Stress and resilience session – May 2018
Work life balance is not a luxury, it is a necessity. In today’s society we have a lot of time pressures. We give a lot to work, our family, friends, volunteering, getting just enough sleep, and then doing it again the next day. We call it work/life balance.
Stress is very difficult to explain, it is a word that is overused, and we say things like ‘I am stressed’ or ‘this is stressful’ but we may be talking about situations that put pressure on us or our reaction that is placing us under pressure. Stress is usually always seen and described negatively however it is a fact of life, it is how mankind survived. Our cavemen ancestors as an example used the onset of stress to alert them to a potential danger. Stress is primarily a physical response. When stressed, the body releases a mix of hormones and chemicals to prepare the body. The body thinks it is under attack and switches to fight or flight mode. In the modern world this mode can help in a dangerous situation, as example if you need you need to move quickly from a moving object coming your way or if you are in the car and need to brake swiftly, your fight or flight mode will kick in.
Common life events can cause stress, there are four basic sources of stress. Your environment such as pollution, noise, traffic and weather. Environment can be very difficult to control and prepare for. Another source can be your thoughts, for a situation or circumstance to trigger stress, you have to perceive that situation as stressful, negative thinking therefore can make someone feel stressed. Demands for time and attention is the third source to be explored, this could be a home or workplace stress as quite often demands for time and attention is an outside stress, children and family can be an example of this. A physiological source is about changes in sleep, poor nutrition, lack of exercise that then can result in headaches, stomach upset, anxiety and depression. Again children is an excellent example of this, I do speak from some experience of this due to years of lack of sleep!
There are a number of ways to manage stress and tactics for coping. Identifying triggers and being aware of when you feel under pressure if a big part of managing stress. Sometimes avoiding stressful situations is not possible so reflecting on events and feelings can help. Knowing the cause or causes of stress and acceptance of this is a great start to managing stress. There are many tools and approaches to help combat stress including lifestyle changes, exercise, having a stress diary, muscle relaxation, reflecting, planning, breathing techniques, NLP, reiki, mindfulness and many more. It is easy to allow life to rush by quickly without giving much thought to the important things, everyday life now is so fast paced and something that can help with living more in the present is mindfulness. Becoming more aware of the present moment can help us enjoy the world around us more and understand ourselves better.
How do you reduce your pressure and stress? My challenge to you is to reflect on your reaction to being placed under pressure – the feelings we get when we have demands placed on us that we find difficult to cope with and start to put in place a clear and practical plan on moving forward and feeling more resilient with the stress management tools and tips above.
If you would like any further information or guidance please don’t hesitate to contact me Sanchia Aronberg:
Helping women with their business wellbeing is what I do best through an approach that is supportive, open and solution-focused and delivered through bespoke coaching, training, workshops, success and growth clubs and business networking. I am also a massive advocate of taking care of yourself first! You may well hear me harp on about self-care, planning, me time and stress management during our sessions, because if you’re not taking care of yourself first, then it becomes very difficult to run a business too.
Support-Systems-Success www.sanchiaaronberg.co.uk / 07896790669 / hello@sanchiaaronberg.co.uk
Pink Pig Financials help you to take back control of your life; we are here to support your start-up business through all its transitions, allowing you to be there for your family – read more about our values here.
