Anxiety in the work place
In today’s work environment with its constant demand’s to do more with less, frequent reorganisations and regular rounds of redundancies it is easy to feel very unsettled, uninspired, anxious and fearful.
Anxiety in the work place can leave some people with racing thoughts and struggling to switch off. I recommend anything that you can focus on to distract your mind, whether it’s a puzzle, movie or exercise. For some people the racing thoughts, start off mild and get more extreme the more you focus on the worst possible outcome. What is important to remember when if you find yourself in this situation, is ask yourself the following questions:
- Is there reason to believe this will happen?
- What evidence is there to support this assumption?
- Is there any chance I am blowing this out of proportion?
If we take the example of fearing being made redundant. It is important to distinguish between the wild rumours that go around office and the times when organisations are genuinely being restructured. If you decide that it is simply a rumour then fine, remind yourself of that on a regular basis. It is always worth remembering that organisations always value effective people especially when everyone is stretched and there is a huge business costs associated with replacing valuable staff.
At some point in your career you are going to be in the situation where you are part of a re-organisation and may face the genuine threat of redundancy. One way to tackle the anxiety this type of situation creates, is to focus on a plan B, what you can do if the worse happens. It is natural when facing a threat of redundancy to want to play it safe and stick with what you know. While I was never made redundant, I did go through several re-organisations where colleagues where made redundant. I found having a plan B comforting. When writing my plan B, I always remembered that it was natural to feel uncomfortable with something that is new and unfamiliar, so don’t let the fear stop you. To put my fear of failing into perspective, I always imagined myself in an old peoples home at the end of my life and wondered if I would regret not taking the risk of trying to something new. So if you decide to write a plan B don’t just stick to the tried and tested.
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Does mindfulness meditation help you if you are depressed?
Mindfullness is very trendy right now because it is claimed to help you cope with anxiety and stress and build resilience. But does it help you if you are depressed? This is the question that researchers from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine tried to answer in a recent study. During the study, 31 women most of whom had done nothing to help themselves to deal with their depression in the last 12 months, participated in an mindfullness group. They practicied mindfullness meditation and yoga on average 150 minutes per week. Before starting the study 45% said they had no experience of mediation and 71% said they had never tried yoga. The primary outcome, depression and secondary outcomes (stress, mindfulness, functioning, well-being and depression stigma) were assessed at start of the study and then again at weeks 8 and 16 weeks . The depressive symptoms significantly decreased during the study, in addition the stigma of depression increased from the start of the study to 8 weeks and then significantly decreased between 8 to 16 weeks of the study. A significant decrease in stress and significant increase in mindfulness was found at week 8 and the end of the study when compared to the start of the study. In addition, the women reported increased sense of well-being including self-acceptance and growth. In conclusion mindfulness medication can reduce levels of depression and stress as much as powerful drugs and psychotherapy do. Reference I E Burnett-Zeigler, M D Satyshur, S Hong, A Yang et al, 2016, Mindfulness based stress reduction adapted for depressed disadvantaged women in an urban Federally Qualified Health Centre, Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice; 25; 59 - 67 see >> http://www.ctcpjournal.com/article/S1744-3881(16)30072-X/abstract
What is good standing posture?
We all know we need to maintain good posture, but what exactly is good standing posture? Good standing posture When standing, keep these tips in mind:
- Keep your shoulders back and relaxed.
- Pull in your abdomen.
- Keep your feet about hip distance apart.
- Balance your weight evenly on both feet.
- Let your hands hang naturally at your sides.
Take the wall test
To test your standing posture, take the wall test. Stand with your head, shoulder blades and buttocks touching a wall, and have your heels about 2 to 4 inches (about 5 to 10 centimeters) away from the wall. Reach back and slide your hand behind the curve in your lower back, with your palm flat against the wall. Ideally, you'll feel about one hand's thickness of space between your back and the wall. If there's too much space, tighten your abdominal muscles to flatten the curve in your back. If there's too little space, arch your back so that your hand fits comfortably behind you. Walk away from the wall while maintaining this posture. Keep it up throughout your daily activities.Check out your reflection
To see if you're keeping your shoulders straight, stand in front of a mirror. Aim to keep your shoulders square and relaxed.It all adds up
Although good posture should be natural, you might feel wooden or stiff at first if you've forgotten the sensation of standing up straight. The key is to practice good posture all the time. Remember its never to late to start practicing good posture.Foam Rolling Guide – Part 2
In Part 1 I introduced the concept of foam rolling and explained what it is. In part 2 I want to give you my tips and techniques. How long should you foam roll? For general maintenance, each muscle should be focused on for up to 2 minutes at a time. I know many of my readers are highly educated and now there are over 600 muscle in the body – don’t worry you don’t need to foam roll them all! You focus on the ones that feel tight and in need of the foam rolling. How to use a foam roller if you hunch over your desk all day? To open up your chest you can lay on the foam roller so it is underneath your spine – for about 10 minutes and this will open up your back & chest. Any more tips? You can essentially foam roll any part of your body. You just start and place with the movement, speed and pressure to see what works for you. But don’t expect it to feel comfortable – those tender spots are the ones that need the help most. I would suggest you start off slowly and build up time, speed and pressure slowly. The outside of the thighs (or IT bands) are an area of tightness for runners and cyclists and its highly accessible on a foam roller. The larger muscles in the legs, quads (front of thighs), hamstrings (back of thighs), calf musles are very easy to foam roll.
