How To Manage Stress In A Workplace – Every year April is Stress Awareness Month and functions as a time for people to be made aware of the dangers of stress in the workplace and at home. However, stress is a problem for many people throughout the year, which means it needs to be addressed throughout the year, not just in April. A build-up of chronic stress in your life can have long-lasting effects on your physical and mental health, including:
- High blood pressure
- Heart disease
- Digestive issues
- Onset or worsening of conditions such as depression or anxiety
- Skin conditions and thinning hair
- Chronic headaches
- Insomnia or difficulty sleeping
- Increased risk of obesity
The best way to avoid these adverse effects is to take steps to mitigate the amount of unnecessary stress in your life, such as speaking with one of the expert counsellors at Horizon Plymouth. Although it’s impossible to live a life completely devoid of any stress, there are ways to decrease the levels that you experience, as well as to better manage the unavoidable stress in certain areas of your life. One place where many people carry extra worries and mental load is at work, where today’s fast-paced world can make managing a work-life balance a challenge. However, there are certain steps that you can take to help decrease and manage stress at work. These are five things that Horizon Plymouth therapists often recommend to clients who are struggling to mitigate the negative effects that their work has on their personal life and mental health.
- Set boundaries with yourself and others: Setting boundaries can be a good way to draw a line between your work life and personal life. While this includes ensuring that your coworkers know that you will not be working during your off time, it also means drawing that line with yourself as well. Turn off email or work-related notifications on your phone and allow yourself to truly disconnect.
- Delegate tasks: Many people find themselves saying “yes” to every work request, resulting in a huge pile-up of work that feels as though it will crush them. Don’t feel bad for asking for help and delegating tasks in order to get out from under this pile-up—your mental health is at stake!
- Use relaxation techniques: Sometimes a stressful situation creeps up on you and catches you unawares. Learning several relaxation techniques such as mindfulness or deep breathing gives you strategies that you can employ in the moment to help mitigate the stress caused by these “sneak attacks.”
- Discover your stressors: Certain people react differently to different things. While one person may be able to have seven meetings in one day, another might become overwhelmed by that pace but instead, be able to handle a much larger workload. Spending time discovering what makes you overwhelmed can help you to manage your work and boundaries more efficiently.
- Build in breaks: It may seem like a small thing but building in breaks such as a quick walk outside in the middle of your day or a fifteen-minute span with a good book can work wonders when it comes to resetting your stress levels and giving you a more positive outlook.
If you are experiencing excessive amounts of stress in your life, one of the best things you can do to start promoting a more positive mental state is to speak with a counsellor. Although the tips listed above are certainly helpful when it comes to getting your stress load under control, they are not a one-size-fits-all approach, and sometimes the best thing to do is seek the advice of a trained counsellor, who can help you analyse the elements of your life that might be causing you undue tension and offer suggestions that are individualised and unique to your own circumstances. If this sounds like you and you would like to take steps towards a more healthy, less stressed physical and mental state, contact Horizon Plymouth to set up your initial consultation today!