Do you feel anxious while working? Are you feeling that you work too much, and you simply do not feel happy? Are you afraid of losing your job? If the stress from your job is starting to seep to other areas of your life, then it must be time for a change. If you found yourself in the statements I’ve mentioned above, I have to tell you that even though a little bit of stress is natural, and it occurs daily only to remind us of important things in life, a lot of it can have devastating effects on both our mental and physical health. Understanding the importance of such a problem can give you enough time to start repairing things immediately, as stress will negatively influence everything you do.
How Can Stress Affect You?
Not only will stress affect how your work, but your normal emotional responses will suffer as well. This is when you need to consult with others in order to see how you can reduce your levels of stress and cross that fine line so that you can turn it into a motivational factor. Naturally, nobody knows all the secret ways how you can calm yourself and reduce stress, it is something that is specific to a particular individual, but following a general rule, which applies that you should increase your level of comfort or simply stay in your “safety zone” such as your home, will help.
You Are Important
First thing you have to do in order to be prepared for everything life throws at you is to take care of yourself. This includes all kinds of small changes that can gradually increase the quality of your life and give your more energy overall. This includes having a regular sleeping cycle, since without it, nothing help you. An average person needs around 7 to 8 hours of continuous sleep each day in order to feel good and function properly. This will keep your body, and your mind, well rested and ready for any kind of action. While it is still not a completely understood process, we are all aware how essential it is for our health.
Make sure you have plenty of physical activity. Going to the gym is not the only way of achieving that, although it is recommended. Breaking a sweat from time to time can be good for you, and just 20 minutes of intense physical activity will keep you safe from cardiovascular diseases, and it can even help you ward off depression. In addition to that, pay attention to what you are eating, try and lower your consumption of fatty and sugary foods. Although sugars will give you an instant rise in energy levels, they will soon drop, and you will crave even more food. Consult a nutrition, since any individual has different needs, and create a balanced diet that will keep you healthy.
Confront the Source
At work, try and confront the thing that causes you stress. Talk to your supervisors, and if you feel like you are being deliberately put under a lot of pressure, you might be a victim of workplace harassment. You might want to talk and explain your problem and ask for your workload to be reduced until everything is settled in your life, or simply try to reduce it yourself by organizing and prioritizing your tasks. Maybe the things are not as important as they might seem, so it would probably help if you’d create a schedule where you can postpone lower-priority tasks. This kind of organization might help you with other aspects of your life. Create time for your family, friends, and your “me” time, since without a clear schedule, people will try to adjust your time instead of you.
Create realistic goals, and know what to expect, as sometimes, people feel unaccomplished simply because they failed to succeed at something that was doomed from the start. If you do have a bigger plan in mind, divide it into smaller stages so that you can feel the personal sense of accomplishment each step of the way. The cleaner and more realistic the plan is, the better you will feel about yourself.
If Everything Else Fails – Walk Away
If you think that despite all your efforts, your workplace is still a place where you do not feel comfortable working at, maybe you should do what is best for you and simply quit. While this tip is not exactly the best way of dealing with stress at a workplace, and in this economic climate, it can be quite hard to find another job, sometimes it is best to simply walk away from stressful situations, especially those you cannot change. Remember to ask your family and friends for help, but don’t hesitate to look for professional help either. You never know where the solution is hidden, but focusing on positive things will give you a clearer view and will encourage you to move on with your life.
Ivan Dimitrijevic is a founder of MyCity-Web and is an Online Marketing expert, entrepreneur and a family man, with a diverse set of skills. Ivan is also an experienced blogger, writing being one of his first passions, focused on effective strategies for small business growth, and he likes to share experiences with other entrepreneurs online.
