HOW TO OVERCOME STRESS

01How to Relieve, Manage, and Overcome Stress

You know the feeling. That tightness that keeps building in your body and mind that you can't find the release switch for. It's stress you're feeling! As stress hormones begin seeping into, then flooding your body, they prepare you for fight or flight, increasing your pulse and breathing rate, and pulling your body's attention away from everything else.

Chronic stress gets you stuck—neural pathways in your brain can become stronger, you can become super-sensitized to stress-inducing situations, and your body can get chock-full of stress hormones that it can't get rid of fast enough. What was intended by the body to serve as an occasional fight-or-flight mechanism has evolved into a daily fare of stress hormones which flood the bloodstream, causing tension and stress. Of course, this chronic stress is awful for our health, but to beat stress, we have to know what to do. (Take this stress quiz to learn more about your stress load.)

Where does stress come from?

Is your stress coming from some physical stressor—like digestive discomfort or pain? Or is there an emotional component—such as depression, disappointment, or fear? Possibly your stress comes more from something mental—like over-thinking, unrealistic expectations, or rumination. 

You could also experience social stress—like being exiled from the "group," feeling a sense of inadequacy or abandonment, shame because of poor performance, or not being liked or loved enough. There can be external stress—like experiencing prejudice or poverty. And there is environmental stress—like mold or in the air or toxins in your food. All of this adds up to your total stress load.

Finding the roots of your stress

Sometimes finding the source of your stress is easy—it's the job, the romantic partner, the kids, or the financial issues. But usually, the roots of your stress are more complicated, hidden, and, therefore, difficult to resolve. So start to investigate what’s causing your stress until you get a clearer picture of the complexities of your own unique stress-profile.

Once you can see where, why, and how you get stressed, and you can acknowledge the patterns your stress follows, then you can concoct methods for avoiding stressful episodes, practice ways of dealing with them better and clear your body of leftover stress hormones.

To start, explore some possible ways to decrease stress:

1. Explore stress-reduction at work

You might want to consider changing jobs or changing some aspect of the job that is causing stress. Perhaps a committee or workgroup you are part of is sapping your energy and amping up stress. Ask to be moved to a different group, restructure the time constraints required to fulfill those responsibilities, or work for a different manager/boss. Perhaps you can negotiate more work-from-home flex-time.

If you are the boss and are feeling overwhelmed at work, you could consider delegating more of your less-preferred tasks or responsibilities to promising employees. Or you might consider taking a sabbatical, a vacation, or scheduling a long-weekend break. Attempt to design your “perfect job” and then gradually find a way to delegate the rest, or let those tasks go altogether and restructure the work.

Such an approach may not always be possible, but take a look at options to see if there is a creative way within that job to rearrange your tasks, lessen your responsibilities, or share them with others in order to lighten your stress load at work. 

2. Explore stress-reduction at home

Perhaps you have a critical in-law, a jealous sister, a cheating mate, or screaming children who make way too many demands on you, causing your stress. Consider arranging share-time with other mothers, so you have some free time for yourself, or if needed, you may want to consider some child-care. 

If your kids need some diversion, you and your kids can take your pet (or a neighbor’s pet) for a walk or sign your kids up for a neighborhood project, camp, or art class. 

If your spouse is creating stress for you, ask yourself: Is he/she over-worked and taking it out on you as the closest person who won’t get him/her fired, or is there an underlying relationship issue that needs to be resolved? 

3. Explore mental stress-reduction

If taking a thorough look at what’s causing your anxiety and its resulting stress doesn’t come up with any answers, what should you do? One approach is to take an honest look at your beliefs, values, and perspectives on life. Try to be more cooperative, compassionate, considerate of others, friendly, good-natured, and positive. We are less stressed when we are relatively open and flexible, rather than uptight. And we are definitely less stressed when we are happy or having fun!

4. Explore healthy approaches to stress reduction

People tend to handle stress better when they are healthy, so follow these rules for healthy living: 

Eat nutritious food in moderation. The “Mediterranean Diet’ is often extolled as the “healthiest” with its wide selection of fresh fruits and vegetables, olive oil, whole grains, seeds, nuts, and legumes, plus fish. It allows light servings of chicken, eggs, cheese, and yogurt, while red meat is allowed only rarely. This diet recommends that we stay away from excess sugars, sodas, processed foods, refined grains, processed meats, and trans-fat. Eat mindfully and slowly, chew well, avoid over-eating, and avoid toxins that can seep in your food.

