Get on the Path to Greater Serenity!
What is Stress?
Is the work piling up on your desk at the office and the mountain seems to be getting bigger? Are you rushing from one appointment to another? Do you feel constantly under pressure and unable to relax? Then you’re like many others in everyday life. These are negative stress situations and unhealthy stress. We have firmly integrated the term stress into our everyday lives, and we recognize when we feel stressed. But what exactly is stress and how can stress be defined? That’s not so easy.
According to stress researcher Hans Selye, stress is a psychological and physiological reaction caused by specific external stimuli (stressors) in humans, which on the one hand enable coping with special demands and on the other hand result in physical and mental strain. In stress research, stress is understood as a state in which people find themselves, not the causes that trigger it.
Stress doesn’t always lead to overwhelm and sheer desperation. People need challenges because they put them in a physical and mental tension. This state of tension generates stress energy. It has a positive effect when there is a balance between external influences and individual capabilities. Because to a certain extent, stress can also drive peak performance that cannot be achieved without pressure. This positive and productive stress can even bring joy, inspire, and motivate. Some people need a certain level of stress just to become productive in the first place.
How Stress Develops
The problem is stress that arises from the feeling of not having enough resources to cope with the demands. Resources can be intellectual, physical, material, or social in nature. A lack of resources, such as time and skills, effective work, and management, triggers stress. These triggers are called stressors. Stressors are identified by your subjective perception and assessment as such. These lead to stress reactions, such as restless sleep, feeling down and exhausted, and headaches.
Stress is Individual
Stress affects everyone differently and is individual. Depending on how you assess a situation and how you assess your resources for coping with stress, you are more or less stressed. It may happen that you and your colleagues at work all have to do the same task, but the task stresses you significantly more than your colleagues. This does not mean that you are underqualified or unsuitable, but that you currently assess your resources lower. You may have another appointment in the afternoon and therefore need to leave earlier. The thought of having to do the work in less time stresses you out.
In short: Stress occurs when the demands are perceived as high and the personal coping resources (resources and abilities) are perceived as low. But what can you do to counteract this?
Stress: What Can I Do About It?
We have selected 99 helpful tips for your personal stress management. You can easily apply these in the office or at home. It is important that you try out several tips and see what works best for you. Because stress is not the same for everyone. Not everyone is stressed by the same thing, but everyone reacts a little differently to stress. People behave differently in stressful situations. Some avoid stress, are yielding, or seek confrontation, while others prefer to withdraw. How you behave in stress depends on your personality. You should know your normal behavior as well as your behavior under stress. This is the only way you can recognize your stressed behavior and counteract it. Also, depending on the environment, your options for coping with stress are limited. After all, you can’t just take a bike ride in a suit in the office to relax.
99 Tips Against Stress
Here are tips that can be applied in different environments. It’s important to know that the goal is to transform negative unproductive stress into productive stress.
Find your own way out of the stress trap in each environment.
Tips for Stress in Everyday Life:
- Reduce your contacts or separate yourself from relationship baggage that continuously drains your energy.
2. Consciously examine your sleep-wake cycle: Only with sufficient sleep can the body properly regenerate. To adequately recover, you should get 7-8 hours of sleep. Ideally, go to bed at the same time every night.
3. Be mindful of your body. Your body needs exercise, healthy nutrition, sunlight, and work breaks. Throughout the day, ask your body what it needs. Take its needs seriously.
4. Develop routines in your daily life. Reduce your stress by reducing the time spent on planning and decision-making processes.
5. Incorporate joy, pleasure, and fun into your daily life to create personal space for yourself. Distance yourself from everyday stress through relaxation breaks.
6. Create an “activities plan” that you consistently integrate into your daily life. Use this plan to incorporate activities like theater visits to help you relax in stressful situations.
7. Transform demotivating, possibly self-deprecating statements into positives. Look at the situation from a different perspective. Make it more bearable.
8. Talk to your friends, acquaintances, and family members about the current stress situation. This helps because you’re not alone with the problem. Seek advice and encouragement.
9. Use the mindfulness exercise “Body Scan” to check your self-awareness. Take deep breaths and consciously direct your attention from your feet to the crown of your head through your body. Focus your thoughts on your body, away from everyday stress.
