Last week we started a series on stress. Which is ironic since this weekend I got both sick and stressed, thus forgetting about said stress series - irony, gotta love it.
In any case I'm not sick (or stressed) now and back on track. What I wanted to do was post a little list of stress symptoms. This is a good list to post at your workplace. When a crisis (large or small) occurs each of us responds differently depending on our personal experiences.
You may know how you react to workplace stress, but if not this list is a handy tool. The next time you’re feeling stressed out, you can check off some of the physical and emotional changes you’re experiencing. The next time some of these sensations start to appear at work it may be possible to head off the stress before it starts.
This is also a perfect tool to use on others. Say you happen to be the boss – can you pinpoint what your different employees do when they start to become stressed? This list can help you learn more about how the people around you respond to stress. If you know the warning signs – everyone can take the time to cool off, before emotions and stress escalates.
Physical Reactions
- __ Increase in pulse
- __ Perspiration / sweating
- __ Adrenaline increases
- __ Blood pressure increases
- __ Breathing increases
- __ Talks faster / louder
- __ Hearing decreases
- __ Skin color changes
- __ Seems tired or overly drained
Emotional Reactions
- __ Anxiety
- __ Distrust
- __ Shame
- __ Judgmental
- __ Decrease in reasoning
- __ Fear
- __ Helplessness
- __ Narrowed vision
- __ Disassociation
- __ Decrease in ability to compromise
- __ Decrease in verbal skills or ability to choose words
- __ Refuses to listen to ‘reason’
- __ Becomes overly agitated or angry with others
If you see someone exhibiting more than a few of any of the above, there's a good chance they're feeling pressure and or starting to become stressed.
Coming up - ways to detour stress.
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» Four Ways to Beat Workplace Stress from OfficeStuffer
Workplace stress can put a total end to your productivity and cause other negative emotional and health issues besides. It's good to have a stress toolkit at the ready, the next time your office makes you want to explode.... [Read More]
Tracked on: April 26, 2008 8:23 PM | Permalink to Trackback