They may also be more cooperative and experience fewer social and behavioral issues in school. Stretching, using essential oils, scanning your body for muscular tension, and foam rolling are just a few of the many ways to relieve stress quickly. Working with a healthcare professional if these strategies don’t work is highly advised. According to the American Institute of Stress, job pressure and money are the top causes of stress in America, with 61 percent of people reporting that work is their main source of stress. If you’re one of the millions of people who spend their evening hours untangling the tensions of the day, then you need to find a few simple ways to shed the stress and get back to a clear, happy state of mind. Reaching for a glass of wine to unwind after a stressful day?
Lifestyle Quizzes
Relaxation isn’t only about peace of mind or enjoying a hobby. It’s a process that lessens the stress effects on your mind and body. Using ways to relax can help you cope with everyday stress. And these options can help with long-term stress or stress related to many health problems, such as heart disease how to destress after work and pain.
Taking time to recharge
Inhaling essential oils may help calm the mind in times of stress, anxiety, and insomnia. This popular technique, also known as aromatherapy, focuses on using scents to holistically balance your physical, emotional, and psychological health. You can practice guided meditation, guided imagery, mindfulness, visualization and other forms of meditation anywhere at any time. For example, you could meditate when you’re out for a walk, riding the bus to work or waiting at your health care provider’s office. Relaxation techniques are a great way to help with stress management.
Know when it’s time to leave
With all the new stressors impacting each one of us, we now more than ever have to take proactive steps to lift ourselves so we can better lift each other. It’s incredibly important to take breaks during work, even when you feel like there’s a rush to get your task at hand done. For the times when you can’t leave your desk, you can still stretch while sitting for five minutes without intervention. There are several supplements that can help reduce stress and anxiety, but many of these supplements may take a few weeks or months of intake before they have an effect. Listening to or playing music is a good stress reliever.
However, it’s important to note that moderation is key, as excessive alcohol consumption can have detrimental effects on both physical and mental health. By Elizabeth Scott, PhDElizabeth Scott, PhD is an author, workshop leader, educator, and award-winning blogger on stress management, positive psychology, relationships, and emotional wellbeing. Things will be clearer when you get to work again tomorrow.
- By putting pen to paper and expressing your innermost thoughts and feelings, you create a safe and private space for self-reflection and exploration.
- While keeping feelings bottled up isn’t an optimal answer, when we spend what could be quality time with loved ones focused on all the stresses of the day, we lose more of our day to job stress.
- This means prioritizing sleep, setting aside time for fun, and ensuring you eat throughout the day.
- Professional counselors or therapists can help you find the sources of your stress and learn new coping tools.
- Research has shown that chronic stress and overwork can increase the risk of burnout, anxiety, depression, and other mental health disorders.
- This can decrease your stress levels, prevent burnout, and increase your overall happiness.
- It’s very natural to seek emotional support when dealing with difficult co-workers.
Skip the surface-level scribbles about your crushes and get to the juicy stuff. Writing down your daily emotions, goals, and realizations can help you cope with stress, clarify your thoughts, and problem-solve more effectively —not to mention you’ll get to know yourself better. After all, we spend a significant part of our waking hours at work.
Ways to Shake Off the Workday So It Doesn’t Ruin Your Precious Evening
With the right tips to unwind, you can create a more balanced and less stressful work environment. If you’re a self-proclaimed workaholic, you might think it’s just a fact of your life. But it doesn’t have to be—and for the sake of your health, it really shouldn’t be. One simple way to deal is to let your body and mind reset.
- From everyday work issues and maintaining relationships, to navigating social engagements and wrangling your kids’ schedules, there’s more than enough stress to go around.
- When you’re stressed and irritable, you may want to isolate yourself.
- So, think about whether the stress is a buildup or related to a more long-term issue.
- For example, listen to soothing music, make sure the area you sleep in is cool, dark and quiet, put phones and tablets away, and stick to a regular schedule.
How to Relieve Job Stress After Work
Keep in touch with trusted friends and family to help cope with stressful work situations. Being available around the clock will quickly burn you out. Creating clear boundaries between work and home life is essential to help you avoid potential job-related stress. Identifying and recording stressful situations can help you understand what’s bothering you.
Stress serves an important purpose — it enables us to respond quickly to threats and avoid danger. But lengthy exposure to stress may lead to mental health difficulties like anxiety and depression or increased physical health problems such as cardiovascular disease and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Because we spend so much of our non-work hours at home, it’s important to have a home environment that soothes your stress rather than one that leaves you feeling more stressed and tired than it should.