10. Self-reflection is key. Recognize the symptoms early (nervousness, tension, sleep disturbances, headaches, etc.) by asking yourself whether stress is motivating or overwhelming you.
11. Smile. Just 60 seconds with a smile on your face can lift your mood when you’re stressed. Good hormones are sent through your limbic system, cortisol is reduced, and your stress level is lowered.
12. Take a power nap. Your nap should not exceed 10-20 minutes so that waking up is not difficult and you can recover optimally during the day.
13. Turn off your smartphone an hour before bedtime. Instead, pick up a good book.
14. Dance away the burden. Turn on your favorite playlist, close your eyes, and dance. This allows you to let your soul soar.
15. Listen to an episode of your favorite podcast to distract yourself from everyday stress. Focus entirely on the podcast. Pro tip: There are also podcasts that address the topic of stress and stress management.
16. Sing loudly to your favorite song. This is like practicing deep breathing, and you can fully focus on the lyrics and melody. Afterward, the world will look better.
Tips for Stress in the Office:
17. Strengthen your self-confidence and confidence in your own competence. A realistic assessment of what you are good at and what you are not reduces your stress level.
18. Incorporate movement into your daily routine to take breaks from your problems. Through movement, your body consumes the energy provided by stress. Take a 10-minute walk outside during your lunch break. Focus entirely on the sounds, steps, and your breathing.
19. Create a not-to-do list. Write down everything you absolutely must do during the day. Consider which tasks you find burdensome and strike out all tasks that you can delegate or postpone to priority B.
20. Create space for yourself by prioritizing tasks. This way, you can manage and allocate your time better. You don’t have to accomplish everything in one day.
21. Focus your thinking more on the here and now. Constantly worrying about the future and things you still need to do doesn’t help. Focus only on one task at a time.
22. Measure your performance not by what you haven’t accomplished, but by what you have. It’s important that all high-priority tasks are completed.
23. Eliminate the phrase “just a little more quickly” from your vocabulary – especially at the end of the workday. “Just quickly” doesn’t work and increases pressure and error rates. Allocate your time realistically to avoid time constraints.
24. Take responsibility for each workday. What can you achieve? Where does excessive commitment hinder effective progress? Which tasks are actually too much? Re-prioritize and plan your day with enough buffer time.
25. Avoid unnecessary stress by saying no clearly. Setting boundaries means knowing, accepting, and communicating your own limits to others.
26. Consciously influence stress factors that you can reduce or completely eliminate, e.g., by reorganizing your workplace.
27. Mentally disengage from the stressful situation, especially if you cannot leave your office. Take a short break. Mentally visualize how happy and relieved you will feel once you have mastered the situation.
28. Don’t dwell on your work during breaks. The tasks can wait until you return from your break.
29. Use your lunch break to take care of small personal tasks, such as going to the post office. This relieves you after work and provides a short walk in the fresh air.
30. Avoid stress on the way to work. Leave early so you don’t get stressed if there’s more traffic or the train is delayed.
31. Consciously separate your free time from your job. Turn off your phone as soon as you get home, or get separate personal and work phones. Don’t take the stress home with you.
32. Use apps like Forest or Offtime to limit your phone usage. Calls, messages, or apps like WhatsApp, Instagram, and others can be blocked for a certain time.
33. Participate in anti-stress programs if your company offers them.
34. Block off appointments with yourself in your calendar. How you organize these is up to you.
35. Realize that you have everything you need to handle the tasks. Be aware of your abilities, as this reduces your stress level.
36. Use cold water to lower your stress level. Just let cold water run over your wrist or drip it behind your ear.
37. Personalize your workspace. Pictures, lucky charms, and your own cups or plants from home can motivate you and reduce stress.
38. Order is half the battle. An organized and clean desk can help you approach your work with less stress and sort your thoughts.
39. Put on headphones and relax. You can listen to your favorite playlist either during work (if your supervisor allows it) or during your break to briefly escape from stress. This puts you in a good mood.
40. Open the window and take deep breaths of fresh air. You should do this especially when you can’t go outside to clear your head.
41. Write down all tasks that you need help with on a piece of paper. Take another piece of paper and write down tasks that you’re not actually responsible for. If it gets too stressful, you can delegate tasks from these two lists.
