Stress Management and Prevention

Is stress always a negative thing?
No, positive stress is what people experience when being extremely creative, physically active, or feeling excited.

What are the main types of stress employees experience at work?
Employee stress originates from the following categories: organizational, individual/personal, and job-centric.

What are organizational stressors?
Organizational stressors are discrimination, overly strict rules and regulations, ineffective communication, poor teamwork, unclear direction, too much or too little to do on the job, and lack of control over one’s job.

Can stress be physically harmful?
Yes, stress can take a toll on a person physically by causing muscle tension, headaches and migraines, insomnia, fatigue, frequent illness, stomach or digestive issues, over or under-eating and uncharacteristic clumsiness.

What are mental and emotional symptoms of stress?
The symptoms that affect you mentally and emotionally are anxiety, depression, apathy, trouble concentrating, social withdrawal, loss of sex drive, irritability and hostility, emotional outbursts, forgetfulness, and paranoia.

How can one manage their stress?
Taking charge of your stress is the first step in managing it. You can do this by identifying the primary stressors; keep a stress journal to help pinpoint causes and reactions, analyze coping strategies, examine situations and decide if they need to be avoided or altered, eliminate things that cause stress as much as possible, think positively, take time to relax, and exercise or consider the advantages of meditating.