I have had my fair share of stressful situations over the years and the first thing we all tend to do is panic. I still do that sometimes but I’ve definitely learnt how to control my emotions and to keep that sense of panic under wraps and at least try to fake it where I can. That’s the budding actor in me, I suppose. If you’re one to panic under pressure then here are some tips that I’ve found to keep me calm in stressful situations.
The times where I’ve felt under pressure is usually in social situations where I don’t feel at ease or in the past when I’ve been in the workplace. The people who try and make you feel worse than you already do are particularly annoying and nine times out of ten, it makes me react much more in a negative way than it does positively.
Take Yourself Out Of The Room
Sometimes, taking yourself out of the room or the situation you’re in is possible and I highly recommend you doing it where you can. It can often feel like you’re way in over your head during some situations and it’s important to remove yourself before it gets any worse. I’ve found that when I’ve done this, my anger or fustration calms down and I definitely feel a lot more at ease to take just a few minutes out. My first experience of feeling under stress in a severe way was when I was working in my first full-time job. My boss was incredible demanding and belittling to everything I did. I could use more horrible words to describe them but then I don’t want to let it get under my skin any more than it did back then.
If It’s A Job, Consider Leaving
Now I don’t mean this if you’re just having one particular bad day out of many good days but a job is a job at the end of the day. As much as I love blogging, it’s the money that makes the bad days a little better and we all need money at the end of the day to live. However, no job is worth your mental health and regardless, there are a gazillion more opportunities out there that will be perfect for you. If it’s the job itself that’s causing all these stressful situations, you can leave. You have a choice.
Keep In Touch With Reality
When you’re feeling stressed, it can feel overwhelming to the point that you feel you’re never going to get out of the siutation you’re in. It can feel like the worse thing in the world but in reality, it’s not that big of a deal. Whether something’s gone wrong with a booking you’ve made for a customer or your boss has just told you that you’ve messed up some invoices, no one has died. There are much more serious issues going on in the world and the lesson to learn is that it’s good to keep in touch with reality. Don’t let your head control your emotions to the point that it makes you feel like you’ve really screwed up something.
Practice Breathing Techniques
Yes it seems stupid but when you’re stressed, your breathing changes. You don’t realise it but you’ll start taking shorter breaths and that’s what can make your heart beat faster and that feeling of dizziness is usually attributed to the change in your breathing. Try to focus on some breathing techniques that work for you and make sure you practice them before you put them into practice. Otherwise, you’ll find yourself making it even worse and it won’t be as effective if you’ve not got your body into a routine of doing it when under pressure.
Do you ever find yourself under pressure? Let me know how you keep calm in stressful situations in the comments below.
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