Work-Related Stress - Reduce Small Business Stress
Whatever your work demands, there are steps you can take to protect yourself from the damaging effects of stress, improve your job satisfaction, and bolster your well-being on and off the job.
When is workplace stress too much?
Stress isn’t always bad. A little bit of stress can help you stay focused, energetic, and able to meet new challenges in the workplace. It’s what keeps you on your toes during a presentation or alert to prevent accidents or costly mistakes. But in today’s hectic world, the workplace too often seems like an emotional roller coaster. Long hours, tight deadlines, and ever-increasing demands can leave you feeling worried, drained, and overwhelmed. And when stress exceeds your ability to cope, it stops being helpful and starts causing damage to your mind and body—as well as to your job satisfaction.
You can’t control everything in your work environment, but that doesn’t mean you’re powerless, even when you’re stuck in a difficult situation. If stress on the job is interfering with your work performance, health, or personal life, it’s time to take action. No matter what you do for a living, what your ambitions are, or how stressful your job is, there are plenty of things you can do to reduce your overall stress levels and regain a sense of control at work.
Common causes of workplace stress include:
Fear of being laid off
More overtime due to staff cutbacks
Pressure to perform to meet rising expectations but with no increase in job satisfaction
Pressure to work at optimum levels—all the time!
Lack of control over how you do your work
Stress at work warning signs
When you feel overwhelmed at work, you lose confidence and may become angry, irritable, or withdrawn. Other signs and symptoms of excessive stress at work include:
Feeling anxious, irritable, or depressed
Apathy, loss of interest in work
Problems sleeping
Fatigue
Trouble concentrating
Muscle tension or headaches
Stomach problems
Social withdrawal
Loss of sex drive
Using alcohol or drugs to cope
Stress isn’t always bad. In small doses, it can help you perform under pressure and motivate you to do your best. But when you’re constantly running in emergency mode, your mind and body pay the price. If you frequently find yourself feeling frazzled and overwhelmed, it’s time to take action to bring your nervous system back into balance. You can protect yourself by making sure you eat three or four healthy meals a day, starting with breakfast which will slowly release energy throughout the morning and keep you feeling awake. Start your day with some exercise; it could be anything from a brisk walk, a swim, a visit to the gym or even some exercises at home. It will give you that extra kickstart of energy that you need to carry you through the day. You should also try and avoid sugary drinks and caffeine.
Stress is a physical response to events that make you feel threatened or upset your balance in some way. When you sense danger, whether it’s real or imagined, the body's defences kick into high gear in a rapid, automatic process known as the ‘fight-or-flight’ reaction or the stress response. Recognise the signs and symptoms of stress and take steps to reduce its harmful effects. The stress response is the body’s way of protecting you. When working properly, it helps you stay focused, energetic and alert. Emergencies, stress can save your life, giving you extra strength to defend yourself. The stress response also helps you rise to meet challenges. Stress is what keeps you on your toes during a presentation at work ,sharpens your concentration or drives you to study for an exam. But beyond a certain point, stress stops being helpful and starts causing major damage to your health, and your mood.
Through Stress Hypnotherapy, NLP and coaching, we can help you manage stressful situations in a more positive, confident and calm manner. We work with the ‘unconscious’ part of your mind to change automatic responses to stressful triggers, so you can think, feel and behave differently in these situations. The deep relaxation experienced through Stress Management Hypnotherapy and stress coaching greatly reduces stress and improves mood.
