Can you be stressed and still have a very good work/life balance? Do you think that if you have one, that automatically cancels the other? It may be that you are very familiar with stress in your life and feel that your work/life balance suffers because of it. It may be that you feel your balance is tilted more to the stress side and you'd like things to even out a bit.
Whatever your current situation with stress and work/life balance at the moment, there are a few key elements we can understand to help keep the stress at bay and the balance, balanced.
Understanding your relationship with stress is a large part of a healthy relationship with stress. That statement may be a bit of a surprise but that can happen: you can have a healthy relationship with stress. And those who do, you are likely to find, have a good work/life balance.
Stress is all about thoughts and chemicals. In its basic form: stress is when we perceive a threat and send a message to our brains to produce chemicals- cortisol and adrenalin, that help us to act quickly in thought or action, against that threat.
One key component here is the word perceive. If we think there is a threat, we then create the hormones to deal with it. No stressful thoughts = no stressful chemicals = no stress.
The second key component is act. By taking action against the threat, we then release these wonderful hormones which allow us quick judgement and a surge of energy. Done. Stress alert over.
What often happens in cases of chronic stress, there is an imbalance of either or both of those key components. Either, the perceptions of stressful situations are out of kilter or there is no physical release of those chemicals and an unhealthy build-up is created.
So you can combat your stress in 2 ways:
- think about what you are getting stressed about. Is it worth the worry? Can you put it into perspective?
- act on your stress. If you can't immediately take action within the stress situation, take action later. And by taking action, I mean physically. Give those chemicals a chance to be released. Get exercise in some form: run, walk, cycle, vaccuum, whatever.
In the case of those with a healthy relationship with stress- they are able to do this. They have realistic perceptions of what is worth getting stressed about and are able to act on/or release those stress chemicals in a healthy manner.
But with a healthy work/life balance scenario, does stress have its place?
Yes. Totally. We all need an element of stress in our lives: it is those quick perceptions and chemical reactions that allow us to make snap, sometimes life-saving decisions. Stress is also what allows some of us to work to deadlines effectively. And it is also these elements which allow us to cope with periods of extreme pressure: sleep deprivation, emotional trauma, physical tension. Healthy stress is often what allows us to get through the day in one piece.
Recognising healthy stress:
- it is brief and related to a single event or situation
- it is based within fact
- it has a physical outlet/ release/ action component
- it has a healthy or positive outcome
Employing healthy stress within a good work/life balance is part of having good work/life balance. There are many components to balancing work and life in a way that works for you and healthy stress is just one of them. Get this one right, however, and you are well on the way to helping the rest fall into place.
Want to know more about stress? A handy tip sheet is available to download when you REGISTER on the home page for the 'Connoisseur's Club'
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