Stressed??? How to beat it... 12 Things to do when stressed plus a bonus

You thought you have nothing else to do at work because you have done everything yesterday when suddenly, telephones ringing left & right. Your boss just gave a deadline while your other supervisors gave you tasks. Then, someone from the other department suddenly came in front of your table asking you for your report. You suddenly gets irritated because as you finish one task, two or three tasks were given. Irritation becomes anger until you can't handle it that you snapped! Now what?! Feeling stressed right? Well, I feel that way too almost everyday at work. You think you are the only one who have loads of work when others feel the same way as you. 

We experienced being stressed every single day. It's part of our lives whether good or bad it's how we deal with it. Have you experienced after you felt stressed by the end of the day, you felt so tired when you try to recall what you did a few hours you were surprised to realized that you only did a few ones!

We experienced stress not only at work but in other things like, feeling tense or nervous or being pressure as a student. Or at home your parents gave you instructions to clean the house or take care of your brother or sister or sometimes from your friends. When being stressed take out of control we may hurt physically or emotionally  ourselves or sometimes other people we love & care about. 

Here are things to do . . . some from my experience & some from research that helps me.

So, how do we deal STRESS?

First, we must know the . . .

CAUSE

Find out what causes you to Stress? Work load? Traffic jams? Do you have illness? Emotional problems like anger that you can't express, depression, guilt or low self esteem. Family problems, peer pressure or jobless. Worrying for something?

Pinpoint what triggers you to feel stress.

Then . . .

STOP 

Stop first what you're doing or what you're feeling that causes you to stress. Just for a few minutes. Take a walk or take a few minutes break. 

And then . . .

ACCEPTANCE 

Yes, accept. Now that you've known the cause, learn to accept it & find a way to avoid it. 

Take a deep . . .

BREATHE  

After you pinpoint the "stressor(s)" or the "cause(es)" of your stress. Close your eyes & take a deep breath. Inhale, breathing in using your nose, count to 10 seconds & slowly breathe it out from your mouth. Do this again until you feel your body relaxed.

And  . . .

CLEAR YOUR MIND 

While breathing slowly, try to clear your mind  of the stress. Think that you want to start your day fresh & new.

Do . . .

LIST IT DOWN 

Get a pen & paper. List down all the things you need to finish. Write down from the most important to least important or which one has a nearest deadline. Stop trying to memorize everything inside your head you might forget one or two tasks that makes you more stressed. From the easiest to the hardest tasks. Which one you can easily done in a few minutes or an hour? Then, cross them out when you've done a task. It feels good when you see you've crossed out a lot of tasks from your lists right?

That's when time management comes in . . .

MANAGE YOUR TIME 

You can't avoid in between / non-stop  instruction(s) coming from your boss or supervisors or what it calls "mga singit singit na utos". If you can do those simple in-between tasks then do it. Don't try the "I'll do it later" (mamaya na lang) behaviour.

Take it . . . 

STEP BY STEP 

Do your task one step at a time. Try not to do a multi-tasking job if you can't handle it. You'll eventually finish it on time. 

You're not a Super Woman . . .

DON'T BE A LONE RANGER 

You have the list, you have categorized which needs a little time & which needs a lot of your time. For those tasks that needs a lot of your time try to break it down & if you think you can't do it alone, ask for someone's help. Sometimes for us getting some help from someone means we are incapable of doing things. We let our pride get in our way which is a wrong approach because we are inviting more stress.

Try to  . . .

LEARN TO SAY "NO" 

Yes... saying "NO" can save you from being stress like at work when you can't do it or you don't know how to do it then say so, at least you told them beforehand than accepting it that would end up in failure.

Learn  to . . . 

FORGIVE 

But what if,  you can't avoid to say "no"? Then, before hand don't commit. Tell him/her that you will try your best. Don't be so overconfident to yourself too! If you fail then forgive yourself &  learn from your mistake or mistakes. 

Try to . . .

DO SOMETHING YOU LOVE 

What do you love to do? 

Me, whenever I am feeling stressed especially at work. I listened to music, that makes me works faster without time pressure. It's effective to me or sometimes, I stop in between after finishing a task or two & try to read newspaper or emails for a few minutes then, I go back either where I left off (if my task takes a lot of time) or do my next task. 

Another thing . . .

DIARY 

Have a stress diary, this is one way of knowing your stressor(s).

Hope this post helps you.

What are your stress busters? Love to hear them from you.

XoXo,

Mary Ann

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