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How to deal with Stress
4

How to deal with Stress

How to deal with Stress

(OP)
Hi fellas,
Well, it is impossible not to have stress in this bussines and almost in whatever work you have. Question for everybody,
How do you deal with stress? (i.e. project due date, conflicts, professional or personal, etc..)
Do you bike? Go to a bar? Movies? Read a book or go to the park, family? anyways, you are welcome to share your tips, opinions and experiences.
Regards

RE: How to deal with Stress

I exercise to relieve stress. I've found that the exercise also makes you feel better all around. It improves my mood.

RE: How to deal with Stress

Professional stress ... visit Eng-Tips

Personal stress ... sit down & relax with a nice hot cuppa ... then visit Eng-Tips.

cheers
Helpful SW websites FAQ559-520
How to find answers ... FAQ559-1091

RE: How to deal with Stress

Hot cuppa.

Never a bad idea.  Coffee doesn't have the same effect.

RE: How to deal with Stress

We drink!!! The alternative is choking someone.
Just kidding. rofl

A quick walk around the block (city block, with parkette and water fall) usually helps. Running is kind of hard - we don't have showers or anything like that to change afterwards.

"Do not worry about your problems with mathematics, I assure you mine are far greater."   
Albert Einstein
Have you read FAQ731-376 to make the best use of Eng-Tips Forums?

RE: How to deal with Stress

...could always call a meeting and yell at some people.

I usually either wakeboard, eat, or drink.   Sometimes all three, though rarely all at once.  Come winter I'll probably have a skateboard ramp to play on.  Once in a while I just go to bed as soon as I get home.  

RE: How to deal with Stress

Eat chocolate bars (not so much dealing but seemed to be what happened, Boost were my fave in such situations back in the UK)

Exercise is good, I haven't been good at it since I moved to the US but in the UK I had a little Gym set up in my garage.  My punchbag was especially fun till I punched it off the wall!  (Ok well technically part of the wall was still attatched)

RE: How to deal with Stress

I play with my daughter. I found it quite stress relieving, up to the point that I am dead tired and she starts to cry because she wants more...

RE: How to deal with Stress

I exercise daily, take no more than 2 cups of coffee in a shift, meditate, dance, practice music, math problems relex me too.

RE: How to deal with Stress

3
Exercise is great, but it does not address the root cause of work related stress.

Stay in charge of your work, don't let your work be in charge of you.
Manage your agenda, plan the work, work the plan.
Learn to live with the idea (and teach your boss the same thing) that you can't necessarily do all the work that people drop on your desk.
Write only a reasonable amount of "to do" items in your agenda each day. Don't carry them over to the next day all the time. If there's too much work, put priorities in order (have your boss validate that order) and start at the top without looking at the rest.
Put certain limits to your working hours and respect them.
At the end of each day, look at the few things you actually achieved and be happy with those smile.

RE: How to deal with Stress

PS forgot the most important one:
for heaven's sake, become efficient!
winky smile

RE: How to deal with Stress

I try to never take anything too seriously, this annoys the crap out of other people but helps keep me sane.  That does not always work so  ...

Short term - walk around the building once or twice.
Regularly - exercise followed by sauna.
Extreme cases - go to the range and shoot 75 to 150 clays.

 

RE: How to deal with Stress

I find that I get a lot less stressed at work on days where I run before work, than days where I run after. Maybe it is preemptive stress relief (however its hard to get up at a quarter to 5 in the morning).

On an incredibly painfully stressed day at work, when I hit the gym, I usually don't have my head in the game enough to get a really good workout. I've learned to take it easy on those days.

Wes C.
------------------------------
Light travels faster than sound. That's why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

RE: How to deal with Stress

As epoisses indirectly indicates, one place stress comes from is a lack of control of your work environment. This can be created by unanticipated project problems, or by the company environment and management at the company.

Frankly, what I do is surf Monster.com or Careerbuilder.com to reassure myself that I do have career value and marketable skills - and options to find a better workplace.

RE: How to deal with Stress

However, Comcokid, there is no stress-free workplace because stress is in your head... or it isn't. Nobody else is to blame for your stress (your headaches, your eventual heart attack...) except yourself. This sounds very cruel, but as soon as you realise that you either create your own stress or not, this very fact actually relieves some of the stress and you can start to step-by-step manage your work.

BTW as you can see I have had a stress management training because I wouldn't be able to invent all this myself smile but I deeply believe in it. The trainer even related stress with cancer ("your cancer is your own fault") - I wouldn't go as far as that, I wouldn't even claim that we know exactly what causes cancer in the first place, but anyway.
According to the training, stress in general follows from the discrepancy between experiencing a mental + physical reaction due to a threatening phenomenon (say an amount of work that you can't finish with all kinds of consequences for your performance evaluation and the rest of your career) and not being able... I mean the FEELING of not being able to do anything about it. And that's why starting to do something about it is the key to getting rid of stress.

