In past blogs we have focused on many different scenarios of anxiety in the work place. This is just one of those types of things we must combat in the workplace in 2018. Stress lives in our life, both at home and at work. Stress is its own animal and has its own needs to deal with it. How do you deal with a day where stress is hitting you from all sides? I go into some ways that have worked for me and how we need to just take a moment and regather ourselves.

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We have all had them. Days that we are not sure we are going to make it through the day due to an overwhelming amount of stress. That big project is due, the client meeting that defines our career or even just a day where anything that can go wrong does.

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It should not be a surprise to any of us,but we seem to be caught off guard by stress. I’m telling you we’ve all see the signs it was coming. You knew the due date or watched things go haywire all around you. Once stress kicks in we are swallowed by it and watch the world burn around us through our emotions.This leaves us with little choice but to throw up our hands in defeat or fight our way through it.

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All of us as humans are born with fight or flight mode.Its in our nature all the way back to the beginning of time. We either face it or we run like hell to live another day. They both have their advantages and weaknesses. The key would be knowing which to use and when.

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Therefore, maintaining a healthy work life balance is essential. We need to be able to gather our wits and be able to deal with whatever life throws at us. I am a firm believer in work life balance. I’ve seen what it could do to my life in the past and how much stress and anxiety I was put through.

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Am I perfect?Heck no, not even remotely close. Do I recognize when things are starting to spiral and the reasons why? I would have to say yes, I see the signs early on.This is where a good work life balance is very helpful in getting through these episodes.

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I am calling stress episodes as that is what it feels like. They general are not long term and will come and go based on the level of my ‘Yucky Bucket’. If you are just joining us I discussed the whole ‘Yucky Bucket’ phrase in a previous blog. Here is a quick recap for those new to all this. Basically, we all have this spot in us that collects all the crap and stress we deal with. It only has so much room in it before it comes spilling all over the place. At that point we basically are at the ‘Yucky Bucket’s’ mercy and we must deal with it in the heat of the moment.

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Not the most effective way to deal with stress let me tell you. Would it not be so much easier if we just had less in our bucket to start the day with overall. I know it’s a good want to have but not always a doable action item. What we can do is find effective ways to calm ourselves inside the moments.

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For one I try to find a quiet place that I can have a few moments to myself. I then do some meditation breathing exercises to just re-center myself. I close my eyes and start breathing in deeply. In through the nose and out through the mouth. Really deep breaths and I do 10 of them. I focus only on the breaths and not what troubles await me when I leave the room. This is the KEY. What you do not realize is that by doing this you are calming your mind and getting it to focus on something other then your stress.

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If you have longer time available to you I’d recommend doing something that you find relaxing, be that going for a walk, playing video games or spending time with you kids. It really does not matter just make sure you do something that distracts your mind for a time.

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I have done multiple things to calm myself and I can tell you there is no wrong way to do it. You need to listen to your body and mind and find out what it needs. Your mind is running a million miles a minute with stress. FIND away to calm it down. I guarantee you will feel the stress subside and you will feel way better.

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As we get older our body can only handle so much stress before it goes okay I give. Stress you win. I’d recommend not getting anywhere near that point. I’m in my 40’s and I’d prefer not to give myself a panic attack, a freak out or worst a heart attack. We need to take care of ourselves.Listen to what your body and mind are saying, and you will know what it needs.I know I am not a kid anymore and I listen to what it needs now more then ever.

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I know the calmer I keep the clearer I can think and react to whatever stress throws at me. I have in the past been extremely rash and impulsive. I’d react in a way that all it would do was feed my stress and make it 100x worst then I began. If I had just calmed down a bit and listen to what was really going on I might have been able to better handle the stress.

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I know it’s extremely difficult to do but take a breath and refocus yourself. Your body and mind will thank you for it. You will get through that stress and live to fight another battle! In a future blog I will go into ways to help keep that ‘Yucky Bucket’ less full and setting yourself up for a good day. A day where even if stress arrives you are prepared to take a breath and forge through it.

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Till Next Time…