6 MOST EFFECTIVE WAYS TO BEAT STRESS

I arrived home from work tonight planning to blog about many topics, but I just cannot bring myself to blog about any of them. It just feels like the last few months at my current full-time job have been trying so hard, to steal my joy. I have to admit my job has successfully stole my joy many times, in fact I have lost my battle a lot lately with stress at the office. I am sure many of you have been there as well, those endless deadlines, projects due, endless disasters at work, meetings and changes you cannot control. Whether you work in an office, factory, restaurant, work from home or are even a stay at home mom we all deal with stress. It is in these moments that your life can feel like it is spinning out of control, but you do not have to allow this to happen. How exactly do you deal with stress? How do you make sure that your job does not control your life, and yet you still give 100 percent of yourself while you are at work? This is not an easy question to answer and put into action at the same time. Lately I have been fighting all of these things that I know will help me to cope with this stress filled situation. Tonight as I type this post to encourage you to do these things, I am making a commitment to myself to focus on this as well. I have some wonderful coworkers that have been trying hard to encourage me lately as they see me moving away from the healthy habits I have developed. So thank you Rebecca and Katie for pushing me to do what I know needs to be done and encouraging me to maintain a healthy lifestyle when I feel like giving up.

These are my best tips to deal with workplace stress and maintain a healthy lifestyle when you feel like your job is stealing your joy.

1) Get some exercise...... This is one of the best ways to make sure that you can handle stress well and stay healthy. I have been absolutely terrible at this recently, but you know what I can really tell the difference too. When I stop exercising like I should be, my energy takes a dive as well and I struggle even more to deal with stress. Working out is a great stress reliever and helps you to get your mind off of the things that are stressing you out. Exercise also helps you to change your focus which is so important in maintaining your joy.

2) Focus on you......This is so hard to do especially for those of us who have family and job responsibilities that take so much time away from us. Focus on what you can control and find ways to create time for yourself and for the things that you enjoy. Here are some ideas of things you can do that do not cost a lot, but can help you to focus on yourself and increasing your joy. Start a blog, cook or bake, draw or create something, plant a garden, find a hobby and embrace it. For many years I would work on money-saving activities like surveys and market research projects while I relaxed in the evening, I found these activities relaxing and they also helped me achieve my financial goals for my future at the same time. You can also get involved in volunteering with something that you love or simply spend an evening with a friend. Spending time Investing in the lives of others or building relationships is healthy and can help you deal with stress in a healthy way. Avoid shopping when you are stressed because stress can encourage bad spending habits and can cause you to buy things you would not otherwise buy. Online shopping can be especially addicting when you are stressed because shopping online is so easy to do and can at times feel therapeutic. There is a reason they call it retail therapy and I believe it is because many people turn to it when they are stressed to make them feel better.

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3) Take your lunch break and vacations..... Taking your lunch break is so important I cannot stress this enough. I have read many studies that encourage this but I never realized until recently how many people do not take a lunch break everyday. I had a previous job where I was never allowed to leave my desk for a lunch break and I can tell you that was the job that I put on the most weight. Stress from a job can not only steal your joy, but can cause health issues and weight gain so quickly due to stress. I gained at least 20 lbs in the year that I worked at this job and I was miserable. I made myself a promise when I left this job that I would never again allow a job to keep me from at least taking a 30 minute lunch. Did you know it is illegal to not give a person working a full 8 hour shift at least a 30 minute lunch. Do not allow your job to steal the 30 minutes that they already take out of your check. Even if they will pay you for the lunch break missed, do not work through your lunch. I can guarantee burn out will happen faster when you do not at least take your lunch break daily. Taking vacation time is another thing that many people do not take or put off due to work stress. Vacation time is there for a reason and although you can cash in vacation time at many jobs for extra pay I do not advise this unless you are desperate. I believe that time off is important to our overall health and well-being and if you have time to use I advise that you use it accordingly. Give yourself a break once in a while and accept that if you allow yourself to take the time off, work will go on without you and it will be there when you come back.

4) Eat healthy.....Healthy eating is probably the second hardest things for me to do when I am under great stress at work. However it is so incredibly important in being able to handle stress because with an unhealthy diet come increased risk of heart attack, stroke, high blood pressure and many other health issues. Packing a lunch for work can greatly help with this and can prevent the go to diet of most stressed out people, which is fast food. Why do you think more and more fast food chains are popping up all over the country? Because fast food has become the quickest easiest meal option for people on the go. Break that cycle and choose to pack your lunch saving money and keeping your diet on track. I lost over 50 pounds in the last few years by increasing my exercise and watching what I eat with no special diet. I am a stress eater, which basically means that I reach for some of the most unhealthy foods to cope with a stressful situation. This is why at the job I mentioned earlier where I never got a lunch break I gained an extra 20 pounds in that year I worked there. I love to grab a snack and I crave things that are extremely unhealthy like cookies, chips, and latte's when I am under a lot of added stress. There are so many reasons to make sure that you are eating healthy and one of them is to prevent health issues related to stress. Health issues are a huge expense and they can be prevented often through a healthy lifestyle of eating right, exercise and rest.

5) Get some sleep..... Sleeping at least 6-8 hours a night is so important as well because our bodies do not function well or heal themselves properly without the right amount of rest. It is suggested that we get at least 6-8 hours of sleep a night but each person is different some need more and some need less. Listen to your body if you get tired get some sleep and do not beat yourself up over what you are not getting accomplished while you are sleeping.

6) Pray, meditate, listen to music and just breathe..... Find the best ways to focus on the positive and begin to seek some peace in your life. I personally believe that great things happen in our lives through prayer. Not everyone believes the same and I recognize that, but I have found more peace through the simple action of a prayer. For me it is letting go of control and allowing myself to recognize that I cannot do everything alone. Prayer has brought me joy and peace at times where I felt hopeless and overwhelmed. Other similar things you can do are listen to music, meditate, draw or write. Find whatever you need to do to focus on positivity in your life instead of the negativity of the situation and allow yourself to reflect on the moment you are in. Realizing that you alone do not have to do everything can be very freeing and can help you to face another stress filled day without sacrificing your joy.Let go and realize that you cannot control your job, all you can do is control how you react and cope with the given situation. You can try everyday to do the best job you can while you are there, but the stress of the office will always fluctuate from time to time and there are so many factors that are out of your hands. Make sure that you realize all you can do is your very best, and that is all that you owe to yourself and to your job.