| Suppose
you lost your car keys this week. That might be bad enough,
but suppose you were also in the middle of a nasty divorce situation,
you had a daughter who was habitually sloughing school, and you
were faced with losing your best customer because deliveries were
constantly behind schedule. To overcome this one needs workplace
stress management training.
All of us cope with stress periodically, but scientists are warning
us that chronic stress has some devastating health effects. One
of the most common is depression. While the medical evidence
suggests that depression is an imbalance in the brain’s biochemistry
(meaning that depression is “as biologically grounded as
diabetes” or
cancer), scientists have yet to come up with a method of treatment
that is always effective. In the meantime, lowering the level
of stress hormones in our bodies seems to be one of the best methods
for preventing and treating the disease.
Here are some suggestions for stress-relievers that might help
you:
- Try yoga or massage.
- Stop and do nothing—give yourself thirty minutes to simply
sit and think.
- In his recent book, Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers,
Stanford neuroendocrinologist Robert Sapolsky suggests that a
zebra’s don’t get ulcers because they don’t
sit on the sofa and fret when hyenas come close. Try taking
a brisk walk or jog to ease tension.
- Talk it over with someone. Even writing your concerns
down in a journal or notebook may help.
- Give yourself permission
to take an hour a day to do something you really enjoy. It
might be something relaxing like taking a hot bath, but it may
simply mean sitting down to organize that desk drawer that’s
driving you crazy.
GRAPHICS BOX
Stress Test:
Ask yourself these questions:
- Is this really important to me?
- Would a reasonable person be this upset?
- Is there anything I can do to fix the situation?
- Would it be worth it to fix the situation?
If you can answer yes to all four, give yourself license to act. If
you answered no to even one, you may be better off to distract yourself
and focus your energies in another direction.
-Redford
Williams, Duke University
AmCheck offers nationwide Employee/Workplace Stress Management
Training Services. Get a quote.
| 
