Work can be stressful—especially for the entrepreneur or small business owner. In the American Psychological Association’s (APA) 2014 Stress in America survey, 60 percent of people said work is a top source of pressure. Fully 42 percent said they weren’t doing enough to handle stress (or weren’t sure if they were), and 20 percent said they weren’t doing anything at all to deal with its harmful effects. On a scale of 1 to 10 (one being zen-like calm, while 10 represents total meltdown), the APA’s report shows that Americans’ self-reported stress levels are down to 4.9 from 2007’s 6.2, but that still puts us above the 3.7 we think is a normal or healthy level.
Symptoms and Causes of Stress
Stress can cause a variety of symptoms. Physical effects include headaches, stomach aches, or trouble sleeping. Stress can also lead to negative emotional states such as sadness or irritability. And when we’re stressed, we often engage in bad behaviors like angry outbursts, overeating, or drug and alcohol abuse.
Unfortunately, many things at work can be stressful. Physiological habits like poor diet, lack of sleep, and shallow breathing can also make us more vulnerable to stress. Other people can stress us out—through interruptions or because we don’t delegate as much as we could. Stress-inducing job factors include low salaries, high workloads, lack of control, unclear expectations, and, of course, commuting.
What to Do About Stress
So how do we deal with stress? Fortunately, there are some things we can do to minimize or even eliminate stressful feelings:
- Track your stressors. Knowing what’s stressing you out is the first step.
- Identify the real culprit. Sometimes the cause of stress lies deeper than we think.
- Learn to say no. In our quest to be likable or a team player, we may take on too much stress.
- Delegate. Sometimes help is there, if we ask for it.
- Take a deep breath (or unplug). A short break can be all we need to cool down.
- Get help. If stress is leading you to risky behavior or even thoughts of suicide, talk to your doctor or psychologist.
A little bit of stress can nudge you out of your comfort zone and spur you on to do great things. Any more than that, though, can really throw you off your game. Taking time to understand and deal with stress will help you get back on track.
