Cope with Stress

Since the beginning of the cave, stress has become a part of our lives. However, rapid advances in technology and a wealth of information has resulted in additional stress levels for many of us. When computers were first introduced many predicted a 15-20 hour work week, but the opposite has happened. Our ability to reach people quickly and respond instantly have created an environment where the emphasis is on giving now. Pressure to meet the expectations of extraordinary if people do not have the coping mechanisms to manage their stress.

Stress comes in two general forms, personal stress and work-related stress. In our personal lives we are dealing with issues relating to personal relationships, family life, our health, our home maintenance, manage time and financial well-being. Each of these areas can make a significant improvement in your stress levels. Some examples you may experience include:

• Your neighbor's dog that barks all night outside your bedroom window
• Your daughter's bedroom that looks like Hurricane Katrina did decoration
• A list of 50 things to do around the house before next Monday
• Endless phone calls from relatives, friends and sellers

In life related to our work dealing with various other problems. Stress can be great in the workplace because of issues related to our work responsibilities, benefits and payroll, our schedules, our co-worker relationships, our supervisor or level of productivity. All of us have a mental picture of what the workplace will look like in a perfect world. Work rarely look exactly like this and we are called to manage the stress that comes with the inconsistencies in this picture. For example, productivity can cause stress if you lose too much time because of personal or commitments that interfere with your performance. This type of work can only make this problem but we are still expected to cope and function at a high level. While stress is certainly hamper productivity, learning to cope with having the opposite effect.

So how do we cope with the increased level of stress? There are four basic methods to cope with stress and they apply to both personal and work stress problems are related. Four methods of problem solving, communication, proximity and flexibility.

We tend to put off solving a difficult problem to deal with. Problem-solving skills to help you deal with difficult situations. When the situation presents itself that you come up with positive changes to resolve the problems encountered? Or do you ignore the problem and hope they will be lost? Develop new methods to handle difficult situations can lead to solving the problem of efficient and much less stressful than the delay, which causes additional stress buildup.

Poor communication led to a misconception that is the root cause of more problems in the workplace. Improved communication is the second method to cope with stress. When conflicts arise, seek common ground, share ideas and emotions. Communication problems are usually caused by a tone that did not exist in the email. We write with a tone but often does not correct the email to remove things that could be misinterpreted. Email tone is one source of miscommunication. People often do not understand what the purpose of others in certain situations. Taking the time to understand what other people want to get out of the conversation can help you avoid the stress of communication problems.

How close are the people who work with you? How close are you and your family members? Proximity refers directly to the support that you have in your home and with your teammates. This includes how you interact with your boss, your spouse, and your neighbors. People who are close to the people in their lives tend to carry a lot less stressful. Improve communication and create better solutions to problems affecting your proximity. For example, if you take the time to understand your point of view friends in times of conflict you may recognize what is causing the conflict. This helps to solve problems quickly and directly reduce your stress levels. This is far from rocket science. If you can resolve the conflict or solve the problem rather than bring them with you stress level should decrease.

The last method to cope with stress is a degree of flexibility. Being too rigid or stubborn conflict causes, problems and eventually stress. How flexible are you when it comes to reacting to difficult situations? We all have to stand our ground on certain issues, but we also have areas of our lives where we can be more flexible. It does not matter if you choose to do this through compromise or by choosing which battles are worth fighting. Acknowledging that way you are not always the right way, and that others may be just as effective to do things their way. Be aware of how you can be more flexible take conscious effort and a lot of practice. Each method of stress reduction can work as a stand-alone solution or they can be used together with the other three.
If you learn to use coping mechanisms to manage your stress, personal life and your work will benefit a lot. Some people turn to therapists, some people just live with stress and others choose to manage it. Exercise has been known to reduce stress, but if you do not address the underlying problem, all the training in the world will not make you happy. You will be healthier physically, but mentally and emotionally drained.
Personal lives and our work often overlap. Events in the workplace can have an impact on family life and problems at home can certainly affect your performance at work. While employee benefits such as massage therapy is very helpful most organizations do not offer such benefits. People need resources to help them identify the role of stress in their lives and develop coping mechanisms. Many companies use stress assessment tool to find out what kind of problems they are facing employees and create an action plan to develop coping mechanisms and reduce stress. Find what is causing the stress is only half the battle. Learning how to deal with is the key. Most people want to eliminate stress completely. Without some amount of stress we will see our lives as joy. However, we want to keep stress levels manageable.