To ask for your tips on dealing with work related stress?

[AlexaShutUp]

Firstly, I know people will advise me to address the cause of the stress, but that isn't really an option this situation. There are actually multiple causes and to some extent, a degree of stress is kind of inevitable in my role. For various reasons, though, it is worse at the moment and I'm struggling to deal with it. I can't quit - we need my income and I do believe that it will get better in a few months. So I need to find a way of coping with it.

What strategies can people recommend, please? I try to meditate but tend to struggle and get very restless when I'm anxious about stuff. I try to eat well and exercise but those good habits are the first to go when the pressure ramps up. And I try to sleep but can't always manage it.

What do other people do that works, please?

I’m horribly stressed At work. I survive by going to the gym at 6.30 for a pretty hefty work out.

I also have a standing desk which is good. As I’m at me desk till 7pm 3 days a week.

These allow me to feel slightly human and have enough neck mobility to safely drive home.

I also don’t work Thursday / Friday which means by Saturday I’m mostly recovered from the horribleness of work and can have a weekend

I've got out of the habit of going to the gym since having covid. I should try to go back again, but it's so hard to get motivated.

By the way, I'm sorry to hear that you're stressed too, @Helenluvsrob. It's crap, isn't it?! Having Thursday/Friday to decompress before the weekend sounds lovely!!

I think you need to focus on the holy trinity - good food, exercise and sleep.

There is no way to alleviate stress that doesn't start with one or all of these. So you CANT bypass them. So any strategies aren't about tackling stress they're about - how do I find more time to exercise (preferably outdoors and not in a gym); how do I improve my sleep; how do I make sure I'm eating well throughout the day?

I recommend Michael Mosley podcast "one thing" to find ways to tackle the 3 above.

Good luck!

@Griefmonster
Agree. But you can’t do exercise outside before work that well in the dark in the city 😂. I also walk the legs off my little dog.

Sleep … yeah. It’s be nice.

I’m so over “ resilience “ stuff at work. It amounts to “ it’s all be ok if only you ate better , exercised more , slept , drank water , were more organised , meditated etc etc “ when the frank answer is the system I work has been perpetually underfunded and expected to door more and more with less and less. I’m only just learning not to blame me

Thank you @Griefmonster. I guess I know you're right, it's just so hard. I suppose I'm looking for a quick fix that doesn't exist.

OK, food, exercise, sleep. If anyone can help me with strategies for eating better, that would be excellent. I was actually doing brilliantly for a while but I reach for the crap as soon as the going gets tough. How can I break that cycle, and what super quick meals can I cook that are healthy? (No meat) I need ideas that are really low resistance as my willpower is shocking when I'm feeling sorry for myself.

I was doing brilliantly with exercise for a long time too. I'll try to find ways of building that back in.

And sleep. I guess I had better get off MN and get to bed. I'll check this thread in the morning!!

And I'll definitely check out that podcast!

Take an hour for lunch. Eat a salad. Then go for a walk. Every day, without fail.

It helped me in similar circumstances (NB I don't do gyms!).

Got a therapist

For quick healthy meals - I try to eat something (eggs / halloumi / falafel etc) with a big salad for lunch, and tea something like big tray bake of roasted veg with veggie sausage (or fish if you eat fish) or mix into tomato sauce with pasta, or frittata. Also try to ‘cook once eat twice’ so make enough for leftovers the next day, that way you’ve a ready made meal with very little effort

I find drinking lots of water helps too - have a big glass at breakfast, lunch, mid afternoon and tea. Helps reduce brain fog, sugar cravings and tiredness too

Also a ‘decompression’ after work - whether that’s good music on the way home, exercise, reading with the kids, or something creative and therapeutic like crochet or drawing. I read somewhere that colouring actually requires using a bit of your brain that in turn stops a stress hormone - therefore impossible to feel stressed whilst doing it. Might have been clever marketing by adult colouring books but I like to think it’s true !

