Life and work create plenty of opportunities to provoke stress and anxiety on an almost constant basis. While a certain level of stress is necessary to incentivise hard work, the kind of stress that creates deep seated anxieties and prevents you from working at your best is problematic to say the least.
We are most easily affected by stress when we are caught up in environments and circumstances that make us feel like we are under intense pressure and scrutiny. This could be because you are starting a new job or could be because you are struggling to pay a household bill on time.
Needless to say, stress is a productivity killer that needs to be curbed as best it can be in order for you to succeed and live the most fulfilled life you can. Let’s take a look at 3 easy ways to reduce and overcome stress in your life.
Take a break
This may sound like a no-brainer, but taking a break is one of the best ways to quickly reduce stress and re-evaluate your circumstances. Sometimes you need to take a minute to retreat to a safe space where you can recollect yourself and prepare to go back out there and do what you need to do.
A lot of stress people deal with in the workplace comes from being burdened with too many tasks at the same time, rather than a lack of ability to complete them. This leads people to make more mistakes and feel overwhelmed by what’s being expected of them.
If you are working and have a lot on your plate, try and take frequent short breaks between bouts of work so you can collect your thoughts and refocus on the task at hand.
Maintain balance wherever you can
In many ways, all of life is about achieving a perfect balance between two extremes. Naturally, the more balanced you feel the less stress you will end up having to deal with.
It’s important to make sure you eat a balanced diet, exercise and get adequate sleep so that your body is operating at its peak. With that said, making sure you stay healthy in general is the best way to avoid the stress caused by dealing with medical ailments and the health care system more broadly.
Maintaining a good work/life balance is another important area in reducing your stress levels. Ideally you shouldn’t be taking any work home with you and should have a good balance between recreation and hard work.
Breathing exercises
Routines that are designed to regulate and normalise your breathing patterns are a very popular way that many people deal with high levels of stress. This is because extreme stress causes us to take shorter and shallower breaths which limit the amount of oxygen that reaches our brain and in turn limits our ability to think critically about our situation.
By regulating your breathing to deep, deliberate breaths you can very quickly calm yourself down and begin to see your situation more clearly.
David Smith was born and raised in Calgary Alberta and loves to share his passion for health and fitness with others. Apart from running his own podcast, which uploads weekly shows that covers current health trends, he spends his time canoeing and backpacking. David recently spent a summer working at the CFIA as a health supplement reviewer. In regards to academics, David studied kinesiology at Guelph University.
