Your Perception About Stress

• The neural circuits in our emotional brain - the limbic system and subconscious memory systems - control our emotional responses in daily life.
• When a stimulus arrives in the brain, it activates either stress-resilient circuits, the internal calmers and healers, or stress-reactive circuits.
• The brain activates the strongest circuit, which controls our responses.
• If the strongest circuit is the reactive circuit, our strong emotions get the upper hand, and the stress interferes with the part of our brain responsible for higher-level thinking and planning.
• The longer the stress-reactive circuit is activated, the more likely they are to activate other stress-reactive wires, which can cause an emotional meltdown of anxiety, numbness, depression, and hostility.

The brain learns to be resilient by being resilient. It takes becoming stressed, then use emotional techniques to change the unreasonable expectations stored in that circuit.

• One technique is to complain briefly. It activates the reactive wire that has encoded an incorrect response.
• Then rapidly express emotions, starting with a burst of anger (which decreases stress). You can then stay present to your strong, negative emotions. Talk to yourself through finishing phrases like " I feel afraid that..." or "I feel sad that..."

According to research, when we connect with friends, we can handle stress better.

According to a study, spending time in nature, or even just looking at scenes of nature, may help you recover faster from subsequent stressful experiences.

Stress is a biological response(or a reaction) to external changes and forces beyond one's resources. Signs of stress include a rapid heart rate, shallow breath, and an adrenaline rush.

Acute stress or temporary stress is normal and even beneficial. Chronic stress is linked to health concerns like heart disease and a weakened immune system.

Ways to Handle Stress:

• Exercise daily.
• Focus your energy on what you can control.
• Know that your stress response is unique to you.

Anxiety is the culmination of worry and stress. It is a state of body and mind which is stressed and worried for no apparent reason, like a response to a false alarm.

An anxiety disorder is an acute form of anxiety and a serious medical condition.

How to Handle Anxiety:

• Curb your sugar, alcohol and caffeine consumption.
• Calm yourself by deep breathing and refocusing on your body parts.
• Distract yourself by listening to music or a little exercise.

That’s the minimum required for a mini-mediation.

Just focus on your sense. You don’t need to close your eyes. You don’t even need to be sitting down.

You can use interruptions as hooks to make you more mindful.

Every time your phone rings, take a mindful breath. Every time you hear the ping of a text message, pause to be mindful of your surroundings rather than immediately reacting by checking the message. 

Less stress leads to less anxiety.

Regular meditation helps reduce anxiety and anxiety-related mental health issues like social anxiety, phobias and obsessive-compulsive behaviors.

Some types of meditation can improve depression and help you maintain these benefits.

• Two studies of mindfulness meditation found decreased depression in over 4,600 adults.
• One study found that participants experienced a long-term decrease in depression.

It generates resilience, it empowers you to be flexible, and gives you the ability to identify problems, accept negative feedback from others, and change habits that no longer serve you.

• Use lunch as an act of self-care. Take a moment to notice this nourishment you’re giving yourself. 
• Remember that, just like you, everybody feels like a fraud to a certain degree.
• Helping people makes us feel good about ourselves and connected to others. So, instead of defaulting to “No, thanks” or “ I’m fine” when someone offers you something, try saying yes.

• “Good stress”: which psychologists refer to as “eustress,” is the stress we feel when we’re excited about something.
• Acute stress: when something surprises us or catches us off guard. Acute stress is the body’s response to ensure you react and take measures to deal with the unexpected situation. It has no lasting negative effects if we deal with it quickly and move on.

Resilience is how we deal with stress effectively so we “bounce back” after a difficult time.

As we deal with issues that cause tension and strain, we learn to face adversity, deal with significant issues and overcome problems. We learn how to formulate realistic plans and carry them out.

Thinking Big Picture about the work you do can be very energizing in the face of stress and challenges because you are linking one particular, often small action to a greater meaning or purpose. 

Something that may not seem important or valuable on its own gets cast in a whole new light. 

Every time you make a decision, you create a state of mental tension that is, in fact, stressful. 

The solution is to reduce the number of decisions you need to make by using routines. If there's something you need to do every day, do it at the same time every day. Have a routine for preparing for your day in the morning, and packing up to go home at night. Simple routines can dramatically reduce your experience of stress. 

When we feel stressed, our brains release a chemical called noradrenaline. Noradrenaline increases arousal and alertness, it increases the formation and retrieval of memories, and it focuses attention. It also increases restlessness and anxiety.

If we find ways to control and handle stress emotionally, we can use it to our advantage. It can sharpen our brain function and increase creativity, and eventually make us happier and less anxious.

Symptoms of stress, like a dry mouth and a racing heart, are the same as excitement. Research confirms that when people are in stressful situations such as public speaking, instead of telling themselves to calm down, reframing the situation as exciting helps to ride the wave of stress.

Anxiety can drain you and decrease your confidence while reframing your anxiety as excitement will increase your performance.

To reduce stress in the workplace and increase focus and clarity, encourage your team members to do some physical activity. Physical activity such as yoga and running is also a good way for staff to learn how to pace themselves at work.

You can also set some reminders every two hours for your team members to stand up, stretch and rest their eyes by looking out of the window.

Allow your team members flexibility by not monitoring them often, if their work is completed by specific deadlines. Remember that salary is not everything.

Letting go of rigid work schedules or allowing them to work from home when possible goes a long way to reduce stress in the workplace.