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Creating clear boundaries between work and home life is essential to help you avoid potential job-related stress. Taking even a few minutes of personal time during a busy day can help prevent burnout caused by chronic work stress. Keeping a journal to track your stress triggers and reactions may help.
She explains why stress eating happens and how you can put a stop to it. Clinical psychologist Adam Borland, PsyD, shares tips for how to reduce stress. For example, you could say you want to revisit what’s expected of you outside of working hours because things feel overwhelming. The point is to find a resolution that helps reduce strain. A work-free staycation or trip a few hours out of town can help you reset.
“All of us are dealing with collective loss right now whether it be jobs, routine, or even people we love, and cooking is a cathartic way to work through those emotions,” he says. “I often encourage clients to make a dish to honor a loved one and use all of their senses to connect with their grief.” “In my family, cooking brings people together to share a meal, talk about their day, laugh, and connect,” she says. “I’ve been calling my mother and grandmother more than ever during the quarantine to chat about what we’ve been making and learn family recipes.”
Dogs and cats are popular pets, but being around any animal can help reduce your stress levels by decreasing your body’s cortisol production. Stop to smell the roses, peep at the autumn leaves or watch a gaggle of geese swim around — the idea is to take a moment to appreciate your surroundings. And a dose of vitamin D from the sun can also help alleviate stress levels (just make sure you wear sunscreen). Try to set aside quiet time to talk with your manager and calmly discuss feeling overwhelmed by challenging tasks. Approach the conversation from a place of solving the problem rather than listing complaints. It is less important what you make or even what ingredients you use, but it can be helpful to prepare even a portion of your meal.
We’re not “in charge” of everything and everyone around us. Or we can choose to let things go, release negative emotions in a safe, how to destress after work healthy way, and move on. So how about being incredibly generous to yourself, and making time for these 5 stress relief techniques.
While there is value in a nutrient rich meal, not everything you cook has to be “healthy.” Prepare meals you’re excited and interested in making. If you’re only picking dishes you know you won’t enjoy, what is supposed to be a stress-releasing activity can quickly turn into a draining, overwhelming exercise. Whether it’s experimenting with an original dish or recreating a favorite with new ingredients, try to get creative. The next time you go to the grocery store, choose a fruit or vegetable you’ve never used before and look up ways you could prepare it. Getting creative is a great way to release stress and stimulate different parts of the brain.
Change the storyline by surrounding yourself with reminders of your strength and value. Setting feelings aside is no different than prioritizing your to-do list. Maybe you made a major mistake on a project, a colleague yelled at you inappropriately, or something happened outside of work that you carried into the office. It’s difficult to work productively when our “emotional desktop” is cluttered with regrets, anger, unresolved grief about the past and / or anxiety about the future. Trust that you can handle whatever is happening in this moment, gracefully. Yes, of course, there are times where we need to think about the future—making a marketing plan, budgeting for the next quarter, or whatever your job demands.
Allowing yourself to be immersed in these memories as you cook is a therapeutic way to relieve stress and boost your mood. Deep and mindful breathing can activate your body’s relaxation response, helping lower stress levels, reduce blood pressure, and promote a sense of calm. Julie Ohana, LMSW, a culinary art therapist in West Bloomfield, Michigan, is one of a small but growing cadre of mental health professionals who use cooking as a therapeutic tool. “Coming home to cook can be a very productive way to unwind, decompress, and relax,” she says. That last part—lack of pressure—partially explains why so many people are leaning into their bucket list dishes on lockdown. “Some people avoid cooking because they see it as a stressful activity, but now, there’s no pressure of guests coming in an hour or rushing home from work,” Kocet says.
We literally pound a pillow with a hand towel that’s knotted on one end, while expressing our feelings out loud (“My boss is making me madddd!” “I’m sooo stressed out!”) until you feel a sense of relief. Practices like mindfulness, mindful eating and intuitive eating can all help you start to better understand what you’re feeling and how to respond. Whenever reasonably possible, disconnect physically and mentally. Try stress-relief activities such as playing with puzzles or a board game, doing a treasure hunt, tackling a project, reorganizing something or starting a new book. In addition to having physical health benefits, exercise has been shown to provide natural stress relief. Consider noncompetitive aerobic exercise, strengthening with weights or movement activities like yoga or Tai Chi, and set reasonable goals for yourself.
