Three quick practical techniques to help you cool down after a stressful day at work.
𝑱𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒏 𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒚 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒄 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒆𝒏 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒊𝒈𝒉-𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒌, 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒂 𝒈𝒓𝒖𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 12-𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒇𝒕 𝒇𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌-𝒕𝒐-𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒔, 𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒎𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒄𝒌 𝒊𝒏 𝒂 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒑, 𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒚 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒔𝒆—𝒂 𝒔𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒓 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕. 𝑻𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒅, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒐𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒍𝒆𝒇𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒅𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒙𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔. 𝑯𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅𝒏'𝒕 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆. 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒈𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒉𝒊𝒎.
For many of us sounds familiar, right?
Let’s unpack the issues that James may have and see what mental techniques can help him.
𝐌𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 “𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐠𝐮𝐦” 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬
Tools like guided imagery and grounding exercises will help James break the loop of replaying stressful events. Guided imagery is a relaxation technique where he imagines a peaceful setting to calm his mind. James practices this with the coach during sessions, and later he uses a recorded version at home after tough shifts.
𝐃𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐲 𝐮𝐧𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤
A personalized post-shift routine could be created. This might include a short walk, relaxation exercise, or a hobby that helps him relax. The coach will help to establish clear boundaries between work and personal time to help him transition more smoothly from the intensity of his job to the calm of home life.
𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟-𝐝𝐨𝐮𝐛𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐭
Reframing thoughts will be very effective in this situation. They will explore how to shift from self-critical thoughts to ones that acknowledge his efforts and the limits of his control. This might include journaling or affirmations to establish a healthier mindset.