There are lots of causes of stress, ranging from tantrums at home to a boss with challenging demands at work. Despite this being the daily lives of most, people can learn to manage the levels of stress they deal within a day and live better healthier lives. When stress becomes overwhelming, or it’s chronic, it can take a toll on your well-being. That’s why its important to have effective methods of relieving stress that can calm your mind and your body.

Here are some general tips to help manage stress:

1. Get enough and quality rest

Studies has shown that most people dealing with stress tend to have little or no sleep at all. Lack of sleep affects our mood negatively and makes it difficult for the body to cope with normal levels of stress.

Due to high levels of stress, we might find it difficult sleeping, but instead of relying on sleeping pills and other medications, you can try the following;

• Keep your bed and bedroom neat and tidy: a comfortable and a serene environment makes it a lot easier to sleep.
• Listen to relaxing sounds: you can listen to mind soothing sounds such as rain sounds to make you sleep better.
• Avoid or reduce caffeine Intake: Caffeine is a stimulant and so it is highly likely to increase your stress levels than reduce it.
• You can also take naps during the daytime after chores or In-between duties: a 15 – 30-minute refresher nap can help you get through your day easier.

In general, try to get more and quality sleep for this helps to reduce and manage stress.

2. Exercise

Exercise is known to be a natural stress reducer. A brisk walk or a jog in fresh air, can help you a lot by getting your mind off stressful thoughts. Regular aerobic exercise improves the quality of your sleep.

3. Practice relaxation techniques

You can learn and practice mind and body relaxing techniques such as Yoga, Tai-Chi and Meditation. Use of essential oils and perfumes or light a scented candle or simply listen to soothing music, these practices are known to reduce body and mind tension, this helps to reduce stress.

4. Avoid procrastination

Procrastination as they say is a thief of time, thus learn to manage your time more effectively. You can create a daily schedule, and write down all expected activities of the day and try to as much to complete tasks within a given time range.

It is better to complete your chores and tasks early and relax than to pile them up and try to complete them within the shortest possible time. When we do so regularly, we reduce the stress levels since we’ll have more time to complete difficult tasks.

5. Spend quality time with friends and family

Social interaction helps a lot in dealing with stress at the workplace, it is healthier and advisable to spend time with friends and family during free time and weekends. You can catch up of stuff happening around others, share a laugh or two and have a great day.

6. Short term stress relief strategies

There are some tips and tactics that relieve quickly stress. Here are some examples:

Try guided imagery

This involves relaxing your mind. It’s like taking a short break in your mind. You can listen to soothing music, or simply imagine yourself in a “happy place”, you can picture yourself being at the beach or in a garden listening to nature sounds.

Meditate

Meditation brings you short-term stress relief as well as lasting stress management benefits. You can take in slow deep breaths or you can simply pay attention to what you see, hear, taste, touch and smell.

Aromatherapy

Research has shown that certain scents can alter brain wave activity and decrease stress hormones in the body. Aromatherapy has real benefits for stress relief, it can help you feel energized, and more relaxed. You can use products like candles perfumes or scented flowers.

Keep a positive attitude

Be assertive instead of aggressive. Learn to control your feelings and opinions or beliefs around others, this reduces your chances of becoming angry, defensive or passive.

Make time for hobbies and enjoy leisure time effectively

Stress management is important because it helps to reduce blood pressure, heart disease, digestive troubles and many more physical ailments.

Symptoms of Stress and Anxiety are mostly the same since the two are interrelated. Both are emotional responses, but stress is mostly caused by an external trigger. The trigger can be short term, such as a work deadline or a fight with a loved one or long term such as poverty, discrimination and chronic illness. Anxiety disorders are common. According to the National Institute of Mental health 19% of Americans over the age 18 had an Anxiety disorder in the past year and 31% of Americans will experience an Anxiety disorder during their lifetime.

Causes of Stress and Anxiety

Causes of stress and anxiety are mostly interrelated:

• Lack of control over activities: sometimes we feel as though things are getting out of control and there is little we can do about it, this can be very frustrating and it affects our decision making. This may lead to stress and when not dealt with, may also lead to Anxiety.
• Working overtime: At the workplace, when the workload becomes too much to complete within the given time, the easiest way around for most workers is to work overtime. Such people usually lack sleep and are easily irritated which affects their social behavior. They worry too much about work-related activities and this usually leads to Anxiety.
• Financial problems: this is an external common factor which is the reason why most people experience stress. Excessive worry about due payments and how to cater for one’s family can be very stressful and may lead to an Anxiety disorder.
• Use of illicit drugs and excessive intake of alcohol and caffeine: most drug addicts have Generalized anxiety disorder. The use of caffeine can also have effects on your sleep schedule and this may cause stress amounts to increase.
• Medical conditions: studies have shown that people with existing medical conditions experience stress and anxiety due to excessive worry over their predicament.

Symptoms of Stress and Anxiety

People under stress experience mental and physical symptoms such as:

• Fatigue.
• Muscle pain.
• Difficulty sleeping.
• Headaches.
• Short temper.

Symptoms of Anxiety are similar to that of Stress:

• Insomnia.
• Difficulty concentrating.
• Fatigue.
• Muscle tension.
• Irritability.

Anxiety symptoms are usually persistent and does not go away even in the absence of a stressor.

