How to Stay Calm When the Pressure Is On

By Sandy Schroeder

We have all had those days when the pressure builds and it’s impossible to be calm. Other times, we manage to keep it together and breeze right through. Maintaining calmness under pressure is well worth the effort. You will feel better and so will everyone else.

The Consequences of Stress

Mental and physical health has a chance to thrive when we eliminate ongoing stress. High blood pressure, heart disease, stroke and many other serious diseases have been linked to chronic stress. Learning how to let go just makes sense.

Here are a few stress-reducing tips to try when the pressure mounts.

Get moving - If you know you have a crazy day ahead, doing a brisk walk before breakfast might be a good way to energize the day. During the day when the work just keeps coming, stepping outside for a short walk might help you keep your focus.

Stay centered - Remember who you are and what you do. Then take a deep breath and keep right on doing it to make it through the current situation. Often when we pause to step back, we relax and regroup enough to get a better grip on what we are doing, and things roll ahead from there.

Laughter helps - When you feel yourself becoming irritable over a situation, take a break and call that friend of yours that always makes you laugh. Just pausing to share a joke can ease the tension and put things back into perspective.

Limit caffeine - When a busy day picks up speed and the coffee just keeps coming, everything else may intensify too. A better choice might be taking a few minutes to have a cup of tea and a piece of fresh fruit.

Have a Plan B - If you have been through a variety of projects and deadlines, you may already have a Plan B in your pocket. A backup plan may supply extra resources, people or alternate ideas that can help you fish out the current situation.

Avoid dwelling on the negatives - You have probably worked with both kinds of people, positive and negative. Whenever you can, stick with the positive people. They keep everything moving and keep everyone else up, while negative people do the reverse.

The more pressure you deal with at work, the more seasoned you will become, but it never hurts to remind yourself that you have been here before, and usually it worked out just fine.

To learn more about your health, wellness, and fitness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in Windermere, Fla.