Stress is the condition that results when person-environment transactions lead the individual to perceive a discrepancy, whether real or not, between the demands of a situation and the resources of the person's biological, psychological or social systems. It is the "wear and tear" our bodies experience as we adjust to our continually changing environment; it has physical and emotional effects on us and can create positive or negative feelings.
Usually, stress is one of those things that can't be seen, but you know it's there. It's sort of like an evil entity that attacks the body and mind. You get the aches and pains, right? I think it's safe to say that we all do at times. For some of us it is much worse than it is for others. Maybe it's connected to work, or possibly related to your home life. Some folks even inherit high stress levels. Pretty much everything is genetic we're finding out. And then there's stress relieving. But, how is this done? Well, this really depends on you and what you prefer. There are several routes to stress reduction.
As a part of my experience, I have been a social worker for many years. I know that the course of my career I have worked with various groups of people needs assistance. My formal training is working with youth and families, so this is where the focus of my career has been. I was not working as a social worker very long before I realized that I needed to find a stress relief for myself to remain effective in my job.
Particularly, working with people in general can be stress producing and when you add in mental health and domestic violence issues as well as chemical dependency the amount of stress goes way up. One of the things that I was doing with families was helping them find stress relief, yet I knew that if I did not accomplish this myself first I would not be able to teach others.
You can find so many books, programs and audio tapes available that focus on stress relief. Many are very good, but they are also time consuming. I found that trying to fit in the programming to relief my stress was causing me even more anxiety. I went to a conference that had several break out sessions. One of the sessions was on stress relief. The presenter had great ideas of simple things that can be done in a few minutes throughout the day to help relieve stress from building up. One of the first things he started talking about was breathing. I had heard about deep breathing in the past, but the way he presented this concept and the exercises he showed us were very helpful. Breathing is something that we do all the time and learning to breathe properly can be accomplished in minutes. I find that when I am getting stressed I take shallow breaths and also hold my breath. Remembering to take a few deep breaths and hold them in and blow them out has an amazing calming effect. I have used this technique with children and parents as we are sitting outside of the courtroom waiting to go into family court. One day one of the public defenders heard me remind his client to take some deep breaths as we were going into the courtroom. The attorney told me after the hearing that he did this also and was amazed at the stress relief he experienced. There are many things that we can do during the day to reduce stress. Sometimes simply getting out of your chair and pacing or walking to a vending machine for coffee will help clear your mind and acts as stress relief.
In fact, vitamins is one of the most common dismissed answers if you have stress. You can take a multivitamin each day and it does aid with your stress issues. We all require daily nutrients that assist our body's recovery. I have been doing this since the age of 18, which adds up to over a decade now. And in all honesty, I feel little stress in my life. Relaxation is another secret in relieving stress. Just when you begin to stress-out about something, STOP. Relax and take your emotions to a different place. Stressing-out solves nothing. It's like worrying. Nothing great comes from it. All these things do is throw off your game so that you miss stuff that's really there. Calm down. I will offer a few ways you can do this and get that stress relieving game in full motion. Number one; try a massage therapist. This is something every human being should indulge in from time to time. It helps greatly with your body's circulation and it pulls much of the tension from your aching muscles. I fully admit that I would like a massage daily. Number two; get the proper amount of sleep each and ever night. This is essential. Your following day with be so much better. And number three; try meditation. This is one of the most outstanding ways to clear your mind of pollutants such as stress and chaos at work. Try a beginner's course for fun.
We all know that, the body’s natural relaxation response is a powerful antidote to stress. Relaxation techniques such as deep breathing, visualization, progressive muscle relaxation, meditation, and yoga can help you activate this relaxation response. When practiced regularly, these activities lead to a reduction in your everyday stress levels. What’s more, they also serve a protective quality by teaching you how to stay calm and collected in the face of life’s curve balls.
Literally, it's imperative that we don't allow stress to rule our lives. Whether it takes stress relieving via massage therapy or meditation, we must strive to keep it away. Life is so much better and richer without this irksome burden. Live stress-free.
Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com
Stress is present in everyone's life. For information on how to finally get some stress relief in your life, please visit our web site.
Please Rate this Article
Reducing stress in the workplace is the key to happier employees. Happier employees equal productivity, which equals fewer industrial accidents. Most people view accidents as just that — accidents. But in a study of 164 disability patients, 25 percent who suffered a work-related injury had reduced stress levels after the accident (based on the Holmes-Rahe scale). This happened because the accident had removed them from the stress of their jobs. It was then theorized that the accidents may have been a misguided coping effort to alleviate stress. If this is true, it elevates the importance of reducing work-related stress before accidents occur.
