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O H I O D E P A R T M E N T O F A D M I N I S T R A T I V E S E R V I C E S

A d d r e s s i n g t h e n e e d s o f O h i o ’ s d e d i c a t e d p u b l i c s e r v a n t s a n d t h e i r f a m i l i e s s i n c e 1 9 8 4

The American Institute of Stress reports that job stress is the single greatest health problem for working adults. When job stress begins to harm your home or work life, or cause those around you to express concern, it’s time to explore new tools for combating this problem. The following suggestions may help:

• Avoid stress-promoting thoughts and beliefs – Sometimes you can increase your stress by having unrealistic beliefs about what you can accomplish in your job. You may think, “I should be able to do everything without feeling stressed or tired,” or “I can’t ask for help. It will show my incompetence.” Such thoughts can lead to unnecessary frustration and stress. Instead, accept or acknowledge your limits and find support for job challenges. Also, communicate better with your manager and your coworkers to adjust job expectations and get help.

• Try deep breathing – Focused breathing is a great way to heal your body of stress because it is free, easy and can be done anywhere. Get seated comfortably, close your eyes, and breathe in slowly through your nose – without thinking about project deadlines, job

responsibilities or other stressful things. Let the breath out through your mouth for a count of 5 to 10 seconds. Take 10 of these “super breaths” any time you feel tense.

• Eat a nutritious breakfast – Your car needs fuel to run properly and so does your body. Start your day with healthy foods and drinks. Limit or avoid coffee or caffeinated tea, because caffeine increases the stress response of your body.

• Practice simple stretches – Stretch your neck by gently rolling your head in a half circle. Start at one side, drop your chin to your chest, then to the other side.

• Talk about your problems – A trusted coworker, friend, spouse or health care professional can help you see your problem in a new light, so you can work on a constructive solution.

• Take your breaks and enjoy them – Walk outside, read something non-work-related or rest. Learn how to mentally escape for minutes at a time. Imagine the best places you like to be and mentally go there for a minute.

By: © liveandworkwell.com.

Managing stress on the job

And be sure to get plenty of sleep, eat a balanced diet and avoid tobacco use and excess caffeine and alcohol intake.

When to seek helpIf you’re not sure if stress is the cause, or if you’ve taken steps to control your stress but your symptoms continue, see your doctor. Your doctor may want to check for other potential causes.

If you have chest pain, especially if it occurs during physical activity or is accompanied by shortness of breath, sweating, dizziness, nausea or pain radiating into your shoulder and arm, get emergency help immediately. These may be warning signs of a heart attack and not simply stress symptoms.By: © Mayo Clinic Staff.

Stress and high blood pressure: What’s the connection?Stress and long-term high blood pressure may not be linked but taking steps to reduce your stress can improve your general health, including your blood pressure. Discover how.

Stressful situations can cause your blood pressure to spike temporarily, but can stress also cause long-term high blood pressure? Could all those short-term stress-related blood pressure spikes add up and cause high blood pressure in the long term? Researchers aren’t sure.

However, doing activities to reduce your blood pressure, such as exercising 30 to 60 minutes a day, can reduce your stress level. And if you’ve been diagnosed with high blood pressure, doing activities that can help you manage your stress and improve your health can make a long-term difference in lowering your blood pressure.

Linking stress and blood pressure challengingYour body produces a surge of hormones when you’re in a stressful situation. These hormones temporarily increase your blood pressure by causing your heart to beat faster and your blood vessels to narrow.

There’s no proof that stress by itself causes long-term high blood pressure. It may be that other behaviors linked to stress, such as overeating, drinking alcohol and poor sleeping habits, cause long-term high blood pressure. However, short-term, stress-related spikes in your blood pressure added up over time may put you at risk of developing long-term high blood pressure.

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Stress symptoms: Effects on your body and behavior

Act to manage stressIf you have stress symptoms, taking steps to manage your stress can have numerous health benefits. Explore stress management strategies, such as:

• Physical activity;• Relaxation techniques;• Meditation;• Yoga; and• Tai chi.

Stress symptoms may be affecting your health, even though you might not realize it. You may think illness is to blame for that nagging headache, your frequent insomnia or your decreased productivity at work. But stress actually may be the culprit.

Common effects of stressStress symptoms can affect your body, your thoughts and feelings, and your behavior. Being able to recognize common stress symptoms can give you a jump on managing them. Stress that’s left unchecked can contribute to health problems such as high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity and diabetes.

Common effects of stress:

On your body

Headache

Muscle tension or pain

Chest pain

Fatigue

Change in sex drive

Stomach upset

Sleep problems

On your mood

Anxiety

Restlessness

Lack of motivation or focus

Irritability or anger

Sadness or depression

On your behavior

Overeating or undereating

Angry outbursts

Drug or alcohol abuse

Tobacco use

Social withdrawal

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It’s possible that health conditions related to stress, such as anxiety, depression and isolation from friends and family, may be linked to heart disease but there’s no evidence they’re linked to high blood pressure. Instead, it may be that the hormones produced when you’re emotionally stressed may damage your arteries, leading to heart disease. It also may be that being depressed may cause self-destructive behavior, such as neglecting to take your medications to control high blood pressure or other heart conditions.

