Friday, August 3, 2012

Stress Management - 3 Techniques to Handle Work-Related Stress

The topic of work-related stress is currently on my mind because I just ended a very stressful work-week (and am hopefully beginning a very relaxing weekend!). If you can name a work-related problem, such as difficult co-workers, communication breakdowns, system issues, etc. I most likely experienced it this week.

To keep myself sane, I implemented a few techniques that were very useful in handling my stress: 


Be amused: This may sound a little wacky (and you may look a little wacky when practicing this technique), but finding amusement in non-serious but stressful situations is a great stress reliever. Laughter really is the best medicine, and if you find yourself in a situation that you can recognize will make a humorous story later on, why not embrace the humor while you are experiencing it?!
This technique not only puts things in perspective (if you can laugh about it later, it is probably not that bad, right?), but it also adds a little bit of levity to the situation and will likely break the tension for those around you as well. 


Remove yourself from the situation: One of my stress-causing moments this week happened to be something that really had nothing to do with me. It took me a minute or two to realize I was just borrowing stress. As soon as I realized, I took myself out of the equation completely and, surprisingly, was instantly relieved of my stress regarding that particular situation. 
When a problem arises, take a moment to consider if it really is your problem. If the situation is not directly involving you, say no to unnecessary stress and walk away. 


Recognize when something is bigger than you: Sometimes problems are bigger than you are. Accepting that is powerful because it allows you to let go of negative feels about the situation.  
If you have a system issue and you have to wait around for IT to come and fix it, you have a built-in reason to release any stress you are feeling about the problem, as it is completely out of your hands. Instead of feeling stressed, standing over the poor tech support person and fretting, grab a coffee, have a seat or chat with a co-worker and let go of feeling that you have to be in control of the situation.

These are the three techniques I used to deal with my long, stressful work-week. Practice these techniques to better handle your work-related stress.