Levels of stress and anxiety in the workplace are forever increasing and unless we as individuals learn the triggers and coping mechanisms to reduce this, we will be reaching burnout before it’s too late. Today I discuss five tips to enable you to try and improve your mental health within the workplace.
We all have done it….Got the job we really wanted and steamed straight in with all types of ideas and endless amounts of enthusiasm, only to have our energy dwindle and over time, perhaps even reach ‘burn out’. It is now, more than previous years gone by, that we find the levels of stress and anxiety within any type of workplace scenario ever present. We are living in such a fast paced society that we all get dragged onto the work-life ‘merry-go-round’, at some time in our adult lives, which never stops unless fatigue (burnout) sets in or we make a conscious choice to just ‘step off’. I am not here to teach you to suck eggs, we all need to find and allow some ‘me’ time to keep our mental health in check, but that is not always as easy as it sounds.
If your work-life balance is out of kilter, I can help further, but for now here are 5 top tips to enable you to try and improve your mental health within the work place.
Eat, sleep and exercise
This may seem so obvious. However, to simply EAT, SLEEP and EXERCISE will help improve your mental health at work and in other areas of your life. When it comes to eating, I am referring to eating regularly to keep your blood sugar levels in check and to aim for more ‘balanced’ meals consisting of carbohydrates, proteins and the right fats. To skip a meal, which people often do, really is a disaster waiting to happen. Over time this will play havoc with your blood sugar and may even lead, in years to come, to Type II Diabetes.
Sleep is so important to aid the recovery of muscles, the brain and the entire functioning of your body, to name just a few! Aim for 7-8 hours of good quality sleep a night. If you are struggling, take a read of my blog about the best herbal remedies to aid sleep and do not hesitate to contact me for help. Exercise is vital for ‘mobility’ and to keep the quality of life you are used to, as the years go on otherwise the body starts to degenerate.
Manage your time better
I have already written a blog on this (how to change your relationship with time). Please feel free to have a read to give you any further help. All I am suggesting is that you take time to plan and manage your working hours to be more effective and productive not only for your boss, or business (if self-employed), but for yourself. How about adding in a walk outside during your lunch break? Take your lunch to a local park and absorb the outdoors to take your mind off the tasks back at the office. Go in earlier to miss the work traffic and to get ahead for the day, so that when you go home or ‘switch off’ for the night you can really leave the work until the next day.
Learn to ‘switch-off’
This is so hard for most of us. I admit I found it hard to close my door at the end of a working day and to not touch the laptop to do more work. We have to be kind to ourselves and find a good work-life balance. Switching off will help you to keep mental wellbeing and to decrease any chances of excessive working becoming a detriment to your mental health. It is so easy to do! I found that the realisation of my thinking being out of whack really helped. Home life and work are in fact integrated and not two separate entities, so you have to learn to literally turn off the work phone at the end of the day, to stop the ‘work chatter’. Literally leave work at work when you leave, otherwise it will affect other areas of your life. Learn to ‘switch’ yourself off, like we do our computers and phones to allow yourself to rejuvenate and recharge.
If you are struggling with this, regular Reflexology sessions can help with giving you a dedicated hour to actually ‘switch off’ and to give your body the time and space it is craving to recharge and heal itself. We are our own worst enemies at times and need to focus on more self-care in such a crazy fast paced world!
Be KIND to yourself.
Put the stick down that you keep beating yourself with to try and increase your performance and work output. In effect you are slowly allowing fatigue to set in and your body and mind to become out of ‘balance’. You may have a demanding job and cannot see or ignore that you are getting caught up in a vicious cycle of work and no play, of relentless hours and being too hard on yourself to perform even more. I call this the ‘stick’. Stop hitting yourself with it, as it’s bad enough when your boss or co-worker does have something to say let alone you adding to your beating! Your mental health is more important than the extra money, big bonus or being able to afford a better car this year. Put yourself first! Take responsibility for your health and wellbeing, as it is worth more than diamonds, because without your mental health (in particular) you may not be able to work and do all the nice things you once did.
Triggers
Simply aim to identify what gets to you in your working environment. This way, having identified any triggers to creating work related stress; you can use them to anticipate problems. Once problems are anticipated you can think of ways to solve a problem, in turn alleviating any potential stress. It is the constant hammering of stress within the workplace, which directly causes mental decline within employees and employers.
If any of this resonates with you and you feel I can be of further assistance, on how to restore ‘balance’ to your life, then please do not hesitate to contact me lynne@purplefreesia.co.uk