Tips for Stress in a Team:
42. Recognize that constant comparison with others distorts your self-perception: You are who you are – learn to like yourself.
43. Take off the pressure to be like everyone else. You are unique, with your abilities and strengths.
44. Ask for help when you’re stuck or don’t have enough time to handle all tasks alone. It’s not a sign of weakness.
45. In stressful situations, consciously monitor your self-talk. Tell yourself positive, uplifting phrases like: “I can do this just as well as anyone else. I’ll do what’s necessary to cope with the situation.”
46. Mediate in tense working atmospheres between team members, without being biased.
47. Address problems directly and encourage open communication with your colleagues.
48. Let your team members know when you’ve reached your limit. You don’t need to feel bad because everyone has their own limit.
Tips for dealing with stress at home:
49. Wind down and relax after a stressful day. Light scented candles, listen to soft music, and cook your favorite meal to unwind properly.
50. Yoga and Pilates can help you relieve stress in the evenings.
51. Use meditation to review your day in your mind’s eye and reflect on it.
52. Spend quality time with your loved ones. Exchange thoughts to keep yourself updated. Use the exchange to address stressful situations.
53. Take creative breaks to distract yourself from family stress. Redecorate your home or start a creative hobby.
54. When stress overwhelms you, take a moment to pause and be aware of what you can be grateful for today. A positive mindset helps you forget about stress for a moment. A gratitude journal can help you with this.
55. Have a relaxing herbal tea after a long day. Herbs like lemon balm, valerian, lavender, or St. John’s wort can help you relax. You can also use these herbs for a relaxing herbal bath.
56. Leave the everyday behind by creating a sanctuary at home. Use relaxing scents like lavender oil to make your apartment smell good.
57. Ensure a restful sleep by spraying your bed linen with lavender oil. Lavender has a calming effect and can promote better sleep.
58. Gardening reduces stress. Start growing tomatoes, potatoes, or beautify your garden with flowers. Even unpopular tasks like weeding or mowing the lawn can distract you from stress and problems.
59. Cooking can be calming. Tasks like cutting or peeling vegetables can keep you busy without overwhelming you.
60. Potassium, magnesium, and B vitamins are recommended during periods of stress, as deficiencies can occur. Whole grains, legumes, bananas, broccoli, dairy products, etc., contain these nutrients.
Tips for dealing with stress on vacation:
61. Set aside an hour each day to be reachable during your vacation and inform those affected.
62. Consciously enjoy (phone) free times during your vacation.
63. In vacation, business acquisition must be turned off.
64. Passive relaxation, such as massages and sauna, works best in combination with active relaxation activities. These include sports or cultural activities, for example.
65. Travel far away, because the more exotic and distant, the easier it is to unwind.
66. Don’t fill your vacation days completely, as this increases the risk of leisure stress. Rushing from one activity to another is also stressful. Allow yourself some free vacation days – without stress.
67. Turn off your phone, ignore your email inbox – nothing should remind you of work during your vacation.
68. Work as much as possible before your vacation to avoid being overwhelmed by work after your vacation. Otherwise, the relaxation effect will quickly disappear.
69. Learn to consciously relax on vacation. Even relaxation takes time. Overcome the feeling that nothing will work without you or that chaos will break out.
70. If you have planned your work things ahead of your vacation, you don’t need to worry as much about whether everything will work out. Write a detailed email with all the important information to the person who will represent you during your vacation.
71. A list of what awaits you after your vacation and which projects are still open will free your mind for vacation thoughts.
72. We are used to checking emails several times a day or going online. Think about what you can do instead before your vacation. Leave your phone and other devices turned off in the hotel and instead use a MP3 player or read a book.
73. Talk as little as possible about your job during your vacation.
74. If you have trouble unwinding, be active during your vacation. Learning something new, such as diving, sailing, or an unusual sport like aqua skipping, distracts you and helps you recover better.
75. Vacation at an offline hotel. Starting your digital detox experience without Wi-Fi and without being reachable. Because being offline means being free.
76. Make arrangements with your boss to limit accessibility during leisure time.
77. Even after the vacation, it’s time to plan the next vacation. Take out vacation pictures and reminisce about the beautiful vacation moments. Remember how you felt in those moments.
