Over the years I have collected many methods of reducing and managing stress as I have worked on that for myself in so many different contexts. Studies by the American Medical Association have also shown the negative effects of stress on health. They say stress is a factor in more than 75 percent of all illness and disease today. Stress is a complex subject and the roots of stress in your life must be dealt with by long term life and habit changes. However,there are lots of things you can do to manage stress during your day and at work. The first question is: are you willing to make the commitment to try? Most often stress kind of just runs over us and we give in to it. It takes willpower to intervene: to stop and say No, and do a technique to stop yourself before you need the cigarette, chocolate bar, drink, or just fly off the handle and get angry at someone.
At work, what do you feel are the main daily causes of stress?
Too much to do too little time? Unrealistic deadlines? Procrastination?
Long meetings? Difficult people,irate customers, bosses? Constant interruptions?
Yes, there is all of that in your day to day work. Then there is what you are carrying about your life, your relationship, your health, your finances, your fears for the future. What's great to remember is just this: we always have a choice.
Long Term help for stress includes: exercise, diet, nutrition, cognitive therapies, relaxation, yoga, coming of addictions, better sleep, time management, prioritizing,
stuck thought patterns. But what underlies our sense of stress is very often the fundamental fact that we have not clarified or are not living by our most important values and finding ways to work at what is most fulfilling for us. Many people have not taken the time to question themselves on what those really are: this causes an unconscious, ever present kind of stress.
Are you ignoring your spiritual self? compromising your integrity? Are you following your heart? Ignoring your dreams? Those are big questions, but here are a few short term interventions for managing daily stress.
1) When you feel overloaded, too much to do, can’t think straight, take a walk around and just listen to sounds. How many different ones can you hear? This will calm you and take your mind out of its churning, stressful thoughts. As a young actress, I did a tour with the matinee idol Don Ameche (remember him in the movie about Alexander Graham Bell?). He was a wonderful guy, but he had an Italian temper. We never saw it! When he felt himself getting angry in rehearsal, he would excuse himself and take a walk. Precisely two minutes. When he returned he was courteous and pleasant, anger gone.
2.Doing some deep breathing helps. First of all, just put your attention on your breath; then take three deep inhales and exhales, slowly and full. You can also count four breathing in deeply; hold it for four counts, and breathe out on a count of 8.
3. Get up and stretch. Our bodies get all knarlled up when we sit, no wonder we can't think straight!
4. Donna Eden has a wonderful book for women, "Energy Medicine." Here is one of her tips for adrenal fatique, which has been called the stress syndrome of the 21st century. Walnut size glands on top of kidneys…produce 150 hormones that influence every major psychological process in you body including adrenaline and cortisol. To stop flight or fight syndrome, put your fingers on forehead and thumbs on your temples..hold firmly but without pressure for a minute or two;or place palm of one hand on your forehead and palm of the other hand on the back of your head, just above your neck.
5. The biggie: Be here now. Just pay attention to what is right around you, what your body feels like; use all your senses to be fully present. While you do that, you cannot at the same time be allowing your thoughts to run up your tension. The more you can switch into that kind of mindful presence, the better your day is going to be.
6. Generation Y is teaching us about new ways to work. They don't want to be so serious all the time. So sometimes, how about being playful, wacky, humorous, creative? Remember the old movie Zorba the Greek and "the whole catastrophe" He danced!!
7. Do a "random Act of kindness" for someone...you have surely heard about that.
Just do some little thing for somebody, anybody. The deal is you have to do it secretly without letting them know it was you! Taking the attention off yourself and your problems is truly a gift to you, and you might make somebody else's day too!
You can't do it at the office, but note the photo of the lady by the river above: being by water, observing water, listening to water sounds -- ahhh! what a help that is!
For How to Manage Stress at Work sessions, or Life Coaching to discover your values and purpose, contact me. I offer a free discovery session! Caite Mathis,
at caitemaya@yahoo.com.
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