Ten Simple Ideas for Stress and Anxiety Relief at Work

Did your boss just yell at you? Was a customer rude? Are you super-stressed about a report due at work? If so, there are several simple techniques you can use for stress and anxiety relief.

Be Aware of Your Body

The first trick to fast stress and anxiety relief is in knowing when you are tense. What does tension feel like for you? Do your shoulders tighten up? Does your jaw clench? Make it a point to “check in” with your body a few times a day. If you find signs of tension, it’s time to activate some plans for stress and anxiety relief.

Get Moving

Stand up and stretch, take a walk, go jogging on your lunch hour, or schedule a twenty-minute workout at the end of the day. Moving your body is one way to relieve stress and anxiety quickly.

Take Time to Breathe

Go into your office, cubicle, or some other place where you will not be interrupted. Take a deep breath. Inhale through your nose, hold your breath for a count of three, and exhale through your mouth. Do this ten times, and you will feel the tension in your body melt away.

Use Imagery

Another surefire method for stress and anxiety relief is to imagine yourself someplace else, someplace you find relaxing and comforting. Many people imagine a favorite spot in the wilderness, or a favorite room in their house.

Challenge Irrational Thoughts

As you become more upset, your thoughts may become more irrational and catastrophic. (For instance, “If I don’t get this report finished on time, I’ll lose my job, and my wife will divorce me, and I’ll end up homeless…”) Stop the irrational thoughts as soon as you notice them and replace them with a more realistic assessment. “Asking for a two day extension won’t be the end of the world,” or, “If I take a deep breath and focus, I can bring this in on time.”

Break Large Tasks into Small Steps

If you’re overwhelmed at the idea of completing a large project, break it up into small steps. Give yourself a little reward, like a trip to the soda machine or a five-minute mini-break after completing each tiny step.

Lay Off Caffeine and Sugar

Ever seen a two-year old get completely wired after eating a couple of cookies or drinking a pop? That’s exactly what happens to adults when we take in too much sugar or caffeine. But since we can’t very well run around the office making airplane noises, we carry the stress in our bodies.

Take a Play Break

Some professionals keep “squish” balls at their desk to squeeze for fast relief of stress and anxiety. Other people take a few minutes to play a game at www.addictinggames.com. They’re quick (less than five minutes), easy to play, and many don’t require a download.

Blow Off Steam…Judiciously

There’s nothing wrong with venting a little, but words spoken in anger can haunt you for a long time if they’re read or overheard by the wrong person. Don’t put anything in email you don’t want the whole office to see.

Don’t Expect To Avoid All Sources of Stress

Finally, remember that it’s natural to feel stress when you leave your comfort zone. Some stress must be endured as you expand your horizons, learn new tasks and earn new responsibilities. That kind of stress may not be much fun, but in the long run, it’s worth it!

Managing Stress Through A Stress Relief Center

Stress in our lives can be a motivational force. In fact, some individuals require stress to be productive.

However, for the majority of people stress can be very debilitating.  This undue stress will wear on the nerves of the individual and affect their mental, physical and emotional state.

There are many exercise routines and programs that can help to relieve, channel or dispel stress.  However, if none of these traditional methods are effective there are other options. One of these options includes the involvement in a stress relief center.

A stress relief center deals specifically with the issue of stress. When looking for a good stress relief center it is important to consider a number of factors.  Those factors include the effectiveness of the stress relief center in helping the individual identify the symptoms of stress, understanding the harmful effects of stress and how to manage stress.

Identifying The Symptoms

Sometimes the symptoms of stress can be very obvious.  Those physical symptoms can include pain in the neck or upper back, digestive problems, pain in the stomach, inability to fall asleep, headaches, etc.

In addition to the physical symptoms are the mental and emotional symptoms.  Some of those mental symptoms can include anger for no apparent reason, being moody and overly sensitive, being restless and anxious, depression, displaying emotions at inopportune times, etc.  Mental symptoms of stress can include difficulty in remembering, inability to make decisions, lack of concentration, poor judgment, or a desire to runaway, etc.

Therefore, it is important to identify these symptoms when they first occur.  A. good stress relief center will not only help the individual to be cognizant of the symptoms when they first appear, but provide the tools and techniques in alleviating the stress when these symptoms are first recognized.

Understanding The Harmful Effects of Stress

A quality stress relief center will not only help the individual in identifying the symptoms of stress but will help the stressed victim to understand the harmful effects placed on the body.   These harmful effects not only affect the individual physically, but in actuality touch every aspect of the individual’s being.

Some of the harmful physical effects of stress upon the body include an increase in blood pressure, ulcers, muscle pain, tension headaches, etc.  In addition to the negative physical effects, are the emotional repercussions placed upon the stressed person and those that the stressed person interacts with.  This stress upon the mental state of the individual can lead to poor work performance, marital strain and inattention to the safety of the individual and others.  This can be seen if a stressed person gets behind the wheel of a vehicle and does not give 100% attention to the rules of the road.

How To Manage Stress

Once the stress relief center has helped the individual to identify stress and to emphasize the harmful effects of stress, usually the individual is ready to be taught various techniques on how to handle the stress in their lives.  Generally good coping techniques include a combination of various mental, spiritual and physical exercises.  An example in each of these three categories could include the spiritual practice of yoga, the mental exercise of positive thinking and the physical involvement in a diversion such as a hobby or participation in an exercise program.

Playing Games for Stress Relief

No one can truly escape stress; everyone has varying levels of stress that plagues them from time to time, whether it comes from work, from the bills, or from personal issues. The thing about stress is that it can build up, making little problems feel like something much worse, and when things get like that it becomes time to take a step back and reduce stress.

