Learn To Reduce Stress

By Julie Goh (30 Nov 2022)

Employees are feeling more stressed than ever these days. Poor mental health and burnout is happening all over the world. The pandemic, lockdowns, health anxieties, inflation and high cost of living are causing stress to people all over the world. On top of that, there is the increased workloads and job uncertainty. Working in a toxic workplace only makes it even worse.

How Do You Know If You Have Mental Stress

Signs you might be suffering from mental stress or burnout: -

Sleeping problem

  • Problem concentrating
  • Unable to control your emotions
  • Change in appetite (can be eating more or less)
  • Headaches and pains
  • Lack of energy, frequently feeling tired
  • Loss of interests (even in things that you like to do)
  • Disillusioned or unmotivated
  • Frequently falling sick

If this continues on and you do not take any measures for it, it could lead to much worse situations.

How to Reduce Mental Stress

It is very important that we make the time to take care of ourselves – not only for ourselves but for our loved ones too. When we are down, indirectly, this also affects those around us. We need to find ways where we are able to reduce stress.

Some ways to reduce stress: -

  • Exercising or work-out. Working out releases endorphins which helps to improve your mood.
  • Disconnecting from your phone, tv and other things that stress you out for a while. Sometimes reducing your social media helps too, if you were stressed out by online trolls or suffer from peer pressure looking at your friends’ posts.
  • Doing activities which you enjoy. Example taking nature walks or hiking, playing with your pets, listening to music or singing, creating artwork, gardening.
  • Talking to someone that you trust. Sometimes, just talking about your problems and your feelings helps. If you don’t want to talk to someone, writing them down helps too.
  • Meditating, yoga or breathing exercise.
  • Eat healthily.
  • Do not take on more than you can handle. Re-assess your to-do list and improve your time management skills.
  • Aromatherapy.

This list is just some suggestions you can use. However, do note that not everyone will use the same method to reduce stress successfully. What works for one person might not work for another. Find out what works best for you and make time for it. We cannot perform our best if our mental health is not taken care of.

The author is an award-winning HR Sifu with Kakitangan.com, who has made significant improvements in how HR operates in multiple retail and high-volume/fast-paced companies. Complimentary consultation sessions with HR Sifu are available for all paying Kakitangan.com customers.

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