RE: How to deal with Stress

Get enough rest too.

When I don't, I find I tend to drink too much coffee and and eat toxic substances from the snack machine to stay awake.

The caffeine sugar combination really lowers my performance and ability to triage without getting involved.

We are all just brokering finite resources.

RE: How to deal with Stress

I just recognize that there are factors that are outside of my control.  Why stress over things that I cannot possibly influence?

Deep breathing and walk through the shop helps too.

"Art without engineering is dreaming; Engineering without art is calculating."
Steven K. Roberts, Technomad
Have you read FAQ731-376 to make the best use of Eng-Tips Forums?

RE: How to deal with Stress

Developing teflon shoulders helps as well. When I have loads of people trying to dump massive amounts of work on me, instead of getting stressed, I make them fight it out between themselves: "he says his calculation needs to be finished by yesterday as well. why don't the two of you figure out which is more urgent and get back to me. otherwise i'll get to it in the order it appeared on my to do list"...

Makes it much easier to ignore pushy colleagues who think everything they do is the most important thing in the company and that you deserve to be as stressed as they choose to be.

RE: How to deal with Stress

I pretty much follow epoisses' recomendations, and always try to remember that work is not my entire life, but only a means to an end.

RE: How to deal with Stress

I tried meditation after lunch for a while.  Feet up, eyes closed, quiet.  It works, but too many people, including especially bosses, confuse it with sleeping.

Now I just get up and take a walk through the shop, which has several virtues:
- It establishes and maintains a relationship with the people who actually do the work that I plan.
- It helps me keep track of what is happening, and of what is not happening.
- It makes the office's erratic air conditioning seem not so bad after all.

Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

RE: How to deal with Stress

I once slept at work after lunch, deliberately. I think it was right after we got a baby. I had waited until after the mail guy passed by. It must have been 15 minutes. I never have known if anyone entered my office in the meantime but it was one of the most enjoyable quarters of my life smile

RE: How to deal with Stress

SERENITY NOW!!!!

LewTam Inc.
Petrophysicist, Leading Hand, Natural Horseman, Prickle Farmer, Crack Shot, Venerable Yogi.

RE: How to deal with Stress

I agree with epoisses (and/or his instructor), that stress is ultimately something you do to yourself.  I also think that a hallmark quality for a engineer is to care about their work.  That alone can be a major source of stress completely self-induced.

Stress reducers would vary by individual and stress level.  Mine range from general complaining sessions with fellow engineers (this site can be good for that), music, spending time outdoors (particularly during deer season), to climbing into a racecar (you don't dare think about anything other than driving).

Taking even a half day off can help tremendously.  I also try to end my work day with something less stressful so that when I leave for home, my family is not subjected to the brunt of a bad day/week.

Regards,

RE: How to deal with Stress

It's interesting you mention caring about your work. I care about my work... but not at the expense of my health!

RE: How to deal with Stress

Stress...
Let's see...

I work at a place not at all known for high-pressure environment.

At least one person at the management level in my small office is on anxiety medication.

One of the admin people in the next office over has a chronic stress-related skin condition.

Me, I've been doing a lot less stomping around and growling lately, but I think that's because my depression has increased...

I don't even want to think what it's like in private sector jobs where people have to worry about the bottom line or real-time financial losses that add up as time ticks by while problems are worked on.

On the flip side, I drove past a yoga studio yesterday on my way home from a work-related errand, and I walked in and signed up for classes.  We'll see.

Hg

Eng-Tips policies:  FAQ731-376

RE: How to deal with Stress

HgTX ... ponder  so you're not stressed, but the people around you are? Hmmmm.   lol

cheers
Helpful SW websites FAQ559-520
How to find answers ... FAQ559-1091

RE: How to deal with Stress

I'm not stressed because I'm too depressed to feel it.

Hg

Eng-Tips policies:  FAQ731-376

RE: How to deal with Stress

I remove the stress by finding a quiet secluded spot near the river during lunch hour. Also, I drive home along the back country roads playing country western on the radio. Sorry, this doesn't apply to extreme urban situations.

RE: How to deal with Stress

Hg - what is it with the public sector and stress/depression?   In my limited experience on the subject, I know of more public servants who have had breakdowns and/or chronic depression than people from the private sector.

From the outside looking in it looks as though they don't have enough stimulating work to keep them busy (all pressure without authority), so they internalise everything and screw their own minds up.  Or is it the obligatory pretty bureaucratic politics that seems to go with these jobs.

