Stress is a natural reaction to many life experiences, it may be experienced mentally or physically. It is an undesirable state of mind that creates tension and has a bad impact on the mind and body.
Stress builds an unavoidable mental condition, however, its degree of existence might vary from person to person.
It may create an emotional, physical &psychological strain that everyone has experienced at some point of time in their lives. The most important question amid these stressful situations is How to overcome job stress at the workplace during COVID, and here I will share some practical tips to effectively overcome this stressful situation.
Stressful situations may emerge out of normal life incidences such as:
- Getting ready to go to work,
- Deciding upon what to cook & eat
- Deciding upon certain other important family matters etc.
Stress may also emerge out of unprecedented life events such as:
- Unsuccessful marriage
- Financial problems
- Breakout of a pandemic such as Covid-19 and deciding upon ways how to keep yourself and family safe.
- Declaration of war in the residing country, civil riots etc.
However, the degree to which stress is experienced by an individual varies across general or unprecedented situations.
Positive effects of stress:
There are some surprising health benefits of stress that create a defense mechanism to tackle difficult situations in a better & effective manner.
Experiencing stress is quite normal for everyone, and it is a normal part of our lives as well. Setting limits to stress levels and its handling in a proper way helps in managing stress in a better manner. Stress creates a defense mechanism that alerts the mind in advance to make all the requisite steps to counter difficult situations in a better-planned manner to avoid problems at a later stage.
For instance: An athlete may experience stress in the marathon to win, the stress will in turn help in releasing suitable hormones in his body to ready the muscles to take suitable action in time.
Similarly, If stress is managed properly and adopted positively by students, nothing can stop them from achieving their goals.
Hence, stress might be beneficial for individuals in some situations, only if it is managed tactfully and well defined within its acceptable zone.
Benefits of Identifying and managing stress in time:
If stress isn’t managed within time & its acceptable limit zone is not defined, it will have an adverse impact on one’s mind and body create dissatisfaction &discontent in the mind and anxiety.
If stress is beyond manageable limits it may become chronic and have many repercussions on one’s health.
Some of the ill repercussions owing to stress may be in any of the below forms:
Mental repercussions:
- Feeling or state of continued dissatisfaction in all the spheres
- Low self-confidence & Self esteem
- Anxiety
- Irritation
- Intolerance
- Insomnia
- Mood Swings
- Panic attacks
- Perplexity in thoughts, etc.
Physical repercussions:
- Headache
- Breathing problems
- Indigestion
- Muscle pain
- Hair fall (in extreme conditions)
- Fertility problems
- Spike or fall in Blood pressure levels
- Sweating, etc.
Creative strategies to cope with stress at office:
As stated earlier too that stress is an unavoidable situation and everybody has experienced stress in their lives for sure, it’s just the degree of stress that one experiences in life and the manner of managing such stress.
It’s okay to experience stress in life as long as the limit to its acceptability is defined, the moment stress crosses that defined acceptable limit there is a need to put a check to that state so that it does not harm one’s health.
Office spaces are full of stressful conditions and these stressful conditions need to be battled effectively to survive in the office, grow in the profession, complete tasks successfully and most above them all to have a sound and healthy mind. Stress though up to a certain limit might foster a sense of healthy competition amongst the employees to perform well and grow professionally, but excessive stress at the office can lead to reduced work efficiency, tolerance limit and may have ill effects on one’s career in the long run.
It is a proven fact that excessive stress has a negative impact on personal lives as well which can mess one’s relationships with family.
People suffering from high stress levels develop low confidence levels, low self-esteem, introverted nature and usually always look for temporary solutions to get rid of this condition. People may start consuming alcohol, drugs, and many more like substances that may lead them to death in the end.
Therefore there is a need to focus on certain practical ways that help one to cope with this stressful office condition.
Simple practical stress management techniques that actually work:
Firstly before searching out how to reduce stress & tension or effective stress management techniques out rightly, there is a need to understand all the facets and aspects of the problems that are intended to solve.
Therefore Firstly,
- Make a list of situations when one experienced stress of high order in life and of the ill consequences it had on one’s health and body.
- All the experiences under that stressful situation must be noted, for eg. some people may start to sweat during stressful condition or some might start to feel a headache.
- This will give you an idea that once your body starts sweating or head starts aching you are experiencing stress.
- All these previous experiences could be used as a guide to your future course of actions. For eg. In a meeting you had a difficult conversation with your boss that made you anxious and you start sweating or your head starts aching. Now if you’ve made a note of these experiences while you were anxious, this will help you in gauging your stress levels in better manner.
- You may also make a strategy to cope your stress such as wearing a comfortable cool dress that doesn’t make you feel more hot or taking some headache preventing medicine well in advance.
- The main logic behind this strategy is that we tend to get anxious when we are unable to understand that what is happening to our body under stress and that tends to scare us and makes us lose our control, so always understand the body signs that you tend to get when you are under stress to cope it tactfully.
