Take a moment to sit and recognise the signs that you are stressed. For some this might mean racing thoughts and the feeling that everything needs to be done RIGHT NOW, and that everything is a priority. Maybe you have noticed some hair loss, or that your skin is greyer or duller, or that you have been experiencing stomach cramps. The signs of stress can be physical as well as mental and emotional, and can misdirect us as to the cause of the problem. In some cases it can even lead us to worry that something may be medically wrong, which adds to the stress.
Keep a mood diary (there are apps, stylish paper versions and free templates on line), to track how you are feeling day to day, and see if there is a pattern to how often you feel stressed.
Once you have worked out what stress feels like to you, and you have been tracking it for a little while, you may start to see patterns as to what proceeds feeling stressed. It could be that you feel stressed for short periods of time leading up to an event or deadline, or for longer sustained periods where you are experiencing a number of things to deal with such as a death or illness in the family.
Noting what brings on feelings of stress will give you a place to start when finding ways to alleviate stress.
Once you know what signs to look for and what your stressors are, you can try coping techniques when you can feel that you are stressed. It can take time to figure out what works for you, here are some things to try:
The Stress Management Society website has lots of ideas.
When you are stressed it is easy to focus on how much needs to be done and when for, but make sure to notice every time you have accomplished a task and congratulate yourself. You can do this mentally, or if you find you don’t remember write them down. This way, as you take things off your to-do list, you grow your list of accomplishments for the day.
Making sure we are healthy can support our mental health, not only because it’s one less thing to worry about, but eating right and exercising helps the blood flow to the brain and ensure our thoughts aren’t foggy.
If you find you are becoming stressed at work, take a look at the current situation and consider what would need to change to alleviate the stress. This may be things you can do yourself, or things that you can discuss with your manager and Occupational Health.
Workplace stress can come from a number of different places, such as feeling overloaded or feeling you don’t have a work/life balance, or that you aren’t supported.
Workplace stressor: “My workload is too heavy”
Strategies:
Workplace stressor: “I don’t have time or space outside of work”
Strategies:
Workplace stressor: “I do not feel supported”
Strategies:
