Crushing fatigue, difficulty sleeping and body aches motivated Pat to see her doctor. After examining her, he gave her a clean bill of health. A few weeks later, her first panic attacks totally rattled her. She was a new teacher, teaching 30 first graders when she felt her heart race, knees wobble and hands tremble. “I felt like I might pass out,” she later stated.
Whisked to emergency, the doctor could find nothing wrong, but suggested Pat learn how to handle her stress better. She reflected, “That is when I began to seriously study the nuanced ways in which stress can lead to burnout.”
The new economy is fast paced and demanding. Easily distracted by the work, deadlines and personalities, we often neglect to pursue even the most basic self-care such as, exercise, a healthy diet, rest and recreation. We put ourselves last on the TO DO list.
Compromising our health, however, can lead to additional problems.
Want to better control your workplace experience and have regular energy to fulfill your personal and professional duties?
Here are some effective tools to manage stress—mind, body and soul.
Commit to Self-Advocacy
We tend to handle stress poorly in America. Ignoring its symptoms, many of us feel the more we do, the more we are worth in the eyes of the workplace. Realize however, exposure to toxic stress, over time, can debilitate you. Depression, bodily aches and pains, insomnia, hypertension and even some cancers are correlated to it. We are 100% responsible for developing a plan to protect our energy and health. In my book, “The ABCs of an A+ Workplace,” I help readers create their own unique plans to combat workplace stress.
Live Your Values
What stirs you? Angers you? What do you frequently talk about? These clues point to your core values. Employees are most happy when they feel they are making a difference at work. If gossip around the watercooler really disturbs you, what stand can you take? How can you improve the quality of goods and services? How can you wisely address issues that promote professionalism at your worksite? Where can you find advocates? Believe it or not, expressing your value system, even in a limited way, at work can reenergize you, reduce stress, and build dignity within the work culture.
Celebrate Your Wins
When the boss recognizes your achievements, it feels great, but in the end, you are your best support. Accolades from others are inconsistent. Self-advocacy, on the other hand, requires you access your emotional needs and find ways to support yourself. Are you regularly rewarding yourself for doing hard things or simply getting through a rough day?
You deserve recognition!
One exercise I suggest to my clients is…