5 steps to tackle stress

If  psychologist Dr Daniel Goldman’s words  “stress makes us stupid”are true, it’s no wonder we find it difficult to make simple decisions, let alone tackle larger dilemmas when we are feeling stressed.

I wonder how many of us have felt overwhelmed and stressed at work and tried to carry on without a break? As we stare at the screen in front of us, it becomes impossible to focus.  Our eyes might be able to, but making our mind focus on what we’re reading becomes increasingly difficult.  Colleagues might ask us questions, and instead of being able to respond, these questions just irritate and stress us further.  Simple tasks such as booking meetings in the diary become almost insurmountable and cause a feeling of panic and anxiety to well up inside. If we’re actually required to make more major decisions affecting the business, we just see red.  Attention span is substantially reduced and work takes longer to complete. This doesn’t just show at work, but spreads into our home life, where we become snappy, angry or distant.

Sound familiar?

Not only does it affect our work, stress is bad for our relationships and our health. Reason enough to do something about it?  You’d think so, but those who do decide to tackle it are in the minority.  It’s pretty shocking when you think about it, but stress is an accepted part of our lives and we just work around it, best we can.

Perhaps it’s time we did something about it.

Five steps to tackle stress

In my experience, coaching professionals suffering from stress, these five steps really do help.

1. Notice the signs. How do you know your stress levels are building? Write down the signs. Or share them with someone else – you could set up a partnership at work (or a group) that supports each other to manage stress. If you can notice the signs early on, you can do something about it, before it affects your work, relationships and health.
2. Decide what stress means to you.  We all have different definitions of stress and  levels of stress that are acceptable.  When is it OK and when does it make your life unpleasant?
3. Work out what makes you stressed – different things will affect all of us.
4. What can you do about it immediately?  Once you’ve worked out what makes you stressed, and the signs that you’re becoming stressed, ask yourself what can be done. Would talking to a colleague help? Or stepping out of the stressful situation for 20 minutes to take a walk and get a different perspective? Could you improve your breathing and calm your heartbeat?
5. How can you ensure you are able to cope with some level of stress? Few jobs are stress free. Work out what you can control, what you can do. Can you work on your general mindset and build your resilience? Being physically fit helps as does looking after yourself with nutrition and rest. You are less likely to be able to manage stress if you’re feeling run down and tired.

What can you do now to ensure you can effectively manage stress?

What will happen if you do nothing?

There are many other factors that affect the way we manage stress, but starting with these simple steps, you will notice a difference.