Curb Your Stress Levels with Awareness, Courage
Are you suddenly feeling not yourself at work? Or maybe your friends and family have commented that they’re worried about you.
Yes, you have work stress, but everyone does, right? Stress, in small amounts, can be uplifting, motivating and productive. But excessive stress is crippling, and you may not even know it’s there.
YOU MAY BE OVERSTRESSED AT WORK IF:
- You dread Sundays because it’s spent dreading Mondays.
- You wake up suddenly in the night, running through a mental to-do list for the next day.
- Your once-sharp memory and knack for remembering details has suddenly disappeared.
- A bad day at work = binge eating on ice cream that evening.
- You participate in gossip because it’s the only way you can get answers about major changes in the organization.
- You couldn’t care less about catching up with coworkers at the water cooler.
- Seeing friends after hours is a drag because they always want to know how your job is going – and you don’t want to talk about it.
- You indulge in the dream of retirement (but you’re only 26 years old).
- You’re counting the hours, sometimes minutes, until the weekend.
- Your to-do list is so long that some people have mistaken it for a novel.
- Your team never has your back.
- No one has told you why a host of new policies have been implemented, but you’re expected to abide by them immediately.
- Co-workers regularly ask, “What do you do here again?”
- You were recently promoted but have no idea how to do the new job.
- You can’t remember the last time you received kudos from your boss. Or anyone, for that matter.
- All of the coffee in the world couldn’t zap new energy into your workday.
- Instead of zoning in on your to-do list, you zone out and get nothing done. Frequently.
- You’ve developed a nervous tick, which is obviously annoying your co-workers.
- A flat tire on the way to work that requires a call to your boss triggers a panic attack.
- You worry every Friday afternoon meeting means you are getting fired.
Extreme stress comes from a variety of sources, but it can be curbed with awareness and a little courage. Visit measureyourstress.com to learn more about the warning signs and how you can measure your stress levels.