People at risk

People who experience stress and or are diagnosed with Anxiety are mostly:

• People with medical or health conditions.
• People who worry too much.
• People who do not avoid certain things or situations that can cause stress and anxiety.
• People who live with or have relatives with Stress or Anxiety disorder are also prone and likely to be diagnosed with either or both.

Treatment and Prevention

Both mild stress and anxiety respond well to similar coping mechanisms. Physical activity, a nutritious and varied diet and good sleep are a good starting point but there are other measures available such as:

• Exercise: regular exercise is a natural stress reducer. Studies have shown that regular aerobic exercise positively affects our mood. It lowers the body’s stress hormones such as cortisol and also helps release endorphins, which are chemicals that improve your mood and act as natural pain killers.
• Reduce caffeine intake and remove alcohol: caffeine is a stimulant found in Coffee, tea, chocolate and energy drinks. High quantities of caffeine can increase stress and anxiety levels.
• Consider various forms of therapy: you can see a therapist or psychologist who can help you and show you ways to cope and deal with stress and anxiety. Using essential oils or burning a scented candle may help reduce your feelings of stress and anxiety. Using scents to treat your mood is known as aromatherapy.
• Supplements: lemon, Omega-3 fatty acids, ashwagandha, Green tea, Valerian, Kewe Kawa are supplements used to treat various predicaments, Stress and Anxiety included.

Stress is unavoidable in our daily lives. It gives us a sense of control, most people refer to this as “Good Stress”, they believe this outburst of energy improves the heart functions and makes the body resistant to infection. Stress becomes a problem when it begins to take control over us, and one major place where stress is dominant is the workplace.

Workplace Stress occurs when there’s a difficulty in meeting the demands of the workplace and the ability of the employee to cope due to work pressure. Pressure is unavoidable in the workplace because of changing demands of the work environment, however when the pressure becomes excessive it leads to stress.

Causes of Workplace Stress

Here are some common causes of workplace stress:

• Low salaries: working on a job, that is demanding and challenging is very stressful but working on demanding and challenging jobs with a low pay really breaks the straw.
• Conflicting demands of the workplace (unclear performance demands): conflict is often unavoidable at the workplace, ranging from role conflict to unclear performance demands, this can be very stressful.
• No or limited control over work related activities: When co-workers or supervisors make and control decisions for you; being underrated at your workplace can be very frustrating and leads to stress.
• Working overtime: when the workload becomes too much to complete within the given time, the most appealing way to get around that for most workers is to work overtime. This is a major stress causer because long hours lead to tiredness and lack of concentration.
• Boring or challenging work: working at a place where your job is either beyond your capabilities or unchallenging can be really stressful.

Signs and symptoms of work stress

Naturally our body has ways of dealing with stress, but when it lingers for long some of these body mechanisms malfunction and Physical and Emotional signs begin to show.

These are some signs and symptoms which shows that stress is getting out of control:

• Fatigue: feeling overtired, unmotivated or weak.
• Headaches: painful sensation in any part of the head, could be sharp pains or dull pains.
• Short temper: easily irritated or quick to get angry.
• Muscular tension: a stiffness in your muscles; one of the most common signs.
• Sleeping difficulties: having trouble sleeping at night.

Health problems

When stress becomes unbearable, it may lead to health problems such as:

• Depression: a common mental health problem, which usually involves feeling sad, moody or loss of interest in activities.
• Anxiety: intense, excessive feeling of worry or fear.
• Heart palpitations: a sensation that the heart is racing or pounding.
• Insomnia: a sleep disorder that makes it hard to fall asleep or hard to stay asleep.
• Decrease in libido: a reduction in sex drive or lack of interest in sexual activities.

TIPS TO MANAGE AND REDUCE STRESS AT THE WORKPLACE

The following are some tips to help reduce stress at the workplace:

1. Get quality sleep

A comfortable 8-hour sleep at night would get you refreshed in the morning, but if that is too much to ask for, try to get enough sleep every night before you go to work the next day. Taking short cat-naps also helps; you can have short naps for about 10 – 20 minutes during breaks. It is better to take regular short naps than to avoid sleeping all-together. Lack of sleep negatively affects our mood, makes us irritable and also makes it difficult for the body to cope with even normal amounts of stress.

2. Health and Exercise

Regular exercise is a natural stress reducer, Studies has shown that regular aerobic exercise positively affects our mood. On days when you feel you don’t have enough time on your side, you can at least set aside 10 – 20 minutes a day just for a refreshing walk, this little amount of regular exercise can get your mind off stressful thoughts whiles reducing your chances of getting stroke due to long hours of sitting in one position.

3. Create a balanced schedule

Plan your day, know the things that trigger your stress levels and tackle them one at a time. Complete paperwork’s with deadlines on time, Organizing and prioritizing your day gives you control over your activities thus improving concentration and reducing stress levels.

4. Ask for support from Co-workers

When you are faced with something you find challenging at your workplace, it is advisable to go to a fellow co-worker for help rather than to try and figure it out by yourself. Without enough challenging topics on our minds, we are free to tackle other situations, stress free.

5. Establish healthy relations

Having friends whom you can turn to for support and advice is very helpful when dealing with stress. Interact during lunchtime or break periods; instead of burying yourself in your smartphone, break periods can be great times for catching up with friends at the workplace, a laugh or two during those 15 – 30 minutes can brighten your mood throughout the day.