On Friday I attended a stress management seminar at work. While my brain responded to some of the info with duh, some of it was helpful.
- The way stress was defined. Using the words “your perceived” to describe demands being put on you and the resources you have to meet them. Sometimes what we think is required of us is actually what we’re requiring of us.
- How some of the different things that your body does when you’re stressed out relates to your head or brain. Further explained my stress-migraine connection.
- Categorizing your stress. I think this may be a good tool for me as I’m an obsessive list maker. When you’re stressed, if you can manage to look at the situation intellectually from a distance, stop and ask yourself these questions. Is this really worth my time and energy to be stressed out about? Is what I’m stressed out about in my control or out of my control? If it’s in my control, is there an action that I can take to help the situation?
- Categorizing your stress even more. Figure out what type of stress you have. Is the stress due to time pressure, performance pressure, discouragement, etc.? Find a specific tool (visualization, breathing techniques, exercise) that works for you for each type of stressful situation. Soon you’ll learn to associate specific types of stress with specific types of solutions.
- Make lists of what you have done instead of what you need to do. Being a rigid list maker, I will not be replacing my to-dos with dones. I’m not interested in forgetting my mom’s birthday, what I’m supposed to do at work, to pay my bills, or to buy toilet paper. However, I do think a list of accomplishments is a cool, feel-good, something extra.
- Try to pinpoint the one thing that starts the racing thoughts/spinoffs/distractions and try to address it. This was in response to my specific question. How do you make that stop?
- Remember, you are not the manager of the universe. Whew.