- Also, understand that these stressful situations are not permanent they will definitely go away with time, but we need to understand that our body is important for us and our families so we need to keep ourselves safe and sound at least for them, always keep in mind tough situations don’t last forever but tough people really do.
- Always think of situations where you performed exceptionally well, and always think of your core area that you’re confident in, it’s okay to not be equally good at all the other things.
Now there are certain proven techniques that have helped me in coping with stress effectively, just have a look around them and give it a try also share your experiences with me through my email id.
Some fun ways to relieve stress at work:
1. Meditation: It definitely works for sure, initially I had some doubts about this technique but in the long run it will work for sure. I know you’ve heard of this before and might have tried this as well but trust me just make it a routine at least for 10 minutes a day preferably in the early morning in the fresh air and see the difference in the working of your mind in just 1 month.
The reason meditation might not have helped you out earlier is because you must know exactly the right Yoya-Asana that needs to be done and at the right time.
There have been many live examples in India that prove that doing the right Yoga consistently sharpened their minds and have made them prove their mark worldwide. This will definitely help you to maintain your good health and keep you young.
2. Instincts Writing: Do you feel confused when somebody asks you that what exactly do you feel when you are low or when you are happy?
If yes try this for sure-Write, Write & Write about the things that you feel when you are low in life or when you are feeling extremely happy. This is the best piece of advice I have to offer to all the stressed people. Often in our daily routine, we tend to forget ourselves, and going away from ourselves is a highly undesirable and dissatisfying situation, you will eventually get lost if you don’t get a hold of your life.
It is a sad reality in life that we usually turn outwards to find out solutions for things that run within us, it is a very wise choice to consult a psychologist when confronted with concerned situations but try and understand who can understand you more than you yourself? We often fail to acknowledge our own feelings that we go through verbally upon being asked by someone else. But understand we do know that what is going on within us and what are we feeling, it’s simply we need to acknowledge it to find a concrete solution or an action plan for the same.
Making a habit to write about your feelings whenever you feel like, when sitting in solitude and in a place that you like the most, preferably on a hill amid a cool breeze will help you to get closer to yourself and find out the most optimal solution to your problem.
Also Read: Follow your heart and turn it into your profession, know how?
3. Doing things that you like to do: Doing things that you like to do in your life whenever you are stressed will help you to get rid of stress in a better manner. But understand things that you like to do should be legal, ethical, and not harmful to yourself or the people around you.
It actually works, whenever you are stressed just think of doing things that you like and even the thought of it will help you counter stress. Some may like to eat whenever they are stressed, some may like to drink a cup of coffee, and some may like to talk to their loved ones, Whatever it may be just try doing things that you like to do may it be cooking, running, cycling, eating, sleeping or anything it will help for sure.
4. Keeping Stress buster small items at office place that really work: A proven and self-practice technique. Stressed at work?? Try keeping some below items at your work desk and see the change, you will cope with your stress very successfully and effectively.
You must try it and recommend it to your loved ones as well.
- Essential Oils- Aromatherapy helps to keep your mind fresh and calm whenever you are experiencing stress. Some of the great flavors are Lavender, lemon, jasmine, lemongrass, etc.
2. Acupressure foot mat: Acupressure foot mats help to relieve your stress as it helps to trigger your foot pressure points and relax you.
3. Portable massagers: Keeping a small portable massager at office will help you relax whenever you are stressed, and once you feel relaxed you ready to take on all those challenges in a better healthy manner.
4. Fidget Spinner: I have personally tried keeping this at the office, and I usually use it whenever I have to form any decision with a mug of my favorite coffee. It really works for me and will work for you as well.
5. Chamomile tea: Drinking Chamomile tea whenever you feel stressed will make you feel fresh and will help in releasing good hormones in your body to take on those challenges with more bravery. Nothing could be more relaxing than having chamomile tea in your favorite tea mug.
6. Scalp Massager: Keeping a scalp massager with you all the time is a great way to relax anywhere anytime, I have been using this for pretty long now. Whenever I need to think and decide upon anything creative I use a scalp massager to relax me and also use almond oil or camphor oil to massage my scalp. I feel really relaxed, you must give it a try for sure thank me later.
7. Mini bowling game: I personally recommend keeping this small mini-bowling game at the office desk, it simply looks so cool that once you look at it and forget about your worries. Play it during your office breaks and feel recharged and relaxed. Try it looks so amazing.
8. Attractive photo frame: Just keep a photograph of your loved ones at your desk in an attractive photo frame, and simply look at it whenever stressed and understand that there are people that love you a lot and you mean an entire world to them. They are really proud of what you do. It will motivate you and keep you energized as you will work hard for them in challenging times at the office as well.
That is all I have to share with you amazing people, understand that you are unique and you can overcome all your problems just take care of yourself and all things will take care of you.
Please send me your reviews through: Suraj@writeyouth.com also please send me your suggestions.
