How to recognise stress and to achieve stress relief

When we’re stressed, our body and mind find them­selves in a temporary state of high-per­form­ance. However, per­sist­ent stress can make you ill. We’ll show you how to recognise stress symptoms and how to manage stress by getting organised at work, ex­er­cising, and other tips.

What is stress?

In tense situ­ations, stress makes us release hormones and drives us to un­ex­pec­tedly high levels of exertion. Fun­da­ment­ally, there’s nothing wrong with stress. Stress hormones such as ad­ren­aline and norad­ren­aline boost our per­form­ance at work and in everyday life, like in sports com­pet­i­tions. When this positive stress (also called eustress) moves into a calmer, more relaxed phase, the body has time to re­gen­er­ate for new chal­lenges.

But when stressful situ­ations ac­cu­mu­late, things can become prob­lem­at­ic. For example, when you’ve got many tasks to get through at work, when deadlines are set at short notice, or when faced with critical situ­ations with customers, col­leagues, and superiors.

This negative stress, called distress, triggers the feeling that is often described as ‘being stressed’. You con­stantly feel on edge and like you can’t cope with upcoming tasks. In many cases the fatal con­sequence is chronic stress, which poses a number of potential dangers to your health.

What are the most common stress symptoms?

Symptoms of stress can become phys­ic­ally no­tice­able, for example through headaches or bad sleep. Grinding teeth or sweating are also signs that the body is under stress.

Signs of psy­cho­lo­gic­al stress include rest­less­ness, tension, constant nervous­ness, or poor con­cen­tra­tion. Many stressed people also suffer from eating disorders, which manifests itself in food cravings, in a lack of appetite, or high blood pressure.

What are common causes of stress?

Causes of stress vary greatly from person to person. Anything from fears about the future, pressure to perform at work, a strained re­la­tion­ship with col­leagues or superiors can result in stress.

Es­pe­cially when you’ve got many tasks piling up, it can help to address your workload with your manager. Saying no at work often isn’t easy, but it tells others what your limits are.

Social media has brought about another kind of stress: fear of missing out, or FOMO for short, speaks to the permanent pressure to be online and not miss out on anything that friends and family are ex­per­i­en­cing.

Usually, it’s not just one thing that causes stress but a handful of factors that, over a longer period, gradually lead to an imbalance that can result in chronic stress.

What are the con­sequences of constant stress?

If stress is re­peatedly acute over a longer period, it will even­tu­ally become chronic. Without stress man­age­ment, stress symptoms won’t just be visible in stressful situ­ations, but will con­stantly affect your body and psyche.

After a while, the permanent state of chronic stress in­tens­i­fies pre­vi­ously occurring symptoms, since the hormone balance also gradually tips due to the permanent state of alarm in the body.

And there are far-reaching con­sequences. Various diseases are more likely to occur because of stress, for example, the prob­ab­il­ity of suffering hearing loss or tinnitus increases. Since the body draws on its own nutrients and muscles under permanent stress and can’t keep up with stocking up on resources, an increase in fat and a decrease in muscle mass are also often the result of constant stress.

Victims of chronic stress often suffer from burnout, de­pres­sion, or ex­haus­tion, as well as an increased risk of heart attack.

What are the forms of stress relief?

To reduce stress, the root causes of your stress should be prevented, and measures should be taken to alleviate the con­sequences.

Stress man­age­ment should focus on balancing your meta­bol­ism and at the same time both protect and strengthen the nerves. On the job, measures to avoid stressful situ­ations are also very useful.

Pri­or­it­ise work, organise processes, and avoid mul­ti­task­ing

To avoid stress at work, it’s important to clearly structure your pending work. Which tasks should be pri­or­it­ised, what can be pushed for later? Listing your work with deadlines often helps.

You can also try setting dedicated time windows in which you tackle a specific task in a con­cen­trated manner. During con­cen­trated work phases, chats and mobile devices are set to ‘do not disturb’. This will help you focus on the es­sen­tials while dis­trac­tions are kept to a minimum.

Healthy food as a basis

A balanced diet and plenty of water are an integral part of the day when working in the office or from home, helping the nerves cope with stress.

Whole-grain in­gredi­ents and legumes, such as lentils, are a great basis, while ve­get­ables, fruit and nuts sup­ple­ment the diet. Too many sugary or fatty foods and soft drinks should be avoided.

Exercises to relax muscles and boost con­cen­tra­tion

Sitting in front of the computer for hours on end leads to tension. Even short re­lax­a­tion exercises at the coffee machine or at the desk can help with this. Massaging muscles in the neck, back, or legs not only releases tension but also provides moments of respite.

Regular exercises at work can provide new energy and short moments to relax.

Plenty of sleep and limited screen­time

During stressful phases, it’s important that you get enough sleep to give your body the time to recharge overnight. The amount of sleep needed varies from person to person. But a regular rhythm for when you go to bed and wind-down rituals can help set you up for a good night’s sleep.

Before going to bed, it’s best to avoid activ­it­ies that include your phone or tele­vi­sion. Es­pe­cially social media’s in­form­a­tion overload has been doc­u­mented to be a common trigger for constant tension.

A relaxing bath, reading a book, or noting down your day’s ex­per­i­ences can help you slow down and unwind for the day.

Make time for hobbies and sports

If you want to be top of your game at work, then you need to make time for rest and re­lax­a­tion. Here, in­di­vidu­al needs vary greatly. A balanced sport regimen like yoga, swimming, or jogging, but also creative hobbies like sewing or cooking serve to shift your focus and bring con­sist­ency and calm to everyday life. The goal here is to ensure a healthy work-life balance.

Summary: recognise stress symptoms early and adjust habits

In most jobs you’ll be met with stressful situ­ations, one way or another. To stay ahead of stress, it helps to tackle tasks in a struc­tured and thought­ful way. Pri­or­it­ising can help you find your focus to get through the day. In addition, don’t forget to take time out to relax as well as for activ­it­ies and hobbies. A balanced diet will also help support overall mental and physical well-being.