How do I practice self-care and manage stress at work?
It can be hard to manage stress at work. So many things can feel out of your control. Add to that the expectation that self-care is something you do on personal time, and you’ve laid the groundwork for burnout.
In this episode of Solicited Advice, I’ll guide you through a simple technique for quickly and easily managing your stress and practicing self-care. Even better, you can use this technique anytime and anywhere!
For a long time, I was beyond burnt out and overwhelmed at work, and the only way I managed my stress was to crawl under my desk and cry. I’m hoping that isn’t where you are, but if it is, I’m sending a great big hug your way. I understand. We both know it isn’t really helping, it’s just a temporary pressure release.
But regardless of how stressed out you are at work, I’m going to introduce you to conscious breathing – one of my favorite tools for both self-care and managing stress in a healthy way while at work. And in particular, I want to guide you through the audible exhale. This only takes a few moments, but when practiced regularly, it can make a world of difference!
Practicing the audible exhale
If possible, close your eyes. Begin to turn your focus inward, with a quick scan through your body. Identify any areas where there is tension in your body.
Now take a deep breath, filling up your belly and mentally directing the breath toward any tension in your body.
Once you reach the top of your inhale, pause. Then visualize the breath swirling around the tension, gathering it all up. Now open you mouth, and with an audible exhale, release that tension – hhhhhhhh.
Just like shampoo – lather, rinse and repeat as needed. Although if you’re looking for a guideline, I like to take three audible exhales in a row.
Silent self-care to manage stress at work
You might be thinking – “I work in an open plan office or a cubicle where everyone can hear me and there is no way I’m going to audibly exhale at work”. Good news – this breath works with a silent exhale as well! You can silently exhale through your mouth or your nose – just make sure you are bringing your full focus and attention to the breath.
And while we’re on the topic, I find it easier to execute the visualization portion of this breath with my eyes closed, but with practice, you will be able to keep your eyes open and even do this in the checkout line at the grocery store!
Practice this breath technique whenever you need to manage stress at work, or even better, use it as a preventative technique and practice it every hour as a “micro-break” during work!
Ok – so why does this work
Think about your breathing when you’re stressed out. It’s shallow and rapid. Now think about your breath when you’re relaxed – like right before you fall asleep or when you’re on vacation. It’s slow and deep.
We can use this to our advantage. Slow, conscious breathing triggers your nervous system to shift from fight, flight, or freeze to rest and digest. You’re actually sending your body a message that it doesn’t need to be stressed out right now.
Next Steps
There are much deeper self-care practices which can help reduce stress at work and beyond, but simply introducing the audible exhale can make a world of difference with a minimal investment of time and energy!
However, if you’re ready to level up your self-care practice even more, download my free Self-Care Toolkit and get started today!
