It’s National Stress Awareness Day…
While stress is an inevitable part of life, our response to it is within our power.
Our body naturally responds (“fight-or-flight”) to the stress that accompanies personal life, work life, technology, data consumable environment, and juggling so many things.
Stress releases cortisol. Cortisol largely contributes to inflammation. Unmanaged, repeated stress is a major trigger for persistent inflammation of our physical and mental systems.
Chronic inflammation can lead to a variety of health conditions, including:
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Chronic pain
- High blood pressure
- Heart disease
- Type 2 diabetes
- Certain autoimmune conditions
- Dementia
- Certain cancers
Workplace stress (overwhelming workloads, toxic environments, or inconsistent management) is one of the most common challenges professionals face. Nonprofit executives are leaving their roles at unprecedented rates today due to significant stress, chronic anxiety, and burnout.
Burnout develops when stress becomes chronic and unmanaged. It is marked by exhaustion, emotional detachment, cynicism, and a loss of professional efficacy.
We need to strengthen our resilience and equip ourselves to combat stress and life’s challenges with grace and strength, to protect and preserve our physical and mental health.
Nobody’s going to protect our peace the way we can. Our bodies hold on to everything, and our minds remember every stressor. Adopting a comprehensive, holistic approach to strategic stress recovery plays a vital role in managing modern day stress, mitigating cortisol, and affording us greater peace, gratification, and longevity with a wellness lifestyle.
Create fertile ground for peace and resilience to flourish. Our mental well-being thrives on self-care, connection, and harmony.
- Prioritize self-care: Prioritize quality sleep hygiene, move and exercise, hydrate, develop healthy nutritional habits, hobbies, read, travel; Spend quality time with friends and family
- Practice mindfulness, breathing exercises, gratitude, and positive thinking
- Build a solid support network: trusted friends, family, colleagues and mentors who understand our challenges. Consider a Mental Health Counselor and/or a Coach.
- Set Realistic Goals: Refine expectations. Break tasks into manageable steps
- Recognize accomplishments, and celebrate small victories and every “win”
- Keep true to our values, our purpose, and our priorities
- Set and reinforce clear boundaries
- Assertively communicate openly, directly and clearly
- Cultivate a calm and focused mind and consistently weed out negative thoughts and patterns that contribute to stress.
- Plan ahead: Write a to-do list or set clear intentions
- Protect and take micro-breaks/short pauses to stretch, breathe, or walk to lower stress and restore focus.
- · Schedule digital sabbaticals, taking breaks from screens and tech
- · Reframe anxious thoughts and break cycles of worry
- · Deliberately disengage from work tasks and thoughts
If you’re struggling with workplace stress, anxious or depressive symptoms, compassion fatigue or burnout, you don’t have to navigate it alone.
Schedule a consultation with me today and take the first step toward a healthier, more flourishing wellness lifestyle.
At Meichle L. Latham, LCSW, PLLC, I offer:
- Support and guidance for professionals in mid to executive level positions in high-stress industries, including non-profit, educational, healthcare, and government.
- Tangible tools to relieve and reduce anxious and depressive symptoms
- Evidence-based therapy approaches (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and mindfulness-based interventions) to build long-term mental and emotional resilience.
- Guidance in navigating toxic work environments
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