Time for health

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Management consultants state that around 60% of senior executives experience high stress and anxiety on a regular basis. While stress is a normal part of life, too much stress can lead to physical, emotional and psychological problems.

Time-for-health-EXEC-March-2015

According to the Mayo Clinic, stress may be negatively affecting your health and you may not even be aware of it. You may experience various symptoms that you don’t associate with stress – fatigue, daily headaches and insomnia. Other symptoms include muscle tension and pain, digestive upsets and a change in your sex drive. Stress can also have a negative impact on your mood: you may be irritated or quickly lose your cool. You may feel drained and lack motivation, or you could have difficulty concentrating. All these symptoms contribute to decreased productivity.

Don’t ignore the signs of stress – unchecked stress is damaging to your health. It can contribute to diseases like diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure. If you are drinking or smoking more or eating more or less, or using any type of drug to get you through the day, it is time to see your doctor or healthcare professional. You should also visit your doctor if you are unsure if stress is the cause of your symptoms, or you aren’t managing to control your stress.

Fight stress and improve your health

Learn to recognise when your stress levels are out of control. Do you feel your heart rate increase? Do you clench your jaw? Get hot? Feel pain in your gut or develop a headache? How do you react emotionally? Do you get angry, pensive or loud? How you respond to stress can impact on others if you become snappy, moody or abusive. Learn techniques to calm yourself. One technique is to use your five senses to help you refocus. For example, look at a picture of someone you love, smell a special perfume or flower, listen to calming music or hug a loved one or pet – all these can have a calming effect on your emotions.
Watch your diet. Cut back on salt, sugar, unhealthy fats, caffeine, alcohol and nicotine. Drink plenty of water.
Get enough exercise. This helps release tension and releases endorphins, helping to improve your mood. Consider taking up a new sport or joining a local walking or running club.
Get enough sleep. Adequate sleep rejuvenates your mind. If you aren’t getting enough rest you are likely to feel irritated and be less productive. Stress can cause insomnia which can worsen the problem, so see your doctor if you are unable to sleep.
Manage your time. Determine your priorities and set ‘to do’ lists against them. Some tasks need to be done immediately, but others can be deferred to next week or perhaps next month. Set deadlines for yourself. If you have a very tight schedule, block off periods of ‘free’ time during the week to attend to unexpected issues should they arise. Consider scheduling personal time into your to-dos. Silly as this may sound, me-time should be as much of a priority as your business deliverables.
Manage technology. Are you juggling three cell phones and a tablet? How much time do you spend on each device? Use technology to streamline your life, don’t become a slave to it. Set specific times of the day to check and attend to e-mails or divert your mail to your personal assistant and only deal with critical issues. Remember, to ‘switch off’ those devices too – you don’t need to be available 24 hours a day!
Make time for relaxation. Take a walk in the park, visit a game farm or your favourite museum – do something you enjoy that helps you to relax and rest and get your mind off work.
Accept what you cannot change. Challenges are inevitable. Don’t add fuel to the fire and make a situation more stressful for yourself by obsessing over it. Try to take something positive from the situation – a chance for personal reflection and growth.