3 ways to manage anxiety and stress at work
You do not have to be stressed at work before you learn how to manage stress and anxiety. In order to manage workplace stress, it is better to know how to prevent it, rather than allowing it to affect you.
Definition of Stress
Stress can be defined as the adverse reaction people have to excessive pressures or other types of demands on them. Of course, some stress is useful as it adds to motivation, but when you feel that you can not cope with the pressures, that’s when stress becomes an issue.
Stress also affects people differently. What stresses one person may not affect another. Factors such as skills, experiences, age, disability, mindset, and health can affect a person’s ability to cope. External factors such as support, training, planning and relationships can also help or hinder your experiences of stress.
Causes of workplace stress
The causes of workplace stress can be varied and include excessive workload, the demands of work both mentally and physically, difficult relationships at work, changes in role, changes in ways of doing things and lack of control or support.
Symptoms of Stress at Work
Symptoms of stress at work can be insomnia, change of mood and depression, being more withdrawn or anxious, being late for work, taking more time off work and absence and lacking in confidence and motivation.
Three techniques to help you to manage workplace stress
1. Breathing
Breathing is obviously vital to life, but how you breathe can affect your physiology. As you breathe you intake oxygen and output carbon dioxide. Developing good breathing habits means you can quiet your mind and body. Having bad breathing habits can contribute to muscle fatigue, headaches, anxiety, and panic attacks.
Therefore, understanding how to use your breathing can mean that you can control and manage anxiety. It is almost impossible to be relaxed and anxious at the same time.
Researchers, such as James Nestor in his book Breath, have shown the importance of breathing in through the nose (as the nose is equipped to cleanse the air) and out through the mouth or nose.
Abdominal breathing, as opposed to chest breathing, is preferred as this type of breathing is slower and deeper, which reduces muscle tension. To find out if you are an abdominal or chest breather, place your hand on your belly below your ribs. If you are an abdominal breather your hand will move up and down. If you are not, try to fill the bottom of your lungs when breathing. This alone will help to reduce tension.
Try some mindful breathing. On the inhale count for four, hold for four, exhale for four, hold for four. Try repeating a few times and then return to normal breathing.
You can do this when walking to walk, at your desk or on a walk at lunchtime. It is quick and easy to learn. Research has shown that is best to practice for about twenty minutes a day to reap the benefits of reduced anxiety.
2. Progressive Relaxation
As with breathing, the idea behind progressive relaxation is that you cannot feel relaxed and stressed at the same time. Real relaxation is not going to the cinema or having a glass of wine, it is about knowing how to totally relax your body on command.
Sit in a comfortable position with your eyes closed. Take a few deep breaths in through the nose and out through the mouth. Tense and relax different parts of their body. Start at your feet and toes and as you take a breath in, tense your toes and feet. As you take a breath out, release the tension. Carry on like this through the whole body – the legs, torso, hands and arms, shoulders, neck, and face.
Once you have mastered the technique, you will find you can recognise the difference between being tense and relaxed. You will be able to scan the body during your day at work and relax those part of your body that are tight. When we are sitting at a computer all day our neck and shoulders tend to tense up.
You may also want to introduce a cue for your body to relax. Say to yourselves “relax now”. In this way you will train yourselves to be able to relax just by saying “relax now” and without having to do the tension release.
3. Cognitive Defusion
Another method for stress reduction is something called cognitive defusion. Cognitive defusion occurs when you stop confusing thoughts with reality. Thoughts are mental events in the here and now rather than what they symbolise. You cannot stop thoughts popping up, it is what you do with them that is important.
If you worry excessively and have anxiety caused by overthinking and getting tangled up in your thoughts, a cognitive defusion method known as “Leaves on a Stream” might be useful for you.
Relax, close your eyes and imagine you are sitting on the side of a riverbank and watching the river going past. Every time you get a thought, imagine putting that thought on a leaf and watch it go past on the stream. The thoughts could be good or bad. The idea is that you can see that thoughts can come into our minds, and we can let them go and not overthink them or become tangled in them. They are just thoughts not reality.
It is not necessary to stop thinking of things. In fact, there is evidence that when you try to do this, it has the opposite effect. If I said “Do not think of a pink spotted elephant!” what is the first thought that comes to mind? When you notice them as just thoughts, those thoughts become controllable and less impactful.
This is a very useful technique to help with overthinking, or dwelling on work issues when you are trying to rest or sleep.
I am Diana Dawson, Founder of Working Career. As a Professional Career Coach, Career Psychologist, Career Counsellor, Career Consultant, Executive Coach and Wellbeing at Work Coach, I work with organisations and individuals to help manage their careers.
I am an Accredited Master Coach with the Association for Coaching, a Coaching Psychologist and Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapist with nearly 20 years of experience in the field.
I work with professional people from different sectors and backgrounds to cope and flourish at work. I also run Career Workshops and Wellbeing Workshops for organisations.
I can provide one-to-one career coaching in Edinburgh or zoom sessions worldwide. I can provide Career Workshops at your organisation or remotely. Find out more about me here