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2016 is turning out to be quite a tough year isn’t it? So far we’ve faced Zika outbreaks, global conflicts, Brexit, and election fatigue. Both Prince and David Bowie gone. And those are just some of the larger issues we’ve faced — none of the everyday stresses of life like working, childcare, maintaining relationships, and staying healthy.
Stress is complex and varied. According to the American Psychological Association, some stress can be positive — motivating you towards peak performance, like during job interviews or athletic competition. Other times it’s a negative force, and can become chronic over a prolonged period of time. An extreme amount of stress can lead to health consequences, affecting the immune, cardiovascular, and central nervous systems, while taking severe emotional tolls. Left untreated, stress can lead to health conditions like anxiety, insomnia, high blood pressure, and muscle pain, and contributes to the development of major illnesses like heart disease, depression, and obesity.
That’s why it’s essential to take the time to mitigate long-term stress to keep both your body and mind healthy. Recently, Salesforce’s employee assistance program, CONCERN led a session on stress management in the workplace. Here are 7 of their tips for reducing your stress levels:
It’s been well established that exercise benefits both your mind as well as your body. 30 minutes a day can decrease the risk of cardiovascular and metabolic disease.
Just like exercise, meditation is beneficial to relaxing your mind and body. In practicing mindfulness through meditation 15-30 minutes a day, you can release the emotions that cause the body stress and maintain personal balance.
Talk it out. Your friends, social networks, families, communities, and trained therapists can help allay stressful situations. Similarly, providing support for other can also be a way to reduce your own stress.
You can’t control and do everything. If you’re feeling overwhelmed at work, learn how to say NO (practice if you need to). Ask for help and explain why you need to set limits. Be prepared to compromise.
Be careful of criticism — both of yourself and others. Recognize everyone’s uniqueness and be willing to forgive yourself and others when errors happen.
Hobbies can be a great source of enjoyment and serve as a way to take your mind off of the things causing stress. Maybe you'll discover a passion for painting, yoga, cooking, or volunteering. Whatever it is, find a hobby that delights you and make some time on a regular basis to enjoy it.
Finding the lighter side of situations can lift the mood for you and those around you. A little laughter is shown to lower cortisol levels (the stress hormone) and even improves memory recall. Laughter releases the tension of pent-up feelings, helps us cope with emotional pain, and keeps perspective of tough situations.
You can’t always predict where stress will come from, but you can actively take steps to prevent burnout and reduce its effects.
