Stress at work is something that affects more and more people and is increasing every year. Unfortunately dealing with stress at work is becoming almost inevitable as companies of all sizes push their staff harder in the tough business climate that we’re in.

Controlling stress at work can help you keep its effects to a minimum if you can spot the factors that are causing it.

Let’s look at some of the most common causes of work place stress:

Unpleasant colleagues.

I think that at one time or another we have all experienced colleagues who are rude, overbearing and downright unpleasant to be around. Being in that situation not only increases the amount of stress for you at work  but it can also have an effect on your performance. It can be very hard to shake off the pressure when you go home at the end of the day as well causing problems with your family and loved ones.

One of the most effective ways to deal with this kind of person is simply to ignore them and carry on with your job. If that’s just not possible it then depends on how much the situation’s bothering you.

If you feel that you’re able to then have a quiet word with them when neither of you are not under pressure. It’s quite possible that they’re responding to stress on themselves and they are completely unaware of how their behaviour is affecting you.

If that doesn’t work or you don’t feel comfortable in speaking to them then you will need to talk to your boss and let them know what is happening and how it’s having an effect on your work. It’s important if you find yourself in this situation to remember that you have a right to work without this type of behaviour from your co-workers.

But what if it’s not a colleague but your boss who’s the cause of the problem?

Having a senior colleague who is creating stress at work for you is probably even worse than just it being one of your peers. The tactics for dealing with it though are very similar. Choose a time when neither you nor they are under obvious pressure and explain how you feel. With modern management training your manager or supervisor should quickly realise their responsibilities and take action.

Unfortunately even in the 21st century this won’t work every time because of the nature of some people. It’s important to realise though that you the have right to work without harrassment or unpleasantness.

If after speaking to your boss you find that their behaviour doesn’t change then make a note of all the things that are going on. Preferably with times and dates together with the names of anyone else who was present. Then take your complaint to either your Human Resources or Personnel Department and explain what is happening and ask them to resolve it.

Another option is to speak to a representative of your staff association or union and together with any of your fellow workers who are in the same situation ask the union to raise the matter with HR.

Any personnel manager will be only too aware of the negative impact of workers who are under this type of harassment and the problems the company face if complaints aren’t acted on very quickly.

Even if you work with colleagues you think are wonderful and have a great boss you can still be affected by stress at work. The biggest cause of most stress in the work environment is probably a high workload.

It’s very easy to find yourself bogged down under a mountain of work if you find yourself taking on too many tasks. It’s not good for you or helpful to the company and you need to learn to take on only what you can handle at any one time.

Learn how to say “no” when people try to give you too much to do. You don’t have to accept every task going and once people realsie that you’re not a dumping ground for any extra work you will find that you’re far better able to cope.

If you have other members of staff under you then learn the art of delegation. It’s a myth that this is a sign of weakness. On the contrary it’s a sign of a good and responsible supervisor.

And don’t forget the simplest way of cutting your workload; Ask for help. You’ll be amazed just how often your colleagues are willing to help if they see you are struggling to deal with all the tasks. Offer to help them of course when the boot is on the other foot. It not only makes the work disappear faster it creates a much pleasanter environment for everyone concerned.

There are many ways to overcome stress and a lot of them are completely free and totally natural. Rather than turning to your GP and the wonders of modern science why not consider using some of them to reduce the stress in your life?

People in Asia have known the benefits of yoga and tai-chi in relieving the effects of stress for centuries. Both of them will allow you to focus and calm your mind and the physical exercises help to release the tension held in your body.

Part of practising yoga involves meditation but it’s also possible to use meditation on it’s own to reduce your stress levels. It’s very simple to learn and it has been proven in a large number of studies to be very beneficial.

Just a few minutes a day are sufficient to help towards reducing stress symptoms and that’s only one of the benefits of meditating.

A great first step in getting the symptoms of stress under control  is by breathing properly. Deep breathing exercises help to relax the tension in your body and to increase the amount of oxygen in your bloodstream. One of the first signs of stress is shallow breathing so by taking a few deep breaths and mentally saying the word “calm” as you breath out very quickly helps to over come it.

We’ve all heard the saying “music soothes the savage beast” and it’s very true. The type of music we listen to can have an incredibly powerful effect on us. Just as the boy-racer has a loud, fast track on as he screams around in his car we can put on slow, peaceful piece of music to calm and relax us. Listening to the sounds of nature is another fantastic way to release stress and you don’t have to go miles out into the country to do it either. Most cities have a park in them and by focusing your attention on the sounds of the birds or running water you will find that your stress levels begin to reduce within minutes.

Aromatherapy deserves a mention all to itself and I’ll come back to it in another post where I can do it more justice but let’s say that an aromatherapy massage from a fully qualified aromatherapist is sublime.

Another technique that I’ll be covering is Reiki. If you’ve haven’t heard of it before I’m sure you soon will as it’s an amazingly powerful method for getting rid of the symptoms of stress.

Though some of the effects of stress are still being hotly debated within both the medical and psychological communities, there are some that are broadly agreed on. Rapid heartbeat, raised blood pressure, a rise in blood sugar level and a lower digestive rate are just a few of the physiological effects of stress.

The psychological effects, although they are sometimes more subtle, are important too. Increased stress, especially when it lasts over a period of time, often leads to greater irritability. A person will be more quick-tempered and much easy to anger. He or she will become more impatient, and more inclined to fear the future while feeling less able to cope with the present. People who are stressed tend to find it harder to concentrate and have greater difficulty making decisions.

These two realms are not unrelated as you may think. The hypothalamus and the pituitary gland are two brain components that lead the charge during stressful events. They release a substance called ACTH (adrenocorticotropic hormone) that stimulates the adrenal gland, near the kidney, to release cortisol. Natural levels of cortisol rise and fall during the day, but an excess can contribute to the “flight or fight” response that we experience during stress.

That can lead to neck muscle tension, stomach and bowel upset and a host of other effects. There are studies that suggest that if the stressful state persists it can lead to weakening of the immune system. That contributes to more frequent colds and other bad health effects.

High stress levels can cause a shortened attention span, less efficient memory recall, lowered objectivity and other cognitive problems. As dire thoughts race around the mind, there is less focus on solving life’s daily challenges in rational way. Moodiness, unreasonable anger, unwarranted feelings of injustice and other emotional consequences often follow.

The results of this are too often depression, apathy, crying in the absence of a specific cause, increased fear of failure and an overall sense of doom. But those are extremes and they are by no means inevitable.

There is very frequently a vicious cycle set up. The conflict between “I must” and “I can’t,” which can be an essential element in raised stress levels, can lead to a greater likelihood that, indeed, you can’t. And that loss of confidence in one’s efficacy in dealing with life’s challenges can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. But that too is not inevitable.

By focusing on the factors that led to the stress you’re experiencing, evaluating them realistically and keeping a sense of perspective about their consequences, stress can be reduced and even eliminated before it becomes a chronic problem. That, in turn, helps reduce the occasions when a minor problem leads to major stress, even in the short term. It’s important to remember that it’s never too late to start the first steps towards combating the effects of stress.