Success Blog

Sometimes your personal circumstances can prevent you from following the career path you planned. It may not be that easy to cope up with stress levels. Follow these tips for handling stressful situations work.

Everyone is under some pressure in the workplace. some external pressures can be appositive factor, helping us to be more productive. Some people actually thrive under short-term added pressure, and our bodies are designed to meet these short-term demands. Hormones including adrenaline are released to prepare us for a fight or flight response to demanding situations. However, excessive and prolonged stress can take its toll, producing a rang of physical and emotional health problems which have come to be grouped as work-related stress.

There is no single cause of work related stress. While stress can be triggered by sudden, unexpected pressures, it is often the result of a combination of stressful factors which accumulate over time. Some people can become so used to the symptoms of excessive stress that it goes unnoticed to their detriment.

Most work-related stress is related to management of work, relationships at work, organizational set-up and whether you feel you have power and control in your work. The experience of stress is different for every person. Some people are affected more than others, so what is stressful for one person may not be stressful for another. It can depend on your personality type an on how you have learned to respond to pressure.

SYMPTOMS OF STRESS AT WORK

Work-related stress can manifest itself as physical and emotional health problems, and as altered ways of behaving at work and at home.

• Wanting to cry much of the time
• Feeling that you can’t cope
• Short temperedness at work and at home
• Feeling that you’ve achieved nothing at the end of the day
• Eating when you’re not hungry losing your appetite
• Smoking and drinking to get you through the day
• Inability to plan, concentrate and control work
• Getting less work done
• Poor relationships with colleagues or clients
• Loss of motivation and commitment

THINGS YOU CAN DO AT WORK

• Face the reality of the situation. Ask yourself what’s happening in your life and, instead of blaming others, look at what you can do to get beyond it.
• Make sure the place that you value most in your life – your home – gets the time, effort and energy it deserves to become a heaven for you. Work on your domestic relationships and create an environment that’s loving and supportive.
• Take time out for yourself and give yourself the things you deserve. Have long, luxuriating baths, go for walks, eat and exercise regularly and treat yourself to a pampering massage or a facial.
• Understand that your energy gets depleted by caring for someone who’s critically ill and needs to be replenished
• Never turn to substance like pills or alcohol. As coping mechanism they’ll only compound the problem
• Get professional help
• Understand that the way you’re feeling is normal and you can’t go through it alone
• Seriously consider leaving the relationship if you’re being abused
• Think very carefully before confiding in your boss. Sometimes this is the best course of action. But if your company has a strictly no personal problems allowed policy, you need to treat carefully
• Focus on that part of your work you really love and enjoy and look forward to. This in itself becomes restorative
• Avoid watching or reading things that distress you. Focus on positive, uplifting input

DEVELOP YOUR COPING SKILLS

If you are cool and calm at home, your work place will be peaceful and atmosphere will be calm. So try these steps to keep you home at peace. Plane ahead – anticipate – prepare for the unexpected – have a plan B, C & D. some events are extremely stressful despite good planning, eg, the Gulf War. Some events are extremely stressful because they threaten our safety. Organize your academic, social and personal life. Establish goals and objectives. Develop time lines for reaching your goals. When you schedule your day, allow time for leisure activities, study breaks and time to do absolutely nothing or indulge your guilty pleasures. Take time to relax – listen to relaxing music, do relaxation exercises, reflect and meditate. Whatever it takes to loosen up.

- Published originally in Bangalore Mirror.