How to Manage Stress from Work or School

The emails pile up, one after another. A deadline looms on the calendar. The pressure to keep up, to perform, to succeed, feels like a physical weight on your shoulders. You feel like you’re on a treadmill that’s stuck on high speed, and you’re just trying not to fall off. How do you navigate these demands without letting the stress consume you?

At Televero Health, we work with many patients whose stress from their job or their studies is a major factor contributing to their anxiety and depression. The modern world can be relentless, but learning to manage this chronic stress is not a luxury; it’s a critical skill for protecting your mental health.

Understanding the Stress Response

Stress isn’t just a feeling; it’s a biological response. When you face a challenge, your body’s “fight-or-flight” system kicks in, releasing hormones like cortisol and adrenaline. This is helpful if you need to outrun a predator, but it’s less helpful when the “threat” is a 50-page report due on Friday. When the stressors of work or school are constant, your body can get stuck in this high-alert mode. This chronic activation can exhaust your brain and body, leading to burnout, anxiety, and depression.

Managing stress isn’t about eliminating it entirely. That’s impossible. It’s about learning to manage your response to it and building in periods of recovery, so your nervous system has a chance to return to a state of calm. This involves a combination of practical strategies and a shift in mindset.

Practical Strategies for Taming the Overwhelm

You can’t always change the demands of your job or your classes, but you can change how you approach them. Building structure and boundaries can make a world of difference.

• Prioritize Your Tasks: Not all tasks are created equal. When everything feels urgent, you can get paralyzed. Try a simple system like the Eisenhower Matrix: divide your tasks into four quadrants: 1) Urgent and Important (do it now), 2) Important but Not Urgent (schedule it), 3) Urgent but Not Important (delegate it if possible), and 4) Not Urgent and Not Important (eliminate it). This helps you focus your energy where it matters most.
• Set Firm Boundaries: Technology has blurred the lines between work and life. You have to rebuild them intentionally. This means setting a clear time when your workday or school day ends. Turn off email notifications on your phone after hours. It is okay to not be available 24/7. Saying “no” to an extra project when your plate is already full is not a sign of weakness; it’s a sign of self-respect.
• Take Real Breaks: Stepping away from your desk for five minutes to scroll through your phone is not a real break. To truly let your brain recover, you need to change your environment and your focus. Get up, walk around, stretch, look out a window, or chat with a colleague about something other than work. Scheduling short, real breaks throughout your day can dramatically improve your focus and reduce your stress.
• Practice Mindfulness in the Moment: When you feel stress building, you can use a simple grounding technique to calm your nervous system. Try the 5-4-3-2-1 method: pause and notice five things you can see, four things you can feel, three things you can hear, two things you can smell, and one thing you can taste. This pulls your attention out of your worried thoughts and back into the present moment.

Managing stress is an ongoing practice. It’s about recognizing that your well-being is just as important as your productivity. By implementing these strategies, you are not just managing your to-do list; you are actively caring for the health of your brain.

Key Takeaways

• Chronic stress from work or school can keep your body’s “fight-or-flight” system constantly activated, which is detrimental to your mental health.
• Practical strategies like prioritizing tasks and setting firm boundaries around your time can significantly reduce feelings of overwhelm.
• Taking short, intentional breaks and using mindfulness techniques can help to calm your nervous system in moments of high stress.
• Managing stress is not about eliminating it, but about building skills and routines that protect your well-being and prevent burnout.

Ready to take the first step? We can help. Get started with Televero Health today.