Please understand I am not trying to be flippant and I'm aware the above is a blatant generalisation.

Lew

LewTam Inc.
Petrophysicist, Leading Hand, Natural Horseman, Prickle Farmer, Crack Shot, Venerable Yogi.

RE: How to deal with Stress

That is because there is no correlation between level of stress and complexity of work or working hours (personal theory which I gladly trade for a better one). That may be because more demanding jobs attract more resistant people.

It's all in your head...

RE: How to deal with Stress

Or at least that higher-pressure jobs attract people that thrive on stress.  

Hg

Eng-Tips policies:  FAQ731-376

RE: How to deal with Stress

I think folks in the public sector often fear losing their jobs more than most others.  One major cause of stress in the modern (industrialized) world is a sense of not being in control over your life, and being at the mercy of someone else making important decisions for you.  This is probably more common is the public sector, and probably more common for those who do one type of task; cutting the grass at the park, or plowing roads.  There may be an attenuation of this fear for those in engineering type positions in the public sector, but the fear is probably still there.

In relatively small, private engineering consulting firms, where you have even more control over how you approach your work and what types of projects you do, that mode of stress-causing fear becomes even less.  I think that the more autonomy you have in your job and the more skilled you become over the years, the better.

RE: How to deal with Stress

Engineering type positions around here seem to be a lot more secure than in the private sector.

Hg

Eng-Tips policies:  FAQ731-376

RE: How to deal with Stress

Every job in the public sector seems secure until it is no longer secure...

RE: How to deal with Stress

Become a stresser, it's more fun than being a stressee.

RE: How to deal with Stress

BJC,

Sarnoff of RCA said that he didn't get ulcers; he gave them.

RE: How to deal with Stress

l3city,

 I think the best thing to do is to  "S L E E P" as it stands for;



S: Stress

L: Level

E: Elimination

E: Excercise

P: Program


 You better keep this! Remember, when youre stress try to SLEEP!

smile smile smile


RE: How to deal with Stress

Hi All,
I agree with epoisses. Stress is in the mind. I have been working in stressful engineering environments since around 1987. I felt stressed as the rest of you have indicated. From time to time, I would really become frazzled upon the approaching project deadlines and milestones. Then in 1990, the company I was working for was bought out by a Brisish firm. The location I worked at went from 10000 employess down to 4000 in a year. Engineer's like to work hard and have satisfaction in their work. After the down-sizing, right-sizing or whatever we have been experiencing over the past year's in corporate America, it's hard NOT become stressed. But I refused to knuckle under and let my health be compromised by becoming stressed out. I still had my job, and was busier than ever because the work force was simply reduced too far. But morale had gone down the tubes. Finally, I made the decision to bail-out and I started a job search. I found an interesting position about 3 mohts after my search, and am having fun again. But stress is something that can really get to you, if you let it overcome you.
I think of those poor victim's of 911, and being in those twin towers. The daily project stress and deadline pressure seems like a "cake-walk" compared to 911.
If you have your health, and a loving family, that's alot to be thankful for.
So don't get stressed. Exercise, breath, and tke a stress-reducing walk around your facility.
Hat's off to epoisses... Good thinking !!

BLW

RE: How to deal with Stress

I guess the ultimate solution if you're in a workplace where no matter what you do to manage it you end up being stressed is to change jobs.

Somewhat easier said than done usually and in its own way maybe stressfull but I guess there you go.

RE: How to deal with Stress

I just saw a guy wearing a T-shirt that read:

All Stressed Out
        and
No One To Choke


flame

RE: How to deal with Stress

It's all a mind thing.  Other people do not stress you out, you do!!!  Think about it.  You can choose how to react to any given situation.  The repetitive problems coming to you time and time again require you to either react negatively to it or require you to place the responsibility onto the people that are not dealing with it as they should.  We tend to be beasts of burden in this life, we like to take on everyone elses problems, thus, stress.  Do you bring "work" home with you?  Is that your purpose in life . . . work???  Learn to let go, drop it at the door when you leave work, it's still going to be there when you arrive the next day.  You don't have to guard and protect your precious stresses and problems like a bag of gold !  Enjoy life.  No trying to prosyletize here, but the Good Book, yes the Bible, has the answer for you.  Name the problem, the solution is in there. Peace of mind in an unpeaceful world, you can't beat it!

RE: How to deal with Stress

good point, orney!

 When a person get exhausted and confused on how to deal with it, sometimes they'll get lost. The fact, they're too different from you.. smile

 When they get lost, maybe this the time to gather a sort of advice or maybe the worst, why not undegone a STRESS MANAGEMENT Program.

