Live to Work, Don’t Work to Live: Beating Workplace Stress

Managing workplace stress is imperative, not only for your career, but for your health. The human body is not built to sustain high levels of stress for extended periods, and the levels of cortisol in your body due to the stress can be acutely detrimental to your health. Find out how massage therapy can help you manage workplace stress.

Stress in the workplace

Experiencing stress at your job is not an uncommon experience for working professionals. While some stress is normal, excessive stress can interfere with your ability to perform at work. Enduring high levels of stress can have a detrimental effect on your emotional and physical wellbeing. Managing your stress levels in the workplace is extremely beneficial to both your career and your health. Studies continue to show that high stress levels are directly correlated to poor work performance, lack of energy and an array of health related problems. Adding massage therapy to your wellness routine can have a colossal impact on your health and help lower your stress level.

Stress is caused by numerous factors in the workplace. Common causes of workplace stress are;

• High pressure from superiors to perform
• Rising expectations and demands
• Fear of being laid off
• Working too many hours
• Difficult employees or co-workers

How to recognize stress in the workplace

Stress in the workplace can make your work seem less rewarding. It can also lead to lower productively levels. Moreover, chronic stress can lead to serious emotional and physical problems that can become destructive to your overall health. Recognizing the symptoms of high stress can help you deal with the negative effects.

The body has two parts of the nervous system, one is for running away from animals trying to eat us for the past couple of hundred thousand years and the other kicks in our self-healing mechanisms. If we are at a state of stress from the animal attack or the work place attack our brains can’t tell the difference and all of our blood and oxygen goes to our muscles and away from our organs as its important to survive the attack not digest breakfast tacos. Soon our body has no choice but to create the following systems until we can engage our parasympathetic nervous system and get our mind and bodies back to relaxation and repair mode.

Symptoms of stress include;

• Experiencing high levels of anxiety
• Easily irritated
• Depression
• Apathy towards projects
• Fatigue
• Difficulty concentrating
• Muscle tension and headaches
• Stomach/Digestive problems
• Sleeping issues such as insomnia
• Social withdrawal

Stress reduction is the answer

It is estimated that an upwards of ninety percent of disease is caused by stress related issues. While eliminating all stress at your workplace is nearly impossible, finding ways to manage and reduce your stress level is imperative. Modern workplaces are fast-paced and demanding. Incorporating regular massage therapy into your overall health routine can help you deal with every day stressors.

In addition to managing stress supplementary benefits of massage therapy include;

• Reduced anxiety
• Improved quality of sleep
• Overall energy boost
• Increase in circulation and blood flow
• Improved concentration
• Reduction in fatigue symptoms

Massage therapy as a remedy to stress reduction

Studies continue to show the vast benefits of adding massage therapy to your overall healthcare regimen. With massage therapy you will notice a profound difference in how you react to stressful events both at work and home. As modern workplaces continue to evolve some employers are even offering massage therapy services as a part of their employee health plans. Regular self-care is extremely important and frequent visits can help you manage your stress level paving the way to a healthy, mindful lifestyle.

Request a Reservation at a Massage Heights Retreat today to begin managing your workplace stress.