Stress and Anxiety and Unfounded Work Anxiety
First of all what I’ve learned, we can’t let the anxiety and stress run our lives.
I am very calm person when it comes to stressful situations and can handle stress and many things happening at once. However most people would be surprised that sometimes I suffer from a low level of anxiety. I never suffer from anxiety in a social situations, I enjoy meeting new people. However when it comes to work and performance I can. Every time I work with someone new, and I am not sure of their expectations. Especially at the beginnings of my massage career, I used to get stressed out will they like my style, will they judge me positively or negatively. Now I am an Aquarius, notoriously, we do not care what people think. And that’s in part true, I will carry on and try to improve if anyone ever would criticize me.
However I do have feelings, and the strive for perfection is what can make me anxious. However as humans we have to realize that we are “only humans”. Perfection is strived for but never expected. The funny thing in all my worries, I never have received bad feedback from any one, besides several constructive advices from people who knew way more than I did at the beginning of my career.
Stay Mindful and Just Breathe
One thing s good to remember, any time you worry about something and its over, you or better say I think to myself: and was hat really worth worrying about? silly me.
Everyone who has ever held a job has, at some point, felt the pressure of work-related stress. Any job can have stressful elements, even if you love what you do. In the short-term, you may experience pressure to meet a deadline or to fulfill a challenging obligation. But when work stress becomes chronic, it can be overwhelming — and harmful to both physical and emotional health.
Stress can affect you even more if you are facing life alone, without a strong support system, aka a good spouse or family. Work stress can affect you even ore if you personal life is stressful as well or if you are lonely and do not have an outlet or hobby to take your mind of your work.
Common Sources of Work Stress
Certain factors tend to go hand-in-hand with work-related stress. Some common workplace stressors are:
- Long Work Hours
- Excessive workloads.
- Few opportunities for growth or advancement.
- Work that isn’t engaging or challenging.
- Lack of social support.
- Not having enough control over job-related decisions.
- Conflicting demands or unclear performance expectations.
- Not sufficient compensation.
You have to determine what is causing you to feel stressed and try to make changes, remember you are in control of your own life. You can change your circumstances at least in some aspects.
Effects of Uncontrolled Stress
Unfortunately, work-related stress doesn’t just disappear when you head home for the day. When stress persists, it can take a toll on your health and well-being.
In the short term, a stressful work environment can contribute to problems such as headache, stomachache, sleep disturbances, short temper and difficulty concentrating. Chronic stress can result in anxiety, insomnia, high blood pressure and a weakened immune system. It can also contribute to health conditions such as depression, obesity and heart disease. Compounding the problem, people who experience excessive stress often deal with it in unhealthy ways such as overeating, eating unhealthy foods, smoking cigarettes or abusing drugs and alcohol.
Check your body’s dashboard
Stress GPS means considering your stress symptoms. Turn over that sheet of paper and list how you feel when you are stressed. I bet your list might include:
- Difficulty concentrating;
- Upset stomach;
- Pounding heart;
- Serious cravings for food or nicotine;
- Headaches;
- Back pain;
- Feelings of panic;
- Perspiring;
- Anger
It’s one thing to be nervous before you call a new client to talk about all of zeroes on the end of your quote. Or to be nervous when you’ve got a call lined up with the big cheese you ran into at the conference last weekend.
But what about when you’re anxiety-ridden with a pounding heart rate before the call with a client you’ve had for several months who loves your work?
Types of anxiety
The first step is to understand that having real-time interaction is not a challenge to who you are, what you think, or what you’ve done. In reality, you’re speaking to a client who values your advice and perspective so much that they’re paying you for it. And since people rarely go out of their way to pay people they don’t like, it’s fair to say they’re looking forward to speaking with you.
Employees suffering from high stress levels have lower engagement, are less productive and have higher absenteeism levels than those not working under excessive pressure, according to research from professional services firm Towers Watson.
The Global Benefits Attitudes survey found that levels of workplace disengagement significantly increase when employees experience high levels of stress. The study of 22,347 employees across 12 countries including the UK and US, revealed that over half of those employees claiming to be experiencing high stress levels reported they were disengaged. By contrast, only one in ten employees claiming low stress levels reported they were disengaged and half of this group claimed to be highly engaged. The proportion of employees claiming high levels of workplace stress was 30% in the US, slightly lower than the 34% in the UK.
- Take time to recharge. To avoid the negative effects of chronic stress and burnout, we need time to replenish and return to our pre-stress level of functioning. This recovery process requires “switching off” from work by having periods of time when you are neither engaging in work-related activities, nor thinking about work. That’s why it’s critical that you disconnect from time to time, in a way that fits your needs and preferences. Don’t let your vacation days go to waste. When possible, take time off to relax and unwind, so you come back to work feeling reinvigorated and ready to perform at your best. When you’re not able to take time off, get a quick boost by turning off your smartphone and focusing your attention on non-work activities for a while.
- Learn how to relax. Techniques such as meditation, deep breathing exercises and mindfulness (a state in which you actively observe present experiences and thoughts without judging them) can help melt away stress. Start by taking a few minutes each day to focus on a simple activity like breathing, walking or enjoying a meal. The skill of being able to focus purposefully on a single activity without distraction will get stronger with practice and you’ll find that you can apply it to many different aspects of your life.
Book a Massage, acupuncture, day off, or just a nice meal just for Self Care.
Even if you are not in physical pain massage can help with mental pain. It can dramatically decrease stress. Do you know someone who suffers from hard times or stress, get them a gift card for a massage. Also natural remedies like CBD Oil, herbal supplements or vitamins especially vit D in winter months, when there is lack of sun here in the North could make a big difference.
https://www.giftfly.com/shop/brilliant-massage-therapy Brilliant Massage Gift Cards for you and your loves ones.
