Sorting out Stress

Simply being alive and surviving creates a natural degree of stress. Decisions must be made and efforts taken to make our way along life's path. Some stress actually promotes improvement, causing us to "up our game" and can clear the way for less anxiety with future challenges. Hans Selye called this Eustress. Overcoming tough times can also instill a healthy sort of pride in ourselves. Stress activated by major life events like deaths and disasters requires a "full stop" of routines and enlistment of all our natural allies. For the most part folks are pretty good about rallying around and making the affected take care of themselves. However, our current age of high contact and incessant communication appears to be upping the ante on stress in people's daily lives. Often at work we have very little control over the speed or frequency of demands. Paradoxically, digital and electronic "ease" has created an attention to detail which increases anxiety for all but a few meticulous souls who seem to get satisfaction from being exact. The average employee must now be more careful due to data entry requirements. We are not robots, so the result is at best a low level tension. I believe this low level, chronic sort of stress is the most insidious form. Day to day  relief and temporarily escape are critical to avoid a "snowball" effect of stress- grouchiness-mild depression- full blown depression. Maintaining awareness and consistent self-care are key here- not denying it and doing things about it. Lunchtime walk groups are one simple example which effectively split the workday in half. I spent less than 200$ on a really adjustable office chair and the reduction in my body tension and improved posture have been worth thousands. I had a colleague who wrote down their post meeting frustrations and then shredded them to vent and then let go. Humor is a powerful remedy for stress, but use it wisely in serious workplaces. What has worked before? Often we intuitively know what we need, have done it before and simply need to institute a routine. A buddy system is helpful for this and I have been overjoyed in the past when a co-worker reminded me it was break or lunchtime. Admitting we are stressed and identifying what sort it is critical. We may only need to make small but consistent changes in our routine to create a more comfortable existence for ourselves.