avatarJessica Rabel

Summary

The website provides a practical stress relief technique involving self-assessment and task prioritization to reduce anxiety levels at work.

Abstract

The article titled "What Everyone Ought to Know About Stress Relief" offers insight into managing workplace stress effectively. It describes a scenario where employees are overwhelmed, leading to poor decision-making and physical symptoms of stress. The author suggests a method where individuals rate their stress on a scale from 1 to 10 and then identify and tackle the top stressors they can control, aiming to reduce their stress level to a manageable 4 or below. This approach emphasizes the importance of prioritizing tasks that can be completed and will significantly lower stress, thereby promoting a calmer work environment. The article concludes with an invitation to read more about self-care and personal wellness.

Opinions

  • The author believes that stress can significantly impair rational decision-making and cause physical discomfort.
  • Prioritizing tasks based on their impact on stress levels is presented as a key strategy for stress management.
  • The author implies that taking time to prioritize tasks is not a waste but a crucial step in managing stress.
  • The article suggests that reducing stress to a level of 4 or below on a 1-10 scale is ideal for daily functioning.
  • There is an underlying opinion that individuals have control over their stressors and can take actionable steps to alleviate stress.
  • The author promotes the idea that stress relief techniques are readily available and effective, particularly the one described in the article.
  • The author's tone conveys that with the right approach, one can maintain composure and tranquility in a typically stressful work setting.

What Everyone Ought to Know About Stress Relief

Your coworkers will be baffled by how relaxed you are. Trust me.

Photo by Logan Isbell on Unsplash

Picture this: Everyone at work is buzzing around the office, like toddlers running from the babysitter. They have files to scan, cases to work on, people to call, meetings to attend, and…their stress is through the roof.

What they really need is a fool-proof way to de-stress and prioritize their tasks. Here’s what happens at work when feel like you have everything piled onto you at once:

  1. The stress causes emotional responses (such as frustration) that cloud your ability to make rational decisions
  2. The emotional responses affect your body and cause physical reactions, such as tension in your neck, frowning, increased blood pressure, those sorts of things.
  3. You don’t want to set aside time to prioritize your tasks because you feel like you only have a certain amount of time and it would be a waste to use some of it on a mental exercise (this is part of that clouded judgment).
  4. The cycle repeats as long as you’re so stressed that you can’t think properly. Or until your significant other knocks you on the head and helps you re-think things.

Your Solution, Summed Up

(One of the 5 million stress relief techniques on Google, but at least I know that it works effectively!)

Here is a technique that I have used as a case manager to help adults and kids reduce stress.

Photo by NoWah Bartscher on Unsplash

Imagine that you are holding up a thermometer that is numbered from 1–10. Ask yourself, “What is my stress level right now, if 1=low and 10= high?” Let’s say that it’s currently an 8.

Our ultimate goal is to get the thermometer to read at 4 or below. This is a manageable daily amount of stress.

Think of the top stressor in your day that is causing you the most anxiety. If you were to complete that task, it would bring you from an 8 to a 6.

  • You have to name something that you actually have control over, not “climate change” or “make uncle Bob stop drinking”.

Now, do the exercise again for a second stressor. Try to bring the thermometer down to 5. Next, pick the 3rd stressor and drop it down to the number three.

Well done! You’ve just identified the top three things you have to prioritize today in order to lower your stress to a manageable level!

You will be the only one in the office calmly drinking tea and taking a 5-minute break in the middle of the day.

Interested in more Wellness tips? Check out my article below.

Health
Self Improvement
Productivity
Wellness
Mental Health
Recommended from ReadMedium
avatarDevon Price
Laziness Does Not Exist

Psychological research is clear: when people procrastinate, there's usually a good reason

11 min read
avatarDylan Combellick
How Dogs Reflect Society

INTRO

5 min read
avatarBryan Ye
How To Wake Up at 5 A.M. Every Day

An unconventional and compassionate guide to becoming an early bird

15 min read
avatarStephan Joppich
Goodbye, Atomic Habits

The overlooked problems with building healthy habits

9 min read
avatarDarshak Rana
How the “Butterfly Effect” Can Propel You Towards The Life You Want

Our every thought, action, and choice matter, no matter how small it is

6 min read
avatarAshmeen Kaur
Use the Power of Silence as your Strength

What did you heard about power of silence.

6 min read