Stress and anxiety are constant companions for many of us, even before taking pandemics and holiday travel into consideration. Sometimes it can feel like stress is something you can never escape. However, with just a little bit of effort (and help from friends like Liberate), you can identify the sources of your stress, and take the necessary steps to mitigate them
If you feel like the stress is getting to you too much, here are some ways to help get yourself back on track, and feel like you have a handle on your life again.
Before you can understand how to overcome something, you have to understand what causes it. Medically speaking, stress is just a natural reaction. It’s your body putting your mind into overdrive to deal with what it perceives as a danger or challenge. In many cases, this is a good thing. If you’re out in the jungle being chased by wild animals, you certainly don’t want your instinct to be to react!
However, stress is something that is hard to control. There are a variety of things that can set off our stress response, even if we don’t want them to – these are known as “stressors”. What these stressors are can vary. However, there is one hard fact that we know about them. Employment and money are some of the highest causes of stress out there. So when it comes to reducing stress, it’s important to look at employee wellness first and foremost.
Severe and untreated stress can eventually lead to severe anxiety. But what can you do about it? The first and most healthy behavior when it comes to stress is to acknowledge it, and recognize it as a serious issue. Too often employee wellbeing is sabotaged by those employees feeling like their worries aren’t a “major problem.” Once you are willing to accept that you have an issue, you are more likely to try to formulate plans to deal with it and take part in activities like team bonding exercises.
Once you’ve done this, you will feel more comfortable taking many of the steps that can help reduce workplace stress. Don’t be afraid to communicate if you feel that your workload is too large, or too confusing. Be willing to ask for time off – and for Pete’s sake, take your vacation days if you have them! Maintaining a good work-life balance is key to beating stress. Taking even a little time out each day to escape your work environment.
You can also try to prepare your body to deal with stress in a variety of ways. Healthy eating and maintaining your physical health will help make you more resilient to mental stresses as well. Even if you feel like you don’t have the time, just taking a little exercise break (or stretching break) can make all the difference.
Of course, when it comes to employee wellbeing, a good deal of the responsibility lies with the employer. First and foremost, every employer needs to take stress and anxiety seriously. If your employees get the idea that you aren’t taking their concerns seriously, then employee wellness is going to go right out the window. Supporting employees involves being proactive. Make sure that your business can operate even if people need to take mental health breaks. You should also make sure that you are hosting plenty of virtual get-togethers like team bonding exercises, giving people a chance to destress – and to beat feelings of isolation.
Sounds complicated? It doesn’t need to be. With Liberate, managing employee wellbeing is easy as can be – just check out our Mental Fitness Programs and see for yourself!
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