Music and a glass of wine is always a mood changer for me. Obviously not every night but definitely at weekends

I need distraction when stressed as my brain works overtime and I can’t stop thinking about work related issues
Multiple distractions work best for me eg watching tv whilst knitting or doing a jigsaw
Listening to podcasts whilst playing games on iPad
I use white noise or sleep story apps to get me off to sleep and have air buds to hand when I wake during night to continue
Eat as well as you can, exercise, fresh air
Wouldn’t work for everyone but I set my alarm an hour earlier than I need to and go out for coffee before work - I plan my day, clear my emails etc and arrive at the office far less stressed

I WFH at the moment and getting outside as much as possible helps. I'll do a bit of gardening, go for a walk, cycle, even just sit outside and close my eyes.

And the usual sleep, good food, water etc helps.

Not sure if it's possible, but if you can manage the stressor from work? I. E. Someone always getting back to you at the last minute which causes you stress? Ex. Give them deadlines so your tasks are easier to manage. Often easier said than done, I know

I've been horrendously stressed in the past - signed off for six weeks and handed my notice in in the end.

My big life changer was realising I could only do what I can, as long as I make people aware of that / put mitigation in place, then it'll be fine. It's a little bit like 'caring less'.

But since my change in attitude I absolutely love my job and am doing really well.

Also stress manifested itself very physically with me and I realised it was damaging my health - work isn't worth getting ill for.

I hope you find something that works for you.

I got a new job. My life is transformed. I didn’t realise how ill I was until I got out.

For short term survival - do you have allies? I think I survive stress by having friends who 'get it'. I can call, message or meet them and they understand. Plus at work events I know they have my back and won't let me unravel /say what I really think!!!

For me the stress tends to be the gap between toing the corporate bullshit line, and actual reality and wanting to make an impact. It would be easier if I cared less.

Hope things improve OP xx

Ask yourself whether whatever it is that's stressing you will matter in 10 years' time.

Remind yourself that there are things that could happen tomorrow (house burning down, loved one dying, ) that would make you give anything to turn the clock back to today where your only issue was stressful-work-thing.

Hypnotherapy, getting more sleep and being more boundaried at work - saying no to new things being ouled on my plate unless something else already on it came off first. No doubt I won’t be in line for promotion any time soon, but I’m way happier.

I have always got stressed quite easily but the last 5 years have been really tough for me - work stress, bereavements and recurrent baby losses. Tapping or EFT 'Emotional Freedom Technique' has helped me.

I was quite sceptical at first as I couldn't. understand how it could possibly work. Basically you tap on different meridian points on your face, head and body whilst saying out loud what is bothering you etc. It doesn't work for everyone but for me it helps me to take a step back and it feels like the stress is more distant - it's hard to explain but I noticed a difference during my first session.

There is more to it than my brief summary but why not try looking up some information or even a practitioner online, I just have sessions over zoom.

a colleague died and, whilst everyone was very sad, she was replaced and forgotten in months. It put things into perspective for me - it's just a job, I am replaceable, in the greater scheme of things it really isn't that important.

I now turn up on time, work hard and do a good job but I don't give more of myself than I can give. I am no longer the first one to arrive and the last one to leave and the sky hasn't fallen in.

When I walk out, I compartmentalise work and don't think of it again until I arrive the next morning. I muted non-essential work whatsapp chats, deleted work emails from my phone and unfollowed fb groups associated with my role to help with that. All of this took a bit of getting used to but it feels normal now.

I can't stop myself waking in the night with something work-related on my mind but keep a notepad by my bed. Whatever I wake up thinking about is written down to think about tomorrow, in work.

If you work in a stressful environment but don't want to leave, I really have found that changing your response to the situation is the only thing that helps and all of the other stuff just felt like tinkering around the edges to me.

@ICouldHaveCheckedFirst

Take an hour for lunch. Eat a salad. Then go for a walk. Every day, without fail.

It helped me in similar circumstances (NB I don't do gyms!).

I agree 100% with the above.

It really helped me to get out of the office every lunch time and just see ordinary people going about their lives. It made me put all the work stuff into context.

Oh wow! Tons of ideas here, thank you so much! I will take some time to read and digest and see what I can implement.