Stress is defined as a physical, chemical or emotional factor that causes bodily or mental tension and also may contribute to disease.    The most common currently accepted definition of stress is a sensation that is experienced when a person perceives that “demands exceed the personal and social resources the individual is able to mobilize”.  

We can’t always avoid stress, as it is a part of life. However, we can neutralize stress by implementing some positive principles.

This article will give you some techniques to equip you with effective coping mechanisms for dealing with work related stress:

1. Know Who You Are – Understand your strengths and weakness as they relate to the job that you are employed to do.   More likely than not, if you are in a job where you get energized  when you  go to work every day, then you are probably going to perform better  than if you are in a job that does not fit your skill and personality set.

2.  Develop a teachable and cooperative attitude in the workplace – You will experience a lot less stress if you go into work with a positive mindset that you are going to express a positive outlook and attitude throughout the day.  

3.  Avoid office gossip – Develop a reputation for getting things done, not talking about employees.  Focus on your priorities so that you focus on the most important job to do. Initiate doing more than just your fair share.  You will be surprised at who is watching your performance!

4.  Develop healthy boundaries in the workplace.  This means that you keep your personal problems and challenges out of the work place.  Spending a lot of time on your cell phone, emailing to personal friends, or talking to family members or coworkers during company time causes a company’s productivity to decline.   In these difficult economic times, when companies have to engage in layoffs, they will look at how productive you have been and what you have been contributing to their organization as they make their decisions.

Big Idea:  We can’t always avoid stress, as it is a part of life.  However, we can neutralize stress by implementing some positive life giving principles.  This blog will focus on some practical and useful principles, which if employed, will help to manage stress.

A commonly accepted definition of stress is that it is something that is experienced when a person perceives that demands exceed the personal and social resources the individual is able to mobilize.  One example is a situation where an individual has more debt than financial resources; another example in the workplace is an individual that is not working in her or her area of gifting, so is having a difficult time completing a given project.  Another illustration is an employee who is struggling with multiple stressors at the same time.  For example, going through a divorce, struggling with financial debt, and having career struggles all at the same time.  When stress happens, a physiological response to an internal or external stimulus happens that can trigger the fight or flight response.

Some people have great coping mechanisms and know how to manage the fight or flight response. Others have a difficult time and stress can result in depression, anxiety, time off from work and both physical and emotional illness.

Here are some practical ways to help you to manage the stressors that come into your life.

1.  Know Who You Are – Understand your personal strengths and weaknesses as they relate to your goals and objectives, both personally and professionally.  
   Everyone has areas where they are great and not so great.  If you know who you are, you will learn to take on things that fit your personality and gifting better, thereby reducing your level of stress.
2. Learn to Set Boundaries – Think of boundaries as an adjustable emotional fence; let the fence down when you want to take on more responsibility, and put the fence up when you need to set limits.  Know your limits and stick to them as necessary in all aspects of life.  
3.  Practice effective time management- Assess the value of your time, understand how to use it effectively, and improve your patterns.
4. Balance work with rest, relaxation, family time and fun!  In other words, learn to enjoy life. You can’t take any of it with you!
5.  There is wisdom in applying a scriptural principle in managing stress.  Surrender to a power greater than yourself.  It comes from Matthew 6:25-27.  It reads …Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life.   ^[1]

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^[1]The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. Mt 6:26-27

Life is filled with both good and bad surprises!  

It’s nice when everything in our lives is going well. When we make plans and dream, and do business as usual. But what happens when adversity weighs in and seems to take over our lives? When the pain seems paralyzing?  

That’s what recently happened to me. I was working in my clinical practice, enjoying pouring into people’s lives and basking in an abundance of physical energy that I’ve always taken for granted.

It started with a dry cough—that was all. No other symptoms. My husband noticed it and suggested that I go in and get checked. But I dismissed it as lung irritation from all the wildfire smoke we were being exposed to in Southern California. 

At the time I actually felt great—having just lost some weight and keeping up with my 10,000 steps per day—so I wasn’t concerned. 

We went on vacation to Texas and enjoyed family time, and I had no idea I was about to face such a serious illness. The coughing increased upon our return from Texas, so my husband took me to the emergency room. They took an X-ray immediately and discovered that I had bilateral pneumonia in both lungs. The doctor admitted me to the hospital in order to fight this illness aggressively. He described my condition as a “big pneumonia” and said it could take three to six months to recover.

Usually I’m a pretty healthy person. I recover quickly and hit the ground running like a rabbit. But this time my “big pneumonia” eventually became an auto-immune problem that would take some time to heal and force me to rest. 

Rest—that’s a word that I’m not used to, either. I like keeping busy and feeling productive. And though I’m grateful I will recover from this illness, I’ve felt so many losses from not being able to keep up with my normal routine. I’ve discovered that dealing with losses in income, energy and feeling purposeless and unproductive can lead easily to discouragement and depression, and result in the cultivation of daily pity parties.  

Thankfully, when I do get discouraged, I can look back at past experiences and remember how God has seen me through much adversity. I’ve had my share of pain. I’ve survived breast cancer twice, and my husband had a subdural hematoma in 2012 which came with a lot of uncertainty. But he’s doing quite well now with no residual affects! A few years ago, my daughter had a surgery that became serious and life threating. She is doing great now, and we are grateful that she’s healthy!

God has been faithful through all of this adversity. I’ve learned how to lean on Him for His peace, love, comfort and direction and to really cry out to Him for His amazing grace and mercy in my circumstances. 

Below are some principles that have helped me in my recovery. My prayer is that they will help you also. Recovery from an illness or loss usually involves a marathon, not a sprint. In other words, it takes time. 

Here are a few short principles:

• Prioritize what is most valuable – that’s YOU! Slow down and take care of yourself.   Slowing down requires letting go and surrendering to what is directly in front of you and taking one step at a time. It means redefining priorities and rethinking what is most important (instead of merely what you think is important). It means giving yourself permission to let go of whatever drains your time, finances, and energy.  

• Reframe your thinking – Often when we don’t feel well, we can dwell on all the negative aspects of a situation. But are you also able to recognize the positive aspects? Are you open to learning some great lessons that might propel you forward into a better quality of life? If you are entrenched in seeing the negative, it will be difficult to embrace the changes that can invite a new season into your life.    

• Grieve the losses – Experiencing an illness can bring about great loss—loss of time, loss of resources, loss of independence. Sometimes we need help grieving our losses with a clergy member, a therapist, or a friend. Grieving helps us let go of and forgive the past and enables us to accept a new normal. 

• Rely and lean on the One who promises to never leave or forsake you, the One who knows the days that He has ordained for you. Cultivate a personal relationship with Jesus and believe that God loves you and wants the best for your life!