One great idea for dealing with those problems is to play some games for stress relief. Using fun and games for stress relief is a great way to help yourself to feel better, whether you’re alone or with friends. There are a number of different kinds of games for stress relief that you can play.

Computer Games

These days, nearly everyone has a computer and an internet connection, making computer games for stress relief a great option. Computer games especially puzzle games such as the classic Tetris, can be a great way to pass a few minutes or an hour having fun and putting your mind on something other than stress. You don’t have to buy one of those expensive gaming consoles to play computer games for stress relief; sites such as Yahoo! offer free or low-cost computer games to play.

Sports

If getting outdoors and having some fun appeals to you more than sitting at the computer, then softball and other outdoor games for stress relief will be best. Softball, basketball and other games bring stress relief, but health benefits as well, such as increased health, stamina, and so on. One of the great things about sports for stress relief is that a good, hard workout or night playing sports will help your body produce endorphins, which produce a sort of natural high. It’s been widely accepted that sports and outdoor games work for stress relief.

Board Games

If you can get together with a few friends on a regular basis, then coaxing them into playing some board games can bring stress relief as well. By combining fun activities with social time, you not only provide an outlet for you to have fun and relieve stress, but can share that same outlet with others. Another advantage of taking some time out with friends is that if anything in particular is causing stress, talking about it with a buddy can help which is an added benefit to having people over to play games for stress relief. So whether you’re at the computer, out on the basketball court, or sitting around at a table playing UNO with friends, there are plenty of ways to get stress relief from games.

Five Stress Relief Games for Groups

It’s perfectly normal to be a little anxious when you lead a group. Everybody who’s in the group is probably a little anxious as well. Whether it’s an educational group, a social group, or a support group, it’s good to break the ice and put people at ease before getting on to business. These quick, easy stress relief games for groups will allow you to start off any group with a bang.

Stress Relief Games for Groups #1: If I Were A…

Have the group sit or stand in a circle. The leader should start the group off by turning to the person on his or her right and saying something like, “If you were an animal, what kind of animal would you be?” That person answers the question and asks the person on his or her right another question in the same vein, such as, “If you were a famous writer, which writer would you be?” Game continues until everyone has gotten a chance to answer and ask a question. No fair repeating categories!

Stress Relief Games for Groups #2: Who Likes What?

Give everyone a piece of paper and a pencil. Then list five categories such as “foods” or “musicians.” Everyone should list their favorite thing in each category. All the slips of paper should then be given back to you (the leader). As you read each list aloud, the other members of the group try to guess whose list you are reading.

Stress Relief Games for Groups #3: Liar, Liar

Have each member of the group take turns making three statements about themselves. Two of those statements should be true; one should be false. The rest of the group then has to guess which statement is a lie.

Stress Relief Games for Groups #4: Gossip

This is a great game to play if your group has anything to do with communication. To work best, the group should have at least ten people, and no more 20. The leader starts by whispering a long, convoluted sentence into the ear of the person on his or her right. That person then whispers what he/she heard to the next person, and so forth. When the whisper has gone all the way around the circle, ask the last person who heard it to tell the group what they heard. Then tell the group what you originally said. The two sayings are all but guaranteed to be very different!

Stress Relief Games for Groups #5: Ethics

This game works well for a small group of adults who know each other who love to discuss/argue issues and don’t get offended easily. The leader starts the game by turning to a random group member and presenting an ethical dilemma. For instance, “If you knew someone was going to kill your worst enemy, would you try to warn him?” The person answers the question and explains his or her rationale. Then the group votes on whether or not they believe the person would really act as they said they would. If the majority of participants think the person is lying, he or she is out of the game. If the majority thinks he/she is telling the truth, that person picks another “victim” and poses another ethical dilemma. Last player left is the winner.

For Stress Relief, Music Is Great Prescription

Shakespeare said in Twelfth Night, “If music be the food of love, play on.”  The jury is still out on whether music is the food of love or not, but it sure is food for stress relief.  Music taps into our most primal emotions and can manipulate us for good or for bad.  With patience and honesty, you can discover the best stress relief music for you.

Play That Funky Music, White Boy

One of the original functions of music may have been to express the inexpressible.  Music was used for laments, for worship and for medicine.  One of the oldest kinds of healer, shamans, used songs to seek assistance from the spirit realm to assist his tribe.  In modern times, blues music can make you feel good by listening to songs about bad times.

Times have changed, but the need for relief from, as Shakespeare put it, “The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune”, haven’t.  Between worries about basic survival, there are also worries about traffic, about how to cook a new meal or meeting your date’s parents, about why the cat won’t use her litter box, and hundreds of other straws that can make your camel’s back reach breaking point.  By reducing stress, you can make yourself healthier, which can lead to being more energetic, creative and happy.

For stress relief music, you might prefer instrumentals to those with lyrics.  Some people find their minds latch onto words, whether sung or not, and can’t stop thinking about the song lyrics rather than trying to relax.  And then, there are some people who can only fall asleep with Metallica blasting at full volume (and they always seem to move next door, don’t they?)  Music taste is a very personal thing, so stress relief music that works for one person may do nothing for you.

Bringing Sounds into Focus

Your stress relief music should remove you from your worries and fears.  It is as if you are placed in a temporary cocoon hanging outside of reality.  You can’t stay there all of the time, but a few minutes a day can make coming back to reality a lot easier.

Not your body’s reactions when listening to a favored piece of music.  Does your pulse quicken?  Then that’s not the best stress relief music for you.  You want your body to calm down, not speed up.  You might try tapes of classical, New Age or even songs of whales or birds to help you relax.  You want to be interested enough in the music to pay attention to it, but not so much that it bores you to tears and thus cause more stress.  The best stress relief music can balance between relaxing you and boring you.  You’ll know it when you find it.