Cope with Workplace Stress

When we perceive that we cannot adequately cope with the demands expected of us, we become stressed. This stress can negatively affect our mental and physical health, causing us to make poor decisions. Stress is a serious matter and should be dealt with soon after it arrives. Learning how to sort through the problem and eliminate stress from your life is something you can do today. If you want to tackle stress head-on, start with step 1, below. Do realize that not all stress is bad. Studies have shown that highest performance occurs when there's a medium amount of arousal, or stress. It's when the stress becomes a major problem to you that you need to deal with it.

Steps

 * 1) Recognize your stressors. Spend some time to identify the situations that make you feel stressed. Write down examples with associated thoughts, feelings and circumstances. Think about your reactions, were they relevant? Did you feel that your heart rate increased? Was your voice raised? These notes will help you realize how your body reacts and what you can work on. There are, however, both controllable and uncontrollable aspects of every situation. You can control your own actions, but accept that you cannot fully predict someone else’s responses.
 * 2) Determine whether your stress is emotion- or problem-focused. Keep in mind that these are very separate and have different ways to cope with (or solve) them.
 * 3) *Emotional stress arises from being worried about things that you can't control, and can't change.
 * 4) *Problem stress arises from having a problem that you need to fix, a problem that can be worked on now. (If the problem shouldn't be fixed now, focus instead on coping with emotional stress.)

Coping with Problem Stress

 * 1) Determine and plan goals and tasks for your work. Recognize your boundaries and set realistic expectations.  Prioritize your tasks and plan ahead for every week at work. Create a sheet named “To do list”. Set rational deadlines and keep your project plan under regular view.  Edit it if needed and keep in mind your long-term goals.
 * 2) Manage your time well. If you have the bad habit of wasting time, stop it now. Be firm with yourself, setting barriers in the way wasting time. With your extra time, do something beneficial. This could be walking for a few minutes, cleaning up your workspace a bit, or giving a bit of time to a work project.
 * 3) Be assertive through communication to those who are stressing you. Don't threaten or become angry, or make them stressed, but tell them that what they're doing is stressing you. See if you and they can work out a solution or compromise to end this extra stress.

Coping with Emotional Stress

 * 1) Keep your health in mind. Stress is the main cause of many health diseases and ailments. It includes sleep disturbance, difficulty swallowing, muscle tension, chest pains, and dizziness. Working under stress exposes you to mental diseases such as anxiety and depression, too. According to the Labour Force Survey, the number of new cases of work-related stress, depression or anxiety highly increased. Stress can be related with substance abuse disorders and drinking problems, as well as eating disorders. That is why it is very important to develop healthy responses. Eat responsibly, exercise, go for a long walk in the evening or, even better, during your lunch break. Learn some relaxation techniques such as meditation and build healthy sleeping habits. Studies show that people who are more sensitive to stress have poorer sleep quality and more trouble waking up in the morning.


 * 1) Take time to recharge. Avoid having work as your chronic life stressor by taking a few days off from time to time. Recent studies have suggested that stress is a factor of between 50% and 60% of all non-working days. You are entitled to holidays - so make use of them.  Don’t engage yourself in work-related activities and don’t think about work. Turn off your computer and mobile phone, don’t check your mailbox constantly.  Spend time doing something that makes you feel relaxed and happy. Go for a dinner with your partner or have a barbecue with your friends.
 * 2) Talk it out. If you continue to feel overwhelmed by work stress, do not try to deal with stress all by yourself. Talk your problem over with people whose opinion you trust – your partner, friend or career coach. A coach may be the best choice because stress management and coping is a skill that can be developed. A coach will also help you to recognize potential causes of stress, to change unhealthy responses and to build a reserve of resources to deal with stress. A study published by psychologist Alia Crum suggests that if you have a negative stress mindset, where you believe that you should avoid stress at all costs, it saps your energy and inhibits your ability to grow. A professional coach can support you to develop your own positive stress mindset.