5 Easy Ways to Relieve Stress At Work

Everyone who has ever held a job has, at some point, felt the pressure of work-related stress. Any job can have stressful elements, even if you love what you do. In the short-term, you may experience pressure to meet a deadline or to fulfill a challenging obligation. But when work stress becomes chronic, it can be overwhelming—and harmful to both physical and emotional health.

Unfortunately, such long-term stress is all too common. In fact, APA’s annual Stress in America survey has consistently found that work is cited as a significant source of stress by a majority of Americans. You can’t always avoid the tensions that occur on the job. Yet you can take steps to manage work-related stress.

If you don’t have in-office yoga classes or a relaxation room nearby, there are several things you can do right at your desk to help de-stress.

1. Go to your "happy place"

No, don't actually go there (unless your happy place is the office break room). But there's definitely value in taking a quick mental vacation from spreadsheets and deadlines. If you have a few minutes to yourself, think about a place you'd like to be—whether it's the mall or Montana.

This is probably the easiest tip on the list, because it simply requires you to close your eyes, exhale, and imagine your favorite place. But we also recommend trying to put yourself there through every one of your senses.

In other words, don't just picture a beautiful beach scene—smell the salt air, feel the sand on your feet, hear the waves crashing, taste that daiquiri… you get the point. Take the timeout, your work will be waiting when you return.

2. Breathe deeply

We don't spend too much time thinking about breathing. But maybe we should. According to Harvard Health, we might all be breathing the "wrong way." Instead of taking shallow breaths through our chest muscles (which leads to tension) they recommend taking slow, deep breaths to promote better oxygen use.

By breathing deeper, your heartbeat will also slow down, which then levels out your blood pressure. From there, you're likely to also feel calmer and more relaxed, simply by letting oxygen do what it needs to do.

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3. Laugh it up

You’ve probably heard it said many times that "laughter is the best medicine," but don’t write it off just yet. According to the Mayo Clinic, there are few natural stress relievers better than laughing.

No, we're not kidding. (See what we did there?) Laughter has the ability to relieve stress from the inside out.

First, laughter is a natural way to take deep breaths and get more oxygen, which is huge for relaxing tense muscles. But laughing also helps to release endorphins that boost your stress response and balance your heart rate.

If your coworkers are a cause of your stress, let them be a part of the solution. Take some time to share a story, a good (SFW) joke, or reminisce about a funny moment from last summer's company barbecue.

Not only will it help your personal stress levels, but it might also help improve communication with your colleagues. Then, this might just lower your stress entirely … and isn't that why you're reading this in the first place?

4. Journaling

The point of (and benefit to) journaling is to:

  • bring awareness to your thoughts and what’s triggering stress; and
  • help you release negative thoughts and emotions by writing them down so that you can let go and move on.

This practice is especially helpful when your mind feels cluttered, and there’s something about writing your thoughts and feelings down that can be therapeutic and calming. Moreover, it will help you to uncover the hidden beliefs behind your emotions so that you can challenge and process through them later

5. Practice affirmations

Feeling confident at work can reduce stress levels and increase productivity, which is one benefit of positive self-talk. Let yourself know what you appreciate about yourself out loud so that you can internalize and process your affirmations.

Remind yourself, “I’m good at my job and a valuable part of my team,” and this will help you conquer negative feelings.

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If you're able to calm down, you'll be in a better position to address the stressful situations you're experiencing. In addition to the 5 quick options here, regular stress relievers such as hobbies, along with healthy lifestyle habits such as exercise, can help reduce your overall stress levels in the long term and help you deal with stressful situations in the future.

Remember, stress shows up differently for different people. You might be looking for pain relief for muscles and joints, or you might be more prone to breakouts, eczema or other skin conditions that are heightened by stress. Keep in mind that stress relief is a long-term process. But if you can find a few minutes in your day to relax, refocus, and re-calibrate, those last few hours of work might just be your most productive.

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