High blood pressure risks increase over the long termIncreases in blood pressure related to stress can be dramatic. But once the stressor disappears, your blood pressure returns to normal. However, even temporary spikes in blood pressure, if they occur often enough, can damage your blood vessels, heart and kidneys in a way similar to long-term high blood pressure.

In addition, if you react to stress by smoking, drinking too much alcohol or eating unhealthy foods, you increase your risk of high blood pressure, heart attack and stroke.

Stress-reducing activities can lower your blood pressureWhile reducing stress might not directly lower blood pressure over the long term, using strategies to manage your stress can improve your health in other ways. Mastering stress management techniques can lead to other behavior changes, including those that reduce your blood pressure.

When looking for ways to manage stress, remember that you have many options. For example:

• Simplify your schedule. If you consistently feel rushed, take a few minutes to review your calendar and to-do lists. Look for activities that take up your time but aren’t very important to you. Schedule less time for these activities or eliminate them completely.

• Breathe to relax. Making a conscious effort to deepen and slow down your breathing can help you relax.

• Exercise. Physical activity is a natural stressbuster. Just be sure to get your doctor’s approval before starting a new exercise program, especially if you’ve already been diagnosed with high blood pressure. Exercise not only reduces stress but actually can lower your systolic blood pressure by as much as 5 to 10 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg).

• Try yoga and meditation. Yoga and meditation not only can strengthen your body and help you relax, but also may lower your systolic blood pressure by 5 mm Hg or more.

• Get plenty of sleep. Being sleep-deprived can make your problems seem worse than they really are.

• Shift your perspective. When dealing with problems, resist the tendency to complain. Acknowledge your feelings about the situation and then focus on finding solutions.

The goal is to discover what works for you. Be open-minded and willing to experiment. Choose your strategies, take action and start enjoying the benefits.By: © Mayo Clinic Staff.

Get plenty of sleep!

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Make a stress management action plan

Your employee assistance program offers confidential help for personal problems and

concerns. Concerned about a troubled family member who won’t get help? Feel tired and exhausted, but don’t know if it’s burnout, loss of motivation, depression or all three? Late for work too often? Has the use of alcohol or drugs created a crisis you are facing right now? The bottom line, never wonder if your concern is appropriate to contact OEAP. So, if you’ve been putting off taking action to solve a serious issue that is weighing on you, give OEAP a call today.

Share Your Comments about Frontline FocusYour comments are important. Please share your comments about Frontline Focus via OEAP’s confidential email address: OEAP@das.ohio.gov. Your comments may be published in a future edition of Frontline Focus.

800-221-6327/614-644-8545 ohio.gov/eap

Andy Bensing, OEAP Benefits Manager

Follow these steps to help take control over your stress and learn how to manage it.

• Make a list of all the things giving you stress – from the special project at work, to your child’s report card, to your financial situation.

• Cross off all the things you cannot control.

• With the remaining stress factors, think of ways you can change the situation or reduce the stress. Many times, just identifying one small, doable action will significantly reduce the stress.

• Look at what can be delegated to others, at work and at home.

• Review the items you crossed off the list. Remind yourself these are a source of unnecessary stress and are out of your control.

Here is an example to help you get started: You may feel stressed about an upcoming project at work. This project has many tasks and you worry you won’t complete it on time. You also worry your supervisor won’t like what you prepare.

Make a list of your stressors.

• Completing special project within given time frame; and

• Supervisor won’t like special project.

Next assess what you cannot control. You are not in control of how your supervisor feels or perceives your

work. You can meet the standards outlined, but you cannot change how your supervisor feels. What you can do is to be sure ahead of time you know exactly what your supervisor expects from you.

Brainstorm what you can do to ensure you can complete the project. Breaking it into manageable pieces makes the project less overwhelming and will help reduce some of your stress.

Now you are doing what you can with what you can control.

Sources: 1-American Heart Association. May 2017. “Four way to deal with stress.” Accessed 5/9/17.

http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/HealthyLiving/StressManagement/FourWaystoDealWithStress/Four-Ways-to-Deal-with-Stress_UCM_307996_Article.jsp#.WO-5pYjyvcclaunch

2-American Psychological Association. 2017. “Coping with Stress at Work.” Accessed 5/9/17. http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/work-stress.aspxlaunch

3-American Psychological Association. 2017. “Six myths about stress.” Accessed 5/9/17. http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/stress-myths.aspxlaunch

4-American Psychological Association. 2017. “Stress in America.” Accessed 5/9/17.

http://www.apa.org/topics/stress/index.aspxlaunch

5-Help Guide. April 2017. “Stress Management.” Accessed 5/9/17. https://www.helpguide.org/articles/stress/stress-management.htmlaunch

6-Mayo Clinic Staff. 2017. “Stress Management: Examine your Stress reaction.” Accessed 5/9/17. http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/stress-management/art-20044289launch

7-Mayo Clinic Staff. 2017. “Stress Management: Three ways to become more stress resilient.” Accessed 5/9/17. http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/3-ways-to-become-more-stress-resilient/art-20267213