Coping with stress at work, identify your stress triggers

For a week or two, record the situations, events and people who cause you to have a negative physical, mental or emotional response. Include a brief description of each situation, answering questions such as:

Where were you?

Who was involved?

What was your reaction?

How did you feel?

Then evaluate your stress inventory. You might find obvious causes of stress, such as the threat of losing your job, uncertainty about the future or obstacles with a particular project. You might not feel like you’re in control of decisions in your job or you may have been given unclear expectations. You might also notice subtle but persistent causes of stress, such as a long commute or an uncomfortable workspace. Or maybe you work from home and are feeling stressed trying to integrate work and life, such as personal and family needs, while working. Perhaps learning new technology for communication or working in unfamiliar locations is adding to your stress.

Tackle your stress triggers

Once you have identified your stress triggers, consider each situation or event and look for ways to resolve it. Suppose, you are behind at work because you have to pick up your son from school. You might check with other parents or neighbours about an after-school carpool, or you might begin work earlier, shorten your lunch hour or take work home to catch up in the evening.

Often, the best way to cope with stress is to find a way to change the circumstances that are causing it.

Sharpen your time management skills

In addition to addressing specific stress triggers, it is often helpful to improve time management skills — especially if you tend to feel overwhelmed or under pressure at work. For example: Set realistic goals. Work with colleagues and leaders to set realistic expectations and deadlines. Set regular progress reviews and adjust your goals as needed.

Make a priority list. Prepare a list of tasks and rank them in order of priority. Throughout the day, scan your master list and work on tasks in priority order. Say no if you don’t have time to do a task. Protect your time. For an especially important or difficult project, block time to work on it without interruption. Also, break large projects into smaller steps.

Keep perspective

When your job is stressful, it can feel as if it is taking over your life. To maintain perspective:

Get other points of view. Talk with trusted colleagues, family or friends about the issues you are facing at work and your feelings. They might be able to provide insights or offer coping suggestions. Sometimes simply talking about a stressor can be a relief.

Take a break. Make the most of workday breaks. Even a few minutes of personal time during a busy workday can be refreshing. Similarly, take time off when you can, whether it’s a two-week vacation or an occasional long weekend. Taking time to relax can help you have more energy when you return to work.

Have an outlet. To prevent burnout, set aside time for activities you enjoy — such as reading, meeting with friends or pursuing a hobby. Try keeping a journal.

Take care of yourself. Be vigilant about taking care of your health. Include physical activity in your daily routine, get plenty of sleep and eat a healthy diet. Try relaxation techniques, such as yoga, meditation, mindfulness techniques and deep breathing. Go outside for a walk.

Make boundaries

Try to make small steps toward setting boundaries between work and your life, such as not checking email in the evenings or weekends, not going back to your computer in the evening, or keeping a standard work schedule. And set aside time when you don’t use your phone or computer, such as not checking email, texts or social media.

Know when to seek help

If none of these steps relieves your feelings of job stress or burnout, consult a mental health provider — either on your own or through an employee assistance program offered by your employer. Through counselling, you can learn effective ways to handle job stress. mayoclinic.org

Benefits of pineapples

Depending on the time of year, sometimes they are sweet and sometimes they add a sour kick, but every time they offer a perfect flavour. One look at a pineapple might make you want to take a vacation to the tropics, it’s also loaded with wonderful health properties mainly due to its high levels of bromelain. So let’s take a look at why this beachy fruit is more than just an ingredient in your go-to frozen drink.

Pineapples help fight away colds.

How fascinating is this? Researchers found that the raw extract from pineapple had the ability to decrease mucus five times faster than over-the-counter cough syrup and also helps patients recover 4,8 times faster. Bromelain is the compound that could be responsible for helping to reduce your cough. Here is a great natural pineapple cough juice you can make in the comfort of your own home. To reduce the severity and duration of a cough, consume this juice in 5oz (150 ml) servings 3x daily until it has resolved.

Pineapples are packed full of nutrients.

Pineapples are loaded with vitamins and minerals including vitamin A, vitamin C, manganese, calcium, phosphorus, potassium and fibre. One cup of pineapple pieces contains 131 percent of the daily-recommended value of vitamin C and approximately 7-9 percent of your daily B1, B6 and folate requirements.

Pineapples can reduce pain and inflammation from Arthritis.

Eating pineapples is believed to greatly alleviate the pain of arthritis. A combination of bromelain, trypsin, and rutin was compared to diclofenac in 103 patients with osteoarthritis of the knee and it concluded that after 6 weeks, both treatments resulted in significant and similar reduction in the pain and inflammation. Other studies demonstrate the effectiveness of bromelain in reducing inflammation and pain experienced.

Pineapples help improve digestion of proteins and reduce unhealthy bacteria.

The bromelain in pineapple is believed to help break down protein to help support digestion. Bromelains also appear to counteract against some pathogens in the digestive tract which may help reduce diarrhoea. Other studies indicate that bromelain may stop the adhesion of some pathogens inside the intestinal lining.

Pineapples can help an ‘owie.’

Both fresh pineapple juice and bromelain have been shown to aid wound healing in studies, it has shown to accelerate recovery and reduce inflammation.

Pineapples are super anti-inflammatory.

Bromelain can be included to reduce many types of inflammatory health conditions. Bromelain accounts for many therapeutic benefits like the treatment of angina pectoris, bronchitis, sinusitis, surgical trauma, and thrombophlebitis, debridement of wounds, and enhanced absorption of drugs, particularly antibiotics. Want more anti-inflammatory juices? Check out our 25 Anti-Inflammatory Juices digital download (it includes tons of information on how to live an anti-inflammatory life too).

Pineapples lower risk of macular degeneration and cataracts.

Including pineapple and other fruits regularly can lower risk of macular degeneration by as much as 36 percent. Pineapple contains vitamin C and beta-carotene which are good for eye health and help to prevent cellular damage. A study concluded that vitamin C has a protective effect against cataract development.

A study in 2013 in Sydney showed that bromelain has the potential to act as an effective cancer-fighting agent, particularly in combination with chemotherapy to suppress the growth of cancer cells. — rebootwithjoe.com

Pineapples help your bones stay strong.

Pineapples may help maintain strong healthy bones! One cup of pineapple contains approximately 76% of the daily-recommended value of the mineral manganese, which is essential in developing strong bones and connective tissue. A study suggested that manganese, along with other minerals, may be helpful in preventing osteoporosis in postmenopausal women.