78. Create a vacation album to remind you of the vacation moments during stressful times. You can also get creative with this. Treat yourself to a creative break (you can start during your vacation).
Tips for dealing with stress during the holidays:
79. Ask for help with holiday preparations from friends, relatives, and acquaintances.
80. Lower your expectations of others and yourself in advance. This can prevent arguments and tensions.
81. Build in rest periods and free space for yourself when planning holidays. These relaxation periods are not wasted but indispensable for your health.
82. Think carefully about which invitations you want to accept and whom you want to invite yourself. Because most meetings are just as enjoyable after the holidays.
83. Avoid fundamental discussions during the holidays. They only create a tense atmosphere.
84. Set realistic goals for the day and create to-do lists.
85. Remember that holidays are not about preparing a perfect feast. It’s not about who has the best gifts or decorations. It’s solely about enjoying time with family and friends. It doesn’t always have to be spectacular.
86. Start planning gifts in advance. Collect ideas for the participants months before. This way, you don’t have to buy everything in the last days before the holidays.
87. Want to change up the holidays? You don’t have to stick to all traditions every year if it’s too stressful for you this year. Then there’s just no Christmas roast or you do a secret Santa instead of giving everyone a gift.
88. Get into a good, stress-free mood with Christmas music.
Tips for long-term stress management:
89. Throughout the day, pay attention to how you feel physically. Try to notice symptoms in stressful situations that indicate stress, such as restlessness, stomach pain, palpitations, etc. Try effective breathing and relaxation techniques.
90. Employ focused self-calming. This way, you can better control your heart rate and control your breathing in stressful situations. Learn self-calming speech formulas like “I am completely calm. I breathe slowly and evenly” (6-8 times).
91. Try progressive muscle relaxation for yourself. This method works because the alternation between muscle tension and relaxation inhibits subjective stress perception. The relaxation effect is more intense the more often you use this method.
92. Guided imagery and autogenic training can be suitable options for creating balance in your everyday stress. You should train and apply these relaxation techniques regularly.
93. Consciously destress your body. Pilates, yoga, or qigong destress the body, regulate the nervous system, and harmonize blood, lymph, and energy flow in the body. The focus is on letting go and creating physical balance.
94. Meditation helps you bring your body and mind into harmony. Meditation promotes self-control and composure, helps regulate negative emotions, improves mindfulness, concentration, and memory performance. Continuous meditation helps you handle stress more calmly and confidently.
95. Train your relaxation response with the Benson method. Repeat a sentence to yourself for 10-20 minutes while exhaling. This completely shuts out other thoughts.
96. Practice stress resilience through a positive attitude, self-reflection, and healthy self-confidence. This helps you become more resilient to stress in the long run.
97. In stressful situations, ask yourself if the current situation will matter in 5 years. Often, we stress ourselves unnecessarily, and this thought exercise helps calm down.
98. Ground yourself in the here and now. Where are you right now? What do you need to do right now? How do you feel right now? This helps you ignore future tasks and focus on the task at hand. Without the stress of thinking about everything at once.
99. Keep a stress diary and write down when, where, and why you were stressed during the week. At the end of each week, you can reflect on yourself and see how you could react differently in certain situations. You can also see which stress relief tips you could use in certain situations in the future.
I hope you were able to take some tips to heart to approach the next stressful situation more calmly. It’s time for you to take responsibility for your stress.
It`s up to you now: Take a moment to listen to yourself
How are you feeling right now? Do you feel stressed? If so, what is currently causing this stress for you? Try to find an answer to each question. If it helps, you can jot down your thoughts and start a kind of stress diary to identify the stressors.
Keep in mind that stress is individual, and you should reflect on yourself openly and honestly to be more stress-free in everyday life, at work, or during the holidays. If you’re at work or on the go, you can ask yourself these three questions repeatedly. If you then write down how you feel, when you were stressed, and why, it helps you find the right measures against it. You can keep your thoughts in your smartphone’s note app to have them with you at all times and to add to them. Or you can buy a small notebook for on the go. Take a moment for yourself every day to listen to yourself. What does your body tell you? How are your resources? Have you already reached your limit?
Now it’s your turn:
Become an expert in stress management. Certification in the persolog® Stress Model helps you to influence and change stress causes in the long term. Short-term strategies help reduce acute tension and avoid further escalation.
