Stress is one of the leading contributors to obesity and heart disease. It is also one of the main reasons behind why people take sick days. Knowing what stress can lead to, however, doesn’t help you to understand how to identify or change the stressful factors in your life.
Managing stress is all about taking charge of your emotions, your thoughts, your schedules, and how you deal with issues. The ultimate goal is a balanced life. A balanced life will allow you time for your hobbies, families, relationships, and your professional careers. So, the first step in taking charge of your lives is to identify your sources of stress.
The first step in identifying the stress triggers in your life is to step back and listen to yourself. How often do you say, “I just have a million things going on right now?” or, “I’m just full of nervous energy”?
The second step is to identify when you find yourself making excuses for your stress levels the most. If it makes it easier, carry a small notebook with you and use it as a stress journal. Jot down the times of day where you feel the most overwhelmed, and those where you feel the most at ease. Record how you feel physically and emotionally. Take note of the people around you and the events leading up to both your moments of panic and comfort. Also, record how long it took you to calm down and regain focus after each “overload episode” and what you did to relax yourself.
Examine your habits, attitudes, and excuses. Flip through several of your stress journal pages. Is there a pattern that jumps out at you? Are Mondays at noon worse for you than other lunch times? Does one person in your office trigger your stressors more often than others? How about when you’re home, is there something in your living environment that makes you nervous or uncomfortable? Now, look at how you chose to cope with each situation.
Unhealthy ways of coping with stress:
- Smoking
- Drinking too much
- Over eating or under eating
- Over sleeping
- Procrastinating
- Becoming dependent on pills to relax
- Isolating yourself from friends and family
- Lashing out at others with sudden, uncontrollable bursts of anger
Have you noted any of those coping reactions in your stress journal? Or, are any of them coming to mind as you read this article? If yes, then don’t get down on yourself. Continue to record your stressful moments and how you’ve handled them. Take special attention to your attitude. Ask yourself are there other ways you can react to each situation. Write yourself some suggestions for future encounters, even practice a few of them as you wait for the next issue of ISM’s Monthly Update for Business Managers to appear in your inbox. If you want to take your journal to another level, try sharing some of your encounters and actions with others through your social media outlets. See what advice others have, and include their thoughts in your journal.