 
 

RE: How to deal with Stress

Our HR just sent out a new listing of courses (with the subject "XXX courses", but that's another matter altogether) that we can take online.  There's a whole series on "Dealing With Difficult People".  

I can't say that I'm really learning anything to address any of the situations around me (mostly confirming my own notions of common sense), but at least the time spent working through the courses is itself stress-free yet work-related.  (Kinda like Eng-Tips.)

Hg

Eng-Tips policies:  FAQ731-376

RE: How to deal with Stress




 HgTx, That's what HR should care about, sending their
capital resources (manpower) to such seminar or workshop.
I dont think online course is effective to people who is not a proactive. I think they need a workshop, somewhat an interactive and hands-on seminar that would lead to actual situation as it was portrayed. This would really a exciting and a boredom-free activites than sitting all day of the course or sitting alone on the on-line seminar.

 We have close similar workshop we had as yours - i think, the few are;

- 7 habits of effective people
- Stress management
- Anger management
- How to handle difficult people,
etc.


 



 
 

RE: How to deal with Stress

Agree, I don't think online is effective. It takes a convincing person and a few days' of training to make you see the light, i.e. stress is in your head and is your own responsibility, not anyone else's.

BTW I have noticed stress is also heavily dependent on fatigue. When I'm tired I'm sometimes overwhelmed by all the things I *have* to do. Now that I've noticed this I tell myself: OK OK I'm just tired now, no panic, let's see what the world looks like tomorrow morning - this helps a lot.

RE: How to deal with Stress

Most of those classes come down to common sense anyway.  I'd rather do them online; I can get through them faster (at least the ones where I can read instead of listening to the audio).  I probably wouldn't take them, or at least not nearly as many of them, if I had to go spend half a day sitting in a classroom.  I suppose if I took an online one that was telling me a whole lot I didn't already know, I might consider looking into a more in-depth "real" class.

Hg

Eng-Tips policies:  FAQ731-376

RE: How to deal with Stress

HgtX,

 "..spend half a day sitting in a classroom. "

 In interactive workshops (seminars) - most cases, i never experience sitting half day. There's a lot of activities as interacting with participants, portraying some instances, etc. It's fun and really convincing. Hence, you'll never fell bored and sleepy.

 Good for you! What a proactive you are! you really do appreciate such enhancement you did.

 But once, again i dont think it's effective for a person who fells not interested  of the subject as doing alone on web seminars.









RE: How to deal with Stress

You have better seminars than mine.  Most of ours are someone taking half a day to tell me what I could have read from the course materials in about 45 mintes.  Then there's maybe 10 minutes of good interactive discussion.

Hg

Eng-Tips policies:  FAQ731-376

RE: How to deal with Stress

HgTX,
That is the Kantonese rice dilemma. Sometimes you have to eat a lot of rice for one slice of the sausage.
Strangely, if you reduce the rice over sausage ratio, or try to eat the sausage by itself without the rice, it's not as good anymore.
There's an optimum somewhere.
In any case if there are many attendants, you can always sit in the back and bring other work with you (the equivalent of having a beer while you're eating the rice).

RE: How to deal with Stress

I experienced stress relief when I was told I had 3 months to live. My liver was being destroyed by HEP "C" from a blood transfusion I had 20 years earlier. I recall that as I approached the end how I accepted the possibility; and how many times I used to worry about so many things that that didn't seem very important anymore. Well as you can see, I'm still here because at the last moment UCLA called me at 3:00 AM and said they had a match liver for me, that was 8 glories years ago. After a 1 year recovery I went back to CAL. State Long Beach and at 62 years of age FINALLY received my B.S. and Teaching Credentials. I now teach at a Community College and love it....LIFE IS GOOD!!
PS My granddaughter and I had our graduation picture taken togather in cap and gown.

RE: How to deal with Stress

imok2,

I'd like to have your perspective on life, but I'd prefer not to have to gain it in that way!

RE: How to deal with Stress

imok2,
That goes to show that everything IS relative.  After having to go through that type of stress, everything else must seem like a cakewalk!  Glad you're here to share with us.  Now if we could all try to see from that perspective.

RE: How to deal with Stress

True, there is always somebody worse of, or more stressed out than yourself.  But sometimes that doesn't make it any easier to deal with even though you know it should.

My philosophy is just to get things done and dealt with.  If something is bothering you that you can influence, then just deal with it there and then and get it done.  The things that stress me out the most are the things that I have just left hoping they will go away.

If you can't influence it than don't worry about it, just try to enjoy the ride.

RE: How to deal with Stress

Just like to add, obviously in Imok2's case this was a bit more severe.  My post was more about the day to day stresses and problems that can get you down.

Didn't want to appear insensitive at all.

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