How to Manage Stress at Work: The Ultimate Guide for Dealing with Workplace Stress

Understanding the Stress Response

The "fight-or-flight" response is a lifesaver in emergencies. When an immediate stressor occurs, a part of our brain called the amygdala - think of it like a fear scanner - triggers off a cascade of events, which trigger off our the sympathetic nervous system which speeds everything up, releases adrenaline into the blood flow and galvanises all our energy and resources to the exercise muscles to help us run away or fight - to fight or flight.

Now this short term stress response is a helpful response - it helped us in survival situations to boost our speed, strength and endurance so we could fight or run away from animals.

And all animals have this same stress response hardwired into them.

Think of a zebra running away from a lion on the Serengeti, or a caveman escaping the Tiger - it’s a helpful response.

The problem

Our prehistoric stress response, designed for short bursts of danger, is now constantly triggered by modern stressors like work emails, bosses and deadlines. It’s an adaptive response to physical threats in the short term but chronic activation from psychological threats disrupts our physical and mental health.

There’s no end to the stress that we face and our bodies just aren’t designed to cope. See stress is fine when we can overcome it - when there’s a clear end point - but most psychological stressors are ongoing and we don’t actually resolve them. We essentially get stuck in this short-term stress response which disrupts almost every bodily system and kills our health and performance.

The Mismatch Between Our Brains and Modern Life

Think of it like your brain is this old outdated hardware and the environment is the software that’s had a rapid update. It’s like trying to use the latest Apple IOS software on an old Nokia - it’s going to be incompatible, you’re going to get bugs and glitches - and for humans, those bugs and glitches come in the form of overthinking, stress, distraction, comparison and unhappiness.

Unfortunately our brains haven’t changed very much in thousands of years and we’re not due an update anytime soon, so it’s key that we’re aware and have strategies in place to combat against the negative impacts of Stress on our Physical and Mental Health.

How to cope with Stress:

1. Identify your Stress Triggers
2. Identify your Symptoms
3. Turn off your Stress Response

Identify Your Stress Triggers

The first step to managing stress is awareness. Pay attention to situations, places and people that trigger your stress response. These are your "on-switches." Common triggers include work deadlines, social interactions and the constant flow of emails, never allowing us to switch off.

Identify Your Symptoms

Everyone can react differently to stress and the danger is, chronic stress can be subtle and hard to identify. Understanding your signs and symptoms is critical to signal for you to do something about it.

• Physical: headaches, muscle tension, fatigue, heartburn
• Psychological: anxiety, irritability, difficulty concentrating
• Behavioural: overeating, social withdrawal, grinding teeth

Turning Off the Stress Response - Your Off Switch

There’s a famous book called why zebras don’t get ulcers. For Zebras when. running away from lions, their stress was only short term - they escaped or the lion got one of their friends - the stress was over or they were over.

This clear end point signalled the body to activate the off switch - the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) - the slowing down response so the body can return to its resting state

But for humans there’s no clear off switch and our stress response becomes perpetually switched on, so it’s important we deliberately activate our PNS. Luckily, this isn’t rocket science.

How to Switch Off your Stress Response

Simple Breathing Techniques

• Box Breathing: Breathe in for 4 seconds, hold for 4 seconds, exhale for 4 seconds, and hold for 4 seconds. Repeat as needed.
• Physiological Sigh: Inhale twice through your nose, followed by a long, slow exhale through your mouth. Repeat as needed.

Additional Off-Switches

• Spend time in nature
• Practice journaling
• Limit screen time
• Reduce caffeine and alcohol intake
• Relaxing activities like baths or meditation

Create an If-Then Plan

An if-then plan is a simple psychological technique that does what it says on the tin. If X happens, then I will Y

If I identify any of my on-switches, then I’ll use my off switch:

- If an email stresses me out, then I will box breath

- If I notice myself rushing, then I will do a physiological sigh

- If I spot myself becoming irritable, then I will go for a walk in nature

Planning your response to stressful situations is key. You’re never going to avoid stressful events but you can avoid the stressful response and the negative impact it has on your physical and mental health. Being Resilient isn’t about avoiding, it’s about knowing how to cope with Stress.