In this world of constant doing and little resting, we often feel pressure for being extra hard on ourselves in order to attain certain goals, innate desire to make our family proud and the expectation to keep up with what everyone else is doing.
This comes with a huge sense of responsibility and decision making, which at times can be overwhelming, leading one to feel burnt out and could even go insane in the membrane when exposed to failure and rejection. Here, some tips for handling work-related stress, and learning how to take better care of your number one asset, you.
1. Relax Before You React
Notice when pulsating sensations are building inside of you, and recognize these triggers as signs to activate your internal pause button. Mentally say ‘pause’ as if you’re reaching for that remote control, and chill for a bit before you respond to anything.
In an argument, take note when your ego rises up to defend its position. A simple awareness of the ego maniac is enough to tame it and send it crawling back into its hiding place.
2. Pay Attention To Your Breathing
Never underestimate the impact of breathing patterns have on psychological well-being. When we’re stressed out, we tend to breathe rapidly that it resembles panting which can lead to panic attacks, or under-breathe where we hold our breath without realising, causing dizziness or hyperventilation.
Always remember to take a deep breath, hold for two seconds, and then release. Repeat at least ten times. Yoga and meditation helps too. You should give it a try, if you’re not into it already.
3. Just Say No, Please
Thinking you are a bad person for saying no is a symptom of ‘the disease to please’. Saying yes when you need to say no causes burnout. You do yourself and the person making the request a disservice by saying yes all of the time. Don’t feel guilty, say it fast and explain briefly why you can’t help the person out. Your coworker or boss will understand.
4. Prioritise Self-Care
It’s easy to neglect taking care of ourselves because when we’re busy and overwhelmed, even a small reprieve feels like a luxury. So actually taking time to repair your mind and soul isn’t slacking off, consider it as a reward. Go on, do something that makes you happy at least once a week.
5. Cut Yourself Some Slack
Stop expecting so much of yourself and lighten up. Even though we all strive for it, perfection is not something that anyone can ever achieve. That’s probably because the only place perfection exists is in the movies, on TV shows, and for fictional characters like the Brady Bunch. It’s okay if you’ve made some mistakes. You’re still a rock star.
6. Have An Outlet
To channel your inner rage, and we don’t mean to a person. Sign up for some arse kicking activities like kickboxing, extreme workout classes, yoga, or even Clash of Clans, whatever speaks to you, as long as you can just zone out and let off some steam. Release all that stress and voilà, you’re a Zen master again.
7. Stay Organised
Like our moms always say, clean your stuff! Although not many people believe it, this is so true. The best way to tackle the decluttering of your home, your work space, and your life is to take things one small step at a time. Combined, small steps will lead to big improvements that will be easier to maintain over the long-run.
8. Don’t Forget To Sleep
Come on, if you don’t sleep, how are you going to reset your brain? Regardless of past habits like burning the midnight oil, you should start committing in getting more ZZZs tonight, as lack of sleep is known to be a major cause of physical and psychological stress.
9. Sticky Notes
In case you forget to relax, breathe or how to de-stress, put up sticky notes somewhere clear and visible enough, like on your desk or screensaver, as a reminder for your future self. Trust us, it works because when you’re feeling all flustered at the office and look up from your laptop to find the notes, you’ll actually be drawn to follow the steps. Gotta thank your past self for helping a sister out!
All in all, stress is good because it tells us that we need to reassess. It’s like when you’re driving a car down the road and all of a sudden a red light on the dash starts blinking. Do you ignore it and keep going, or do you pull over to diagnose the problem, and then figure out how to finish this trip? Think about it. ☺️
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