Working Too Hard? Is It Causing You Stress?

Are you stressed? Are you a workaholic who makes overtime seem like a regular part of the job?

In today’s society pressures are high, work is immediate and fast paced. Many people have demanding and high pressure stressful jobs, they always have to be on the go and prepared for any eventuality. Due to this they often have an increased intake of sugar and caffeine to ensure that they can do the work of ten people; increased or loss of appetite due to lack of time for eating; have high cholesterol levels because they don’t have the time to ensure that they have a healthy diet and of course, feelings of anxiety when they’re worrying about the outcome of a job or project.

(Phew exhausted just listing this stress!)

Amazingly, there are still many people who are unaware that they are already really stressed out and greatly in need of relief from it as soon as possible.

Or, there are some who refuse to acknowledge that they are badly in need of relief from their stress.

If you’re unsure of what I mean, let me give you some examples of symptoms that are commonly associated with stress:

• Are you bothered with insomnia
• Aching muscles?
• Do you have no time to exercise?
• Do you have no time?
• Do you become ill on the first days of your holiday?
• Do you suffer from headaches or migraines?
• Is your mood often low or even feelings of depression?
• Do you suffer from a weakened immune system?
• Is your weight out of your control either in weight gain or loss?

If any of this describes you, then YES, you are already experiencing stress and YES you need relief from it right away.

Here are a couple of stress management tools you can use to alleviate some of your pressure.

Firstly, you need to enrich, enhance and improve your time management skills. Yep you’re probably “running yourself ragged”.

With better time management, you’ll be able to give the proper amount of attention to yourself, the type of food you eat and the time you allow yourself to actually sit down and eat it (away from your desk), ultimately relaxing for a moment while you eat.

Eating consciously, enjoying your food and not just shovelling it in as quick as possible. Eat away from your work environment, go to the staff canteen or a local cafe, just change your scene.    

Secondly, take some time out and take a moment to breathe. I know you’ll be thinking, “don’t I always breathe?” Yes, of course you do, but what I’m talking about is conscious breathing, being aware of the breath going in and then out.

Let’s try it now –

Take a deep breath in through your nose and follow it, trace the path your breath is taking.

Now release it out through your mouth, feel it being expelled.

Repeat this as above x2.

And again, take a breath in and follow it as before, all the way down into your lungs but this time count the number 1 in your head, and as you expel count 2.

Continue this until you reach 10. Really concentrating on the feeling of your breath going in and out of your body.

     

Try and incorporate these 2 changes in your day and not only will it provide you with stress relief, it will also take you off the candidate list for heart attack, high blood pressure and diabetes, among other scary diseases.

If there are any questions about how to manage your stress, or anything else that you would like to discuss, please don’t hesitate to get in touch – amanda@hunkydorylife.co.uk