Need advice for stress management strategies

emgracewrites

Need advice. Work stress is really getting to me this week, and it looks like next week is going to be even crazier. My response lately has been to graze on junk food all day, and then I’m not hungry for actual balanced meals. Looking for a more healthy response?

RockOn66

Find a quite place. Use some guided meditation (an app like Insight Timer is great and free). For immediate relief try some deep breathing exercises which can be done at your desk.

Lietchi

I use cardio as stress relief (running in my case). I find walking very relaxing too.
A nice long bath is lovely as well.
And I avoid certain TV shows and series when I'm stressed (fast paced quiz shows for example), because I know from experience they only make me more agitated.

AnnPT77

Meditation breaks, if you're doing the junk food eating at work. Just taking 1-2 minutes to relax, breath deeply/slowly, pay attention to how the breathing feels, a few times a day - that can help.

If you can walk occasionally, that may help - some people take their bathroom break at a more distant restroom in their workplace, just to get some steps in.

Stretch: You can do this seated, while doing some work tasks, even. Stretch out one leg at a time to feel the stretch, rotate the ankle and knee; put your hand behind your neck and use the opposite hand to gently push downward on the elbow to gently stretch your shoulders; do neck stretches to front, sides; etc. Do a web search for "desk stretches".

Prepare yourself by bringing more nutrition-dense snacks to work, then nosh on those instead of whatever you're eating now. Even salty things like crispy chickpeas or dry-roasted soybeans are more nutrient-dense for the calories than potato or corn chips. Even sweet things like fruit are more nutrient-dense than candy bars. (Dried fruit is good, but easy to over-eat. When I use dried fruit as a snack, I sip water alongside, take small bites, and chew it thoroughly, which helps it be more quickly sating.) If part of your junk food intake is sweet drinks, consider flavored sparkling water, zero-calorie soda/pop, herb tea (cold or hot), coffee with reduced-calorie flavored syrups, or something like that.)

emgracewrites

Thanks for the advice. I’ll definitely have to try some of the meditation/breathing exercises because I just got even more added to my plate for next week 😵‍💫

metaphysicalstudio

I hear you! Gaining tools to deal with stress is very important. A lot of it for me, has been experimenting with what works and doesn't. Sometimes what works will be situational, so learning to be flexible and adaptable is very key. Finally, I would say that sometimes feeling the stress rather than always running from it is good practice. I say this because running away or avoiding a difficult thing all the time has created more problems for me than it has solved.

Xellercin

Therapy. High quality therapy is by far the most efficient way to build expert level coping skills.

You can learn a lot in finding your own resources, but I would go the easy route with a 6-12 week course of weekly therapy to save on time and energy.

suzannehegarty

As a fast way to destress just find a quiet place. Close your eyes breath in for 7 seconds and breath out for 11 seconds. Do this for 3 to 4 minutes a few times a day. It really reduces your blood pressure. Watch it on your fit bit and see it come down.
I do that breathing/ counting exercise sometimes if I wake with anxiety as well.
At lunchtime get out for a walk studies show that it makes you a more productive employee in the afternoon than sitting at your desk eating lunch and continuing to work and get more stressed.

JBanx256

Can you pack your meals and snacks? I personally bring a small cooler with meals/snacks/etc in it for all of my work shifts. Do I get tempted by the junk food in the lounge or when co-workers invite me out to go pick up food somewhere? Yeah, of course, but I just don't let myself do it (unless it's pre-planned like someone's birthday or something). If I get snacky, I always have gum on hand as well as those water flavor packets (Skittles makes some. Seriously, it's like drinking candy, but only 5 calories).

katemcd495

I'm all about walking for stress relief. No music, no audio books, no podcasts. Just quiet time to process.

Machka9

I colour. I've got a set of pens and collection of colouring books and I take a few minutes now and then throughout my evenings to colour. I find it relaxing and a time to get away from the computer and switch off most of my brain.

I also walk my cat when I get home from work. It's dark when I get home (winter here), but he wants to go out, so I pop his harness and leash on and let him lead me around the yard. The walk involves just standing for a while and observing the yard and neighbourhood, and then dashing to the next viewing point to stand for a while. After a very busy day, just standing out there in the dark and quiet is really relaxing.

At lunch, I walk. Plus I bring my own lunch which takes 3 minutes to heat up.

HoneyBadger302

A critical task list was essential for me reducing my stress (personal and professional). If work was getting bad, at the end of the day I would take 5-10 minutes and write down 3-5 critical things I needed to do the next day. Limit the list to no more than 5, and be specific - if you need time to clean up an inbox, set a time limit and a timer.

I also sit down every morning at home and write a "personal" critical task list for that day, making sure at least 2/3 of the items are touches on my bigger goals (ideally all of them are towards those bigger goals, but some days there's just other stuff that needs to get done).

They don't need to be big things, and once I complete the list I have "won" that day. If there is more time, then I can move on to other items, but I know the most important things were touched/handled/moved in the right direction.

Probably doesn't work for everyone, but it has literally transformed my life the past 9 months.

Unknown

This content has been removed.