Exercise. Twenty minutes of aerobic exercise several times a week is recommended. Moderate exercise gives the muscles an outlet for stress and can help move through the stress cycle. But if that’s unrealistic for you, you would likely benefit from a daily walk. It’s even better when you walk in nature, which is calming and healing. 

Get enough sleep. Generally, 7-8 hours of sleep nightly is recommended, but this will vary by age, gender, intensity of physical exertion, and habit. Listen to your body: if you're tired, then sleep.

Take breaks from tech. Today, with the omnipotence of the digital world, where almost everybody has a cell phone, and most are mesmerized by the internet, we should be aware of digital overload and screen fatigue, which can cause eye-strain, headaches, and even reduced well-being. (For more, see my book Outsmart Your Smartphone.)

Socialize. With so many people glued to their computers and cell phones all day long and then watching TV, news, or movies into the evening as well, our once interactive communities are suffering today from a new form of isolation. Most jobs include some socializing with others, whether clients or co-workers, but more and more people are finding themselves isolated from others as they work at home all alone. Loneliness is reaching epidemic proportions among young and old alike. So remember to reach out to friends and family, because sharing our lives with others is an important part of a healthy lifestyle.

5. Explore relaxation techniques for stress reduction

Taking several long, deep breaths is one of the quickest ways to shed stress, and it can be done anywhere.

Consciously tighten and then loosen different muscle groups while sitting at your desk. Stress causes muscles to tighten, but by consciously working those same muscles, you can unlock their grip.

Turn on some soothing music and really listen to it. Or have it as background music to calm the room where you are working or relaxing.

Develop a meditation practice. If you don’t know where to begin, you can start by closing your eyes while taking some deep breaths. Slowly count your breaths on the exhale to help you quiet your restless mind. Keep bringing your focus back to your breath. Continue counting breaths up to 50, or for a set period of time, gradually lengthening your practice until you no longer need to count. Guided visualizations are helpful for reducing stress as well.

Take a hot bath or soak in a hot tub. Water is soothing for most people, and hot water relaxes your muscles.

Do something creative that you enjoy. Try sketching, singing, dancing, making jewelry, gardening, etc. Maybe you like to write. Journaling, whether organized or stream-of-consciousness, can be a helpful way to process your thoughts in order to release stress. 

Do something physical. Anything! Yell if it helps. Do chores around your house, or go somewhere. Make a plan and follow through with it.

02

Nutritionist-approved tips for getting more plant-based foods in your diet

For many people, January is the perfect time to make healthy lifestyle changes, including to their diet and exercise routines.

It’s also an ideal time to incorporate more plant-based foods into our lives, now that Canada’s Food Guide has been updated.

Tori Wesszer is a registered dietitian, lifestyle blogger and author of the bestselling cookbook Fraiche Food, Full Hearts (written with her cousin, “Bachelor” alum Jillian Harris) who knows a thing or two about plant-based cooking. She’s also aware that many are intimidated with making the switch.

“A lot of people see the whole plant-based movement as an all or nothing kind of thing - they think they have to go all plant-based or not at all,” she shared in a recent chat with Yahoo Canada. 

“I hope that people are starting to see it as more of a scale where they start to edge into eating more plant-based [foods], and there are so many different ways that you can go about doing that.”

ALSO SEE: Blue Monday: How to effectively overcome stress and anxiety at home

For those looking to include more plant-based protein in their diet, Wesszer recommends getting started by swapping out familiar ingredients like ground beef or pork for their plant-based counterparts.

Products like Beyond Beef offer a similar taste and texture to ground meat, as well as a similar nutritional profile, making it a natural choice for your favourite recipes.  

If you’re in need of a little kitchen inspiration, Wesszer’s blog Fraiche Living is also filled with nourishing recipes that incorporate all the aspects we’ve come to know and love about cooking with meat, but with a focus on plant-based protein. 

Her recipes for comfort food staples like shepherd’s pie and hamburger soup are not only delicious and meat-free, but also kid-tested and approved. 

“It was such a great way for us to feel good about the meals that we were eating. [They’re] completely plant-based, but you couldn’t tell,” she admitted.  

Wesszer, a mother to two young boys, is well aware of the challenges that come with getting kids to eat more fruits and vegetables. As an answer to this issue, she’s created recipes like the Sneaky Mommy Muffins, which incorporate grated veggies along with nuts and fruits into the batter. 

For extra-picky eaters, Wesszer recommends getting creative in the kitchen to make sure that kids are meeting their daily servings of fruits and veggies. One of her favourite ways to do so is by adding things like shredded carrots and zucchini to pasta sauces, taco fillings and baked goods, to easily up their nutritional value without altering the taste. 

