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Stress and anxiety where does it come from?
The desire to succeed, to progress, to prove ourselves professionally, induces stress and anxiety.
As we aim higher and seek to achieve more, we are also faced with increasing stress.
When everything seems to be at stake, stress is accompanied by fear of failure that adds anxiety to our stress.
Managing stress in a stressful environment
Western society is characterized by its striving for accomplishments, its competitiveness, and its pushing for excellence.
In an expanding world, products are measured in numbers, effectiveness and productivity are tallied in percentages and we are asked to excel.
In the face of the demand to meet the goals and statistics, quite a few of us experience continuous stress in our work.
Only stress does not really help…
When we are stressed, we become less productive, less creative, less connected to what is happening around us.
Our availability to others decreases, irritability is added, and our judgment becomes less effective.
Stress makes us less professional, exposing us to mistakes and compromising the quality of the products we produce.
A healthy level of stress pushes us to surpass ourselves, but when the stress becomes chronic, it take a toll on everyone around.
Alongside the professional costs, stress also accompanies us at home.
Stress affects our relationships, the quality of our interactions, and our patience for our immediate environment.
Stress takes a toll on our health…
Persistent stress has been found to weaken the immune system.
It exposes us to heart disease, gastrointestinal diseases, and a plethora of syndromes such as arthritis, chronic pain, etc.
The damage to our health is not only physical but also mental, stress causes erosion, the meltdown that harms our mental health.
In the long run: Stress is not economic
In recent years, many bodies in Europe and the United States have been trying to overthrow the growing phenomenon of sick days.
As more and more employees turn to the occupational doctor to request a sick leave, large corporations have come to the decision that it is more economical to invest in workers’ welfare.
Mindfulness ~ reducing stress
Over the past decade more and more industries have been turning to the Mindfulness tool to improve the work environment.
Some of them have even integrated specifically designed meditation spaces as part of the work space.
Numerous studies have shown that integrating Mindfulness in a workplace leads to a reduction in the number of sick days, increased well-being, and higher levels of effectiveness and production.
What about anxiety?
Fear of failure, judgment, offense, loss of status, and financial loss, are among the common the concerns we are faced with in the workplace on daily basis.
That same fear causes anxiety that prevents the individual from reaching his highest potential.
Over time, anxiety eats away at our values and our decision making processes are no longer based on intelligent criteria.
Stress and anxiety ~ stepping out of the cycle
When we come to know the mechanisms that feeds the cycle, we get how vital it is to train our mind.
When we learn to listen to the body’s signals, we understand the connection.
When we know how to use the tools, we learn that a few minutes are sufficient to maintain well-being.
How does it work?
Through short meditation and concentration exercises, we learn to channel stress.
By returning to the object of breathing, we direct consciousness to the present moment.
Moving away from thinking about past and future, we learn to lower the level of stress and anxiety.
Together with meditation, practitioners are introduced to research-based philosophy, at the center of which stands the cultivation of compassion.
Through emphatic listening and speaking exercises, practitioners learn to use strategies that help better our management of stressful situations.
These tools add to the cultivation of emotional intelligence and interpersonal communication.
The assimilation and application of the tools lead over time, to the experience of well-being, of rising motivation, of new creativity.
Bottom line everybody wins
Mindfulness in the workplace adds to employees’ well-being and bottom line it’s economic to the organization. Managing stress and anxiety is a wise move.
Wisdom & Mindfulness offers a variety of training programs designed for professionals in different industries, because “the well-being of the individual brings well-being to the entire society.”
Nathalie Bizawi, founder of Wisdom & Mindfulness meditation center. Senior Meditation, Mindfulness and philosophy instructor, From Wingate Academic College. M.A in Education from TAU University, Tel Aviv.
Wisdom & Mindfulness your meditation center in Tel Aviv.