Holding down a demanding job these days can sometimes make you feel like your back is against the wall.But when that feeling follows you home and makes you want to punch the wall, that’s a problem.
Work stress has invaded your downtime, threatening to mess with your personal life so you never score that breather everyone needs from the 9-to-5 pressure cooker.
Science backs up the way job anxiety chips away at your well being.
Chronic at work that you’re bringing home regularly “does damage — it causes a rise in blood pressure, GI issues and brain cell death over the long haul,” says Gail Saltz, M.D., associate professor of psychiatry at The New York Presbyterian Hospital Weill-Cornell Medical College.
I – Word Understanding
Stress– a state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or very demanding circumstances.
Chronic – persistent, long-standing, long-term
II – Have Your Say
These strategies will help you create boundaries so the office can’t invade your brain after hours.
1. Diffuse during your commute
Once you step away from the office, you’re on your own time. And even if your trip home is short, think of it as a transitional period when you don’t panic about deadlines or furiously answer emails that can wait until tomorrow
2. Sweat it out
SoulCycle, Zumba Step, barre workouts … whatever exercise you’re into, doing it right after the workday helps you relieve tension accumulated for the last eight hours by prompting the release of calming neurotransmitters and stress-busting endorphins. 3. Change your scene
3. Change your scene
“Our physical environment profoundly impacts our psyche,” says Paul Hokemeyer, Ph.D., psychologist and family therapist. Sounds a little woo-woo, but he’s onto something. To erase work stress, “you want to clearly differentiate your various work and home environments,” so home doesn’t look or feel like work and instead is all about relaxation.
B
1. What are the things makes you stress?
2. What do you usually do when your stress at work?
3. How can you balance your work life?
502 Tricks to keep a stressful job from taking over your life
