just focus on the good.
Learn to Say “No.”
Being overbooked, overworked, and overcommitted leads to stress. You don’t need to say “yes,” to everything. The best stress reliever is the amazing word, “No.” It might feel unnatural or rude at first, but it is a very important skill to learn. Be sure to be polite, yet firm. Learning to say “No” allows you to free up extra time for you!
Not being able to say “No” or struggling to keep healthy boundaries is often a result of expectation and reactions from childhood. With EPT, we find the root that makes saying no, and having boundaries so difficult. Then we let it go with forgiveness, so you can actually feel good (loving yourself) taking that step to say, “No”.
Speak with Someone.
We all deserve to live happy stress-free lives, and it's never too late to start making changes that will allow you to swap some of your stress for inner peace! Depending on your work environment, you can also talk to your boss or superior about your stress to see if there’s anything they can help take off your plate.
If you feel like you are having trouble letting go of stress, and it is becoming debilitating, speaking with a mental health and healing specialist may be just what you need! Try EPT therapy which can help with issues in a toxic business environment that can cause stress, so that you can clean house and get back to a productive, happy, and successful workplace.
Meditate (and/or Pray) Regularly.
A consistent meditation practice, even one that is only a few minutes a day, can help to control thoughts that trigger stress. If meditating is a little intimidating, take that time for structured breathing exercises. If you’re more of a prayer warrior, try doing breath work with your prayer.
Check out different ways of praying like Lectio Divina, Ignation Spiritual Exercises, follow along to a prayer book, or simply listen intentionally to your favorite music. Imagine goodness and unconditional divine love shining on you.
The next time that you start to feel overwhelmed or stressed, shake out your body, sit down, and breathe intentionally for 5 minutes before going back to work—pay attention to how you feel, focus on the present moment and ground yourself in your senses.
If it helps, have some kind of mantra or prayer connected to your breath: “Breathing in positivity, breathing out negativity.” Breathing in, “Loving Kindness” breathing out “Fear”. Breathing in “Heath”, breathing out “discomfort”. Or the breath could match with ALL positivity: inhale “I am loved” exhale, “I am safe”. Or even, inhale “Jesus loves me”, exhale “this I know...” You may know the rest.
If you pick a mantra and focus on that in meditation for 30 minutes—You’ll have it very memorized next time you decide to calm yourself with breath. Find what works for you, and practice!
De-Stress Your Body
The imbalance that many of us experience when it comes to relaxation and stress can have serious consequences for our physical health. Since stress is a physical and hormonal chain reaction, try to focus on interrupting this response with healthy habits.
The foundation for managing stress and feeling energized generally lies in what we eat, how (and how often) we move, and how much we sleep.
Eat whole foods.
Munching on fruits, vegetables, unprocessed grains, and nuts can help combat excess stress. Think of the food you eat as the fuel your body uses to tackle whatever challenges you face at work. The higher the quality of your nutrition, the better your defenses will be.
Exercise regularly.
Emotional pain can bring physical pain. While this may make it harder to workout at times, activity releases feel-good, stress-relieving chemicals in the body. The best part, you don’t have to do an hour long HIIT class to reap those benefits! Activities like yoga or walking, can help relieve stress. This episode of LifeKit from NPR explains that you don’t have to do much to stay fit—but you do have to do something!
If you’re at work, and start to feel stress creeping in, stand up and stretch, or just walk around the office to get your blood flowing. You can even boost the physical benefits of moving by taking several deep, cleansing breaths, which can help trigger that beneficial relaxation response.
Get Enough Sleep.
Work stressors are magnified when we are sleep-deprived. Do your best to aim for 8 hours of sleep each night, and try to be consistent! Getting enough sleep can help you solve problems with clearer minds, and even boost your intelligence!
My clients often speak of the incredible sleep they get after a session of EPT, and for someone who is anxious or an insomniac, that sleep to help jumpstart healing is worth every penny.
Feeling Overly Stressed?
In a perfect world, our work would be totally stress-free. While a nice fantasy, if you learn to incorporate some of the stress relievers above, you can neutralize your day-to-day work stress by taking care of yourself and filling your time with meaningful experiences and things.
Creating space for healthy habits, quality relationships, purpose-driven activities, and even just quiet time for contemplation can make a world of difference. EPT can help you get there, reach out to distress, and enjoy healthy habits.
EPT is a holistic therapy that gets to the root and applies the science of forgiveness and positive affirmations to get the results you want faster! Call Paige Cargioli at Open Heart Holistic Therapy in South Tampa for a consultation, and break down the barriers that stress may be causing in your life! 813-922-8768.