Looking for tips to de-stress at work.
 

Hi fellow FCs,

Having a pretty stressful day at work today - so wondering if any of you have some good relaxation/de-stressing tips I can do at work (a office desk job) so that 1) the stress hormones don't make my body store more fat and 2) I won't turn to food as a form of stress relief.

Of course, at the end of the day I plan on getting my release with a good workout, but looking for something to do/think midday.

Thanks for the help, ladies & gents.

Well, I don't really have an office job, but I do spend sometime on the computer..but at times to de-stress I stretch a bit, or massage my forehead, neck, or even my shoulders. Take deep breaths, and close my eyes for a bit. and or listen to some music. Maybe that will help you. Hopefully. :) Good luck, hon.

Aqua...I feel your pain. During the school year I have a job that is high responsibility/pressure but is in a very suppportive enviroment so I don't feel stressed as much but over the summer I have a more mindless job that can ironically feel more stressful. Working out is great(actually I beleive its the best stress releiver next to meditation)

but for the actual work day I try to keep hydrated (which doesn't necesarily ease stress but keeps me feeling good) and my favorite stress buster is to take a second go to the ladies room lock myself in a stall and rotate all my joints...roll my head, shoulders, wrists, torso, waist, and ankles progressivley while breathing deeply and I usually feel very relaxed ( and even lighter!) afterwards. Its one of the only things from my high school yoga class that I still actively use all the time.

great advice, HoM (and what an appropriate username for this topic!) and muzik (I actually have my iPod playing at low volume all the time @ work, the joys of having an actual office.) Better make that the gent's room for me though ;)

Warlock, when I had my stressful job and it started to get to me, I'd take a walk around the building or I'd take a break with the smokers (which was hard at times being an ex-smoker) and go outside with them. Anything to get away from my actual office and all its duties!

Oh goodness...I didn't realize you were male. I didn't even register "Warlock" in your username or the "token rooster bit"...Gent's Room indeed! (My username is actually the title of a rather tragic Edith Wharton Novel...I have a thing for irony)

If you use an ipod why not try some comedy podcasts? I used to listen to them all the time while doing mind numbing database work...they are great to help keep from getting too wound up...if you can keep the giggles in check.

Its a bit off topic for the thread but how do you like being one of the few roosters in the hen house?

I used to keep pictures in my desk drawer, not posted in my cube.. that way I could pop them out as a pick me up. If you have kids, seeing them naturally releases relaxation hormornes, but new studies are showing a trusted relationship has the same effect (affect...? lol )

I agree with keeping some comedy on your Ipod. Laughing during the day is a great way to keep stress under wraps. I also like to escape my desk by making "rounds" around my department, just to see how people are doing. I try to keep people for only a minute of two, so I don't interrupt their day, but it's good to be social, walk around, and let people know you're thinking of them :)

If you want comedy in music form, I suggest Stephen Lynch. If you don't like "offensive" type of humor, be wary...he has songs called "Altar Boy" and "If I Were Gay".

"Token Rooster", I like that. ;) I find that just getting up and walking away from my desk for a couple of minutes is the best way to de-stress. Look out a window, notice the natural world, let it take your mind off your stress.

Yay. Stephen Lynch makes me happy on the bus every day.
I also take breaks with the smokers and walks around the building. I sit on my butt in a cube all day... just getting up and getting away from the cube and annoying people who sit behind me... just makes it a little easier to go back and face it.
Also, calling in sick sometimes helps. *LOL*

Thanks for all the tips -- I really like the walking outside idea. And in reality, I really should start taking my lunches outside of office instead of stressing out with a "working lunch". Being salaried, it doesn't really earn me much kudos in the way of $$ if I'm busting my overtime butt or if I'm trying to save my sanity :D .

I do have some comedy tracks, but the VP is in the office next door -- and we have thin walls and he's over-sensitive about the slightest non-PC thing so don't wanna chance it. Besides, I find it hard to listen to anything non-music @ work, otherwise I'd be plugged in on public radio podcasts the whole time! haha.