Stress interferes with work - what to do and how stress affects performance

Stress has settled very deeply into our lives, and that is a fact. Every day we have to go to new places, come into contact with a huge number of strangers and immerse ourselves in a lot of problems that require solutions “here and now”. 90% of the time this is stressful for us.

Hans Sellier, the scientist who came up with the stress theory, said that lack of nervous tension can lead to bad consequences. It is because of him that humans have survived through evolution.

Stress is a certain state of psychological as well as physical tension that occurs in response to an external stimulus. The causes can be fatigue due to long and exhausting work without rest, emotional factors and situations with difficult decisions.

For a short period of time, a stressful state is even beneficial, but if it lingers, it can lead to complete physical and mental exhaustion. If you feel that your anxiety and stress levels have taken on a “permanent” status, then it’s time to take action.

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“Being a little neurotic” in the 21st century, when there is a lot of information noise around, has become the new “norm”. A person’s background stress level is many times higher now than it was in the 20th century. Of course, there is now a culture of going to therapists, psychologists and other professionals in the helping professions, and that’s fine. If we regularly take care of not only our physical health, but also our mental health, we become much more resilient to external, unpredictable changes in reality and retain the ability to make rational, informed decisions.

Don’t stop yourself from being aware

In most cases, we live and do not notice everyday stress, because a person gets used to absolutely everything, and we note only peak moments. But if we are stressed for a long time and do not deal with the causes, the background stress goes deeper and turns into background anxiety, which can lead to serious depressive states.

Our mind is always trying to find an explanation for what we are experiencing in order to reduce our stress levels. Therefore, when an external and objectively stressful event occurs, such as a natural disaster or a virus pandemic, people with background anxiety react more actively and immerse themselves in what is happening around them in order to, paradoxically, calm down and reduce cortisol levels in the blood.

Cortisol (hydrocortisone) is a hormone that is produced in the adrenal cortex. It helps protect our bodies from stress, controls blood pressure and is involved in metabolic processes.

In dealing with the hormone, our brain can come to the rescue. If it understands the original cause of the problem, the level of cortisol in the blood will begin to decrease. One of the main factors of stress is precisely uncertainty.

Hence the first piece of advice. Remember, all advice like “don’t read the news”, “just switch to something else” – doesn’t work. It is not forbidden to monitor the surrounding situation, but it is important to limit the time of control.

In case stress interferes with work, plan yourself a schedule and say, “One hour a day I read the current agenda. I turn off everything unnecessary, I don’t do anything else, I only talk to people about the news.” In the case of a tracking prohibition, an avoidance mechanism is triggered. Like with sweets or flour products – you don’t eat them, you tolerate them even though you love them very much, and then you snap. When this happens – it becomes an even greater source of stress.

We wrote about the correct distribution of time in the previous material.

Put everything “on pause”

In no case should you devalue the emotions and feelings of people who are experiencing terrible anxiety about the world around them. There are those who are in a really deep state of stress, and any advice from the outside in most cases they will only be able to ignore.

As an attempt to reduce anxiety levels and relieve unnecessary stress, you need to take a break. You can have a sincere conversation with management about your condition and ask them to either reschedule deadlines or take a break to work through the emotions that arise and reduce the stress of unfulfilled tasks.

To avoid feeling guilty for not being a resource, read our experts’ tips on fatigue and apathy.

Breathe

In the current realities, where the planning horizon is the next couple of weeks starting 2019, it is imperative to make an important habit – breathe. You don’t have to go specifically to learn breathing techniques. There is a very simple breathing exercise that you should make a habit of, like brushing your teeth in the morning. It’s called the “square breathing” technique.

We stand up straight and on two legs. Squaring your shoulders;
take deep, slow breaths for four counts;
hold your breath for four counts and exhale as slowly as you inhaled;
hold the breath again.

You get a movement as if on the edges of the square: inhale, delay, exhale, delay. Repeat this way from five times, and you will immediately notice a decrease in anxiety and return the ability to think constructively. The best time for this practice is in the morning. You should breathe according to this scheme once a day at least, and if necessary, you can try to do it every time you have emotions off the scale.

Important. All these recommendations, if you realize them and make them a habit, will help to reduce stress levels and restore your ability to think critically. But the recommendations do not negate the need to seek the help of professionals in the helping professions. Rather, they are supportive practices; working with anxiety is important with professional help.