The least you would expect for a stress-reliever is for it to take a toll on your health. Stress can be disastrous if not dealt with, it can affect your work; from productivity to how you relate to your co-workers, your relationship with loved ones, as well as other areas of your life.
While stress has a significant negative impact on your health, there are tons of ways of dealing with its impact. But unfortunately, some of the stress-relievers are worsening your burnout and you don’t even know it!
This may affect your general well-being and as such, below are three stress-relievers that are aggravating your burnout.
Refraining from Confrontation
It may feel like the bigger person when you avoid confrontations with workmates who are stressing you out in the office. You probably think that this is the best solution because maybe you don’t want office drama or you just want to keep your calm and peace. Contrarily, confrontation is good for your health.
Avoiding the confrontation is more dangerous, as it alleviates your stress and worsens the situation. And the last thing you want is for your feelings to blow up at work. As counterintuitive as it seems, confronting stressful workmates and settling down your issues works better for your health.
Come up with a strategy to approach your issue, depending on what the stress-inducing behavior is. Perhaps the workmate is always distracting you with random questions or even their concerns. Try setting a specific time when they can discuss such issues with you or so because you need to learn how to deal with toxic co-workers if you want to be productive in your workplace.
Complaining
Complaining does not seem like much of a stress-reliever, but the truth is, you will likely complain when stressed. And while that is normal, it does more harm than good to your health. In the long-run, your winning will result in burnout.
So instead of complaining when faced with problems, don’t because it is either you have a solution to your problems or you don’t. If you cannot do anything about the problem, then accept it and move on. Whenever you complain and whine about something your body releases cortisol, which is the stress hormone.
Besides, this leads to an increase in blood sugar and blood pressure. Your brain receives negative signals from this, and the more you are stressing your body the more burnout you experience.
Desktop Dining
A lot of professionals prefer having their lunch from their desks as opposed to eating out during lunch. Having lunch from your desk seems like a bright idea if you want to get a little more work done. The bad news is, it is not good for your health. Yes going out for lunch while you can gobble yours from your desk can look like time wastage but it gives you something valuable, social interactions.
According to the New York Times, 62% of the professionals prefer having lunch from their desks. Going out for lunch is important as it allows you to interact with your colleagues. This simple interaction goes a long way to increase your productivity and all the same, prevents burnout.
Through interaction and socializing, oxytocin is released, and this is the hormone responsible for reducing stress and boosting the feeling of relaxation. So instead of having your lunches from your desk consider eating out as it goes a long way.
Bottom Line
Some of the things you normally do when going through a stressful time might have a bad impact on your health and well-being. Don’t be afraid of addressing an issue with a work colleague because you fear it might escalate the problem. If your approach is good, all will be well. Avoid working through the lunch break and go out! Quit complaining and instead use other approaches to sort out your problems.
When going through a stressful time, think of your actions, don’t just act out of your feelings. The bottom line is, most of your actions have consequences so be mindful of yourself.