Ultimately, getting kids involved in meal preparation from start to finish is the best way to get them interested in trying new foods. 

“Start at the grocery store. Get their help picking out a new fruit or vegetable or new ingredient, and get them to help you cook it. Get them to taste it,” she shared. 

“Encourage [your] kids to be in the kitchen. It’s messy, I won’t lie, but it is so worth it.”

Let us know what you think by commenting below and tweeting @YahooStyleCA! Follow us on Twitter and Instagram.

03

4 Top stress triggers for business travellers and how to overcome them

Travel Tips / 15 January 2020, 10:00am / Supplied Content

If you’ve ever felt stressed or anxious about business travels, know that you are not alone. (File Photo: IANS)

If you’ve ever felt stressed or anxious about business travels, know that you are not alone. In fact, experts have come up with a new term to describe this very common phenomenon. It’s called "Permanxiety”. 

Coined in 2017 by global travel industry platform Skift, Permanxiety refers to a permanent state of anxiety widely experienced across the world. An almost collective sense of dread around anything from acts of terrorism, natural disasters, climate change, political uncertainty, financial concerns, crime and personal safety.  

Travel has a unique way of amplifying one’s anxiety. The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) reports that flight delays, lost luggage, language barriers, technology failure (for example, being unable to set up devices or get connected) and personal safety (including accidents and injury) are just some of the concerns facing business travellers. 

Oz Desai, GM Corporate Traveller, identified four of the top ‘stress triggers’ for corporate travellers – and helps with ways to overcome them.

Travel admin – and curveballs

More and more business travellers are turning to tech when making their travel bookings. Interestingly, while the majority of business travellers enjoy the ease and convenience of modern booking tools, a 2019 SAP Concur study found that a surprising number of business travellers are still going out of their way to get a direct human connection – with more than a quarter of business travellers (28%) indicating that they would rather re-book cancelled travel arrangements over the phone than online. 

Desai is not surprised. He says, " While making the initial flight, accommodation and transport bookings might be quick and easy, it actually takes a considerable amount of time to cancel and rebook flights and adjust one’s entire itinerary when plans change. Unfortunately curveballs are a reality with business travel – and more and more travellers would like a ‘human’ on the other end of the phone to unravel bookings and mitigate the knock-on effect of a rescheduled meeting, delayed flight or unexpected event.”  

Airport anxiety

Airport anxiety is an unfortunate reality, with concerns about flight delays, lack of sleep, jet lag and fear of flying keeping many a traveller up at night. 

And while it is hard to ease the some of the ‘pain points’, for example, queues at customs and immigration, there are ways to ensure your airport experience is a lot more bearable. 

Many airlines also offer priority boarding at a nominal fee, meaning you can board, find your seat and stow your carry-on bag quickly and easily. This might seem like an unnecessary expense, but even securing space for your hand luggage in the cabin close to your seat can ease a little airport anxiety. 

Work pressure

Meeting new people, jitters before difficult presentations or pressure around securing new business can all add to the stress of business travel. But it doesn’t end there. The SAP Concur study reveals that as many as 1 in 3 business travellers (33%) are most stressed after a business trip – saying that post-trip admin (including catching up on emails and filing expense reports) is the most stressful part of any trip.

Finding a travel management partner with convenient cost/expense management tools will go a long way to ease this stress,  ensuring that travel expenses are reconciled and reimbursed quickly and easily and that employees are not left stressed and out of pocket!

Of course, you can always postpone the nightmare of post-trip admin by combining business with leisure. It’s no surprise that ‘bleisure’ travel is booming.  Bleisure allows travellers to explore the world, make the most of their long-distance travel, enjoy a bit of rest and relaxation and hopefully return to work refreshed and ready to tackle their next challenge. 

Personal safety

Safety remains top of mind for business travellers across the globe. Travellers are looking for maximum booking flexibility in their online tools, not only for convenience, but also so they can change their plans if they feel unsafe, unwell or uncomfortable. Sadly the SAP Concur report shows that at least 58% of travellers have changed their accommodation at some point because they felt unsafe.

Again, look for an integrated, comprehensive travel tool that meets all your needs, including safety alerts, location-sharing functionality, flexibility and trusted advice in times of need. 

Travel insurance is becoming increasingly important as we head into 2020. Rather than treating travel insurance as an afterthought, interrogate your options, ensuring that you are effectively covered in the event of an accident, illness or unplanned event.