A poll by the Together Organization shows that half of all employees surveyed think workplace stress is a serious problem. The poll also finds that 40 percent of workers believe that their jobs will suffer if their employers hear they are stressed on the job. One in four workers revealed that they are aware of a colleague whose mental wellbeing and career has suffered as a result of stress in the workplace.
Over half of employees feel that their employer does not fully recognize the extent of workplace stress, and does not have adequate procedures in place to manage stress-related problems. A majority said that there was a need for other organizations to work with employers to provide specialist support.
It should be our goal at the end of the day to say, “Good day, fine, got it done, no stress.” But this is very difficult to achieve. Job stress comes in many forms:
•Too much work
•Conflicts with co-workers
•Difficulties with your boss
•Boring work
•Irate customers
•Too many responsibilities
These are just some of the ways we become stressed with our jobs. Identifying where job stress initially develops is the beginning to resolving the stress issue itself. Many stress issues at work may be more personal or triggered from within oneself.
Ask yourself the following questions. How well am I coping with:
•Productivity and efficiency on the job?
•My closest coworkers and my company as a whole?
•Communicating necessary information to other professionals?
•Change, in regards to position, schedule, or otherwise?
•Finding meaning and purpose in my work?
•Refueling my energy: physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually?
Being satisfied and content on the job calms our inner personal stress.
Common job stressors lead to low productivity. Here are some suggestions for reducing the most common causes of job stress.
1.Avoid commuter issues — If you have a two-hour drive to work each day, chances are you are already stressed when you arrive at the office. Most people feel driving is a waste of time, and in a society where we schedule our activities by the hour, the time wasted getting from point A to point B can make us anxious and frustrated, especially if we are continually fighting heavy traffic.
2.Look into the possibility of working from your home or consider finding a job closer to home. Carpool with co-workers or inquire about changing your working hours to avoid peak traffic hours.
3.Listen to books on tape or CD, or play relaxing music in your car during your commute. Another option is to take public transportation, leaving the stress of traffic to someone else.
4.Talk to your boss — Keeping open lines of communication will give you both a clearer understanding of what is expected of each of you. Discuss:
•Job performance and if you are meeting the expectations of the company.
•Areas you might need to improve on.
•Raises and incentives.
•The future of the company and how you fit in to long-term plans.
•Lightening your work load if you feel you are taking on too much.
•Other job opportunities for you within the company.
5.Turn it off — Cell phones, PDAs, and computers: yuck! What happened to the eight-hour workday? These modern marvels that, when introduced, proclaimed they would make our lives more efficient and give us more free time have done just the opposite and tied us to our jobs twenty-four hours a day. Here are some examples on how to cut the ties.
•Cell phone — the world won’t end: turn it off.
•PDA — the world won’t end: turn it off.
•Computer — the world won’t end: turn it off.
Can this be clearer? We have thirty minutes or maybe an hour for a lunch break. Yet we carry these electronics with us so we don’t miss a thing. But what we are really missing is our only break in the workday. Instead of multitasking with a sandwich in one hand and a keypad in the other, turn it off and enjoy the wonderful taste of a good meal. You may be surprised at how relaxing eating can be.
6.Leave your job at the office by making an effort to clear your mind of everything related to work and go home with a fresh attitude to greet your family. If work weighs heavy on your mind, even after you leave the office and during your drive home, or if traffic was brutal on the way home, try pulling the car over to the curb and take a quiet moment to relax your mind just before you reach your home. It only takes a few moments to calm your thoughts. Then when you do walk in the door, your thoughts can be directed at your family, not your job.
If you can’t resolve your stress issue at work — if you are truly miserable — it may be time to think about changing jobs. Is there a job you would be happier doing?
Don’t quit your job while you are seeking different employment. Keep your existing job until you are sure you have a new one established. There could be more stress being unemployed than there was at the job you abruptly quit.
Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com
To learn more ways to live a stress free life, visit AStressFreeLife.blogspot.com.Carol Denbow is business start-up expert and a three-time award winning author. Her third book, Stress Relief for the Working Stiff, How to Reverse the Embalming Effect is considered by experts to be the most comprehensive and useful stress relief book available today. Visit Carol’s website at www.BooksByDenbow.Weebly.com/stress-books.html to meet “Frank” the lovable “stressed out” character!
