How to deal with work-related stress

work and stress. They sometimes seem too. But they don't have to be. Things have changed phenomenally in the last year: However, one thing hasn't changed and that is work-related anxiety.

According to (link removed), more than ““79% of us are often stressed at work” and “75% of all working British adults often suffer from work-related stress. This has increased by a worrying 20% ​​since 2018.”

And this has only increased with the pandemic: job insecurity, illness and people in and out of lockdown.

I created a personal list of all the things you need to do to detox and de-stress: Read self-help books (see above)How to balance your lifeby Robin James), reconnecting with good friends on Zoom and WhatsApp, unfollowing toxic Instagram accounts, and generally just disconnecting from the internet - a difficult task when your real job is connected to everything.

Dealing with stress and anxiety: a yoga journey

As a yoga teacher and someone who works in marketing, I have done my share of yoga and meditation. The question I always get asked is, "How do you stay so calm? What's your secret to dealing with stress every day?"

This answer to this question is not always easy for me because I have not always been stress-free and calm. No, not dear friends: I was pretty scared too.

For more than a decade, I've worked in the competitive, fast-paced - and of course superficial - world of fashion and beauty. After reporting front row and backstage at multiple Fashion Week seasons in New York, London and Paris, he wrote for women's lifestyle websites. I began to feel like my work – and my life – was missing that coveted ingredient: purpose.

Sure, things were luxe and shiny: I worked with celebrities, influencers, models, and makeup artists. I sat in boardrooms with leading beauty brands to decide the fate of eyeshadow pots, mascaras, glossy lipsticks and products yet to be made. But after a while everything started to feel very dull (pun intended - you're welcome). I decided it was time to really unpack why that was. So I packed my bags and went to Bali. I had hit my yoga mat more than 10 years ago in different parts of the world, but I decided to go all in. I can only recommend it.

Now I try to incorporate mindfulness into my work: purposeful sprinkling, intuitive storytelling and education wherever possible in my projects and the content I strategically produce. I work with a beautiful yoga brand ((link removed)) and try to bring intention to my work wherever I can.

It's not hard to be happy when you work with a great team whose goals are the same. (Did I mention that Yogamatters is a great place to work?)

Even if you work for a yoga brand, life isn't a magical, yoga-loving carpet ride. You meet really interesting personalities, get anxious about deadlines, and guess what, work is still stressful sometimes. In this sense and especially because it is AprilStress Awareness MonthI thought it would be a good idea to coach you through some stress management techniques that have helped me in the past - and also helped me about 30 seconds ago when I wrote this article.

Here are a few stress and anxiety tips to calm yourself if you find yourself in a type of Perpetual Mind-Numbing Emotional Spiral (PMNES):

Step 1: How to Stop Spiraling Emotions

OK: So, things are getting a little weird. This is when it really starts: that wave of stress when something goes wrong. Whether you just received a not-so-nice email or just realized you're out of coconut yogurt, it's easy to get nervous. Instead of finding solutions to your problem at this moment, it's really better to quit. Sounds simple enough, but very difficult to master: When things get stressful, I find it very helpful to just take a few minutes to stop and think about the emotions that are flooding my heart and mind. Take this moment, stop exactly where you are (unless you are in the air for some reason) and count to 100. Do this as you practicedeep abdominal breathing. Trust me, you will feel much better and what was stressing you out might feel a lot less scary after practicing. Repeat if necessary.

Step 2: How to deal with other people's emotions

Often our stress comes from some of our interactions with others. When we work from home, those personal relationships appear more abruptly in your work life (read: husband starts the microwave while you're on a Zoom call).People can be really great, but sometimes friends, family, partners and co-workers and the things they do on a daily basis can be pretty annoying - and frankly confusing. And this confusion can be stressful. But instead of tapping into theselow-vibration emotionsthat are so tempting to delve into - anger, rage, jealousy, fear, depression, hate, the list goes on - instead delve deeperhigher vibrational feelings. It helps to understand the why, the how and the what of human behavior. Instead of dwelling on the unexplainable, take some time to simply put yourself in another person's shoes. How could this person feel? What could cause them to act or react this way? Most of the time it is change or fear or the fear of change. And we were all there. Immersing yourself in higher vibration emotions such as happiness, joy, excitement and peace is your way out of the spiral. You know these feelings and honestly – they are wonderful. These strong vibrational emotions are always there for you even in the most stressful times and it is easy to forget this in the moment. Step outside of us andConnection with the emotionsfrom others helps us separate the stressful times from who we are as people every day. The negative feelings are there, they exist, but they certainly don't define us.

Step 3: How to create (good) habits

There are a lot of bad habits that we should all try to give up - I'm thinking about my chocolate obsession as I write this - but there are also a few self-care habits that everyone should add to their list of things they always do. When I find myself in my PMNES stress spiral during the work day: I like to complete Step 1 and Step 2 inside - or better yet, on a nice sunny walk outside - and then follow with some flow(link removed)to help me remember some key poses. When I'm feeling less active, I try lying down or lying on my back for a rest(link removed)with the comfortable help of a pillow or(link removed). When my mind is racing after work and I can't fall asleep, I like to read books before bed and turn off my phone for at least an hour before crawling under the covers. Reading books helps me fall asleep. A(link removed)and(link removed)puts me to sleep faster.

A meditation app that doesn't cost the earth

There is an app that I turned to to improve my mindfulness: Medito. I had the pleasure of interviewing the founders ofMeditoon theYogamatters Blogand found out more about how theyFind calming and stress-free momentsdaily.