Month: December 2020

How to Fight Computer Stress

December 21, 2020 / livefreefromstress.com / 0 Comments

COMPUTER STRESS; SOME IDEAS TO FIGHT IT AND LEARN MORE ABOUT IT

Computer stress exists. Seriously!

It can cause real problems, which can be more or less serious. The most obvious is a decrease in the productivity of those affected; they, immersed in frustration and anxiety, decrease their performance. But not only that, computer stress can lead to serious health problems, and some cases of heart attacks have even been reported.

Are you already taking this more seriously? In this article we are going to know what computer stress is and some ideas to avoid it.

What is computer stress?

Computer stress is the feeling of anxiety and discomfort that the user of a computer system suffers when the computer system does not work or does so in a way that is different from his or her expectations.

It is quite simple to list some examples of situations that can cause computer stress: Internet connections that fail or are too slow, a computer that takes a long time to start up, software incompatibilities that cause errors or force you to look for alternatives, tedious program installations, operating systems that crash, programs that take an eternity to run….

I’m sure that in your work or in your daily life you have experienced this kind of situation and have generated different doses of anxiety. Within the range of emotions that can be caused it is true that there are people who can take it easy and philosophically, but it is also a reality that other users are very affected and can suffer great frustration, especially if these kinds of problems prevent them from carrying out important and/or urgent tasks.

If, in addition, we are faced with the fact that the use of information technology is increasingly present in our lives, we can understand that the phenomenon of computer stress can affect more people every day, becoming a more relevant problem than it seems.

And now the question is…. How can we avoid it?

7 ideas to avoid computer stress

1. Rest if you feel like it

Taking a few minutes to rest may be enough to relieve stress. A walk in the park or a chat with a colleague by the coffee maker can provide you with enough relaxation doses to get the tension to relax. But remember, if you use these breaks to check your mobile phone, you probably won’t get the effect you want…

2. Reduce the brightness of the screen

You may not feel it that way, but excessive screen brightness can cause stress and eyestrain. You need a more moderate glow that resembles natural light; you’ll be taking care of your eyes and preventing stress.

3. Use relaxation techniques

Certain techniques used in other situations can also be useful in fighting computer stress. Breathing control, physical exercise, or maintaining a good diet are healthy practices at any time and may also help you with this kind of stress.

In any case, remember that if the computer stress that affects you is intense, you should go to health professionals who can help you, don’t overlook it! In some cases, this may be a major problem.

4. Go outside

Schedule a few minutes during the day to take in some fresh air. Just being outside works wonders for reducing stress and has countless other benefits.

5. Give your hands a massage

Lotioning up your hands for a stress-relieving massage will make your skin feel good and relieve tension in your joints and ligaments.

5. Oil up.

Or rather keep oils at your desk. Aromatherapy has been shown to decrease stress levels.

6. Jam out.

Listening to music can help diminish stress, so listen to your favorite tunes during the workday — using earbuds, of course, not speakers.

7. Eat an orange.

An orange a day keeps the stress away. Did you know a dose of Vitamin C can help to reduce stress? So break out this citrusy favorite and peel away.

FEELING STRESSED? PUT DOWN THE COOKIE AND TRY SOMETHING NEW!

December 17, 2020 / livefreefromstress.com / 0 Comments

BY ROBIN OLA

FEELING STRESSED? PUT DOWN THE COOKIE AND TRY SOMETHING NEW!

When I am coaching clients around unwanted eating, we often discover stress as the reason. A lot of people are feeling stressed right now. Stress about the pandemic and their health, or the health of their loved ones.

Many feel stressed around the holidays: about not being with their family, or about being with their family. I’m sure you have your own list.

Stress Is Normal

First of all, stress is not the enemy. Too much on-going stress is not healthy, but it can be a useful emotion essential for our survival. Your basic stress response is trying to keep you alive and is a warning signal that something may be wrong or dangerous.

Our instinctive reaction is to try to get rid of the stress as quickly as possible. This reaction has caused many of us to create unwanted habits. A drink or a snack often eases the stress temporarily. It soothes and distracts us in the moment. Each time we get that temporary relief we strengthen the habit.

What Can We Do About Stress Instead?

You might expect me to start giving you other, more healthy distractions to temporarily reduce your feelings of stress. I do love deep breathing, walks, and warm baths myself. But that is not what we are doing today.

Those type of distractions can be helpful, but they don’t always work. Today we are discussing the skill of reducing your desire to get rid of the feelings of stress. Wait, what?

Making Friends with Stress

Maybe the concept of ‘being friends with stress’ is a stretch for you. How about co-existing with stress? Let’s look at co-existing with stress like co-existing with an annoying neighbor.

Imagine thinking, “Oh hey, here you are again, annoying neighbor, okay. I’m really not going to engage with you, I know I can’t get rid of you, so let’s co-exist as best we can.

Let’s continue to explore the irritating neighbor analogy. Picture yourself outside, working in your yard, and your very annoying neighbor comes over and starts talking about his stamp collection, and you just want to keep planting your flowers.

Of course, you could scream at him, “Stop talking!” You could run inside, faking an emergency and quit doing what you really want to do. Or you could just keep planting and let your neighbor babble on. It is, what it is. Nothing has gone wrong, this is part of the deal, living on this street.

Now, imagine yourself accepting stress as part of life, we don’t love it, we are glad when it is not around. But when it shows up, we could just say, “Hey there, I knew you would be back, I’m not going to do anything about you, I’m just going to keep planting my flowers.”

Why Do This?

I do work with my clients to reduce and eliminate stress by exploring the root causes, but we all seem to create new stress for ourselves on a regular basis. It is important to know how to have stressful feelings without running for a snack or drink to get rid of them.

Stress on Top of Stress

Sometimes we think that things have gone terribly wrong when stress appears. We add anxiety on top of our stress when we think, “I shouldn’t be stressed, why is this happening?” By simply acknowledging that stress is a perfectly normal feeling that happens to everyone, we can avoid intensifying it.

Know this

I want you to know that nothing is wrong with you if you have stressful feelings and can’t always get rid of them. You can feel stress and do nothing about it.

Learning to accept feelings of stress and anxiety, without fighting them, is a valuable skill that can keep us from turning to food or drinks to soothe ourselves.

If you would like more help to work through your stressful feelings post in the comments below