Employee Well-being: Managing September Stress

Managing September Stress

With the long-awaited return of our campus community, September is an exciting month for McMaster faculty, staff, and students! However, it is often one of our busiest months of the year, which can lead to understandable stress. Here are some ways to maintain positive psychological well-being during our stressful times ahead. Best of luck, we’re all in this together!

Stress and Worrying

The Cambridge English Dictionary defines worry as, “to think about problems or unpleasant  things that might happen in a way that makes you feel unhappy and frightened.”

Notice the definition doesn’t end at thinking about problems or unpleasant things. Of course, we must think about them. Avoiding problems or unpleasant things can actually lead to more stress as we strive for control. We need to accept that the world is unpredictable and learn to adapt to situations in a healthier way.

In our professional and personal lives, we can’t avoid problems or times of stress. But, while we can’t always control our uncertainty, we can try to control how we respond to it.

Myths around worrying may include

• Worry shows that I care
• Worry drives success
• Worry prevents bad things from happening

Instead of defaulting to worry, choose action. When we challenge our beliefs about the value of worrying, we can choose more helpful responses to stress and uncertainty. For example, instead of worrying about your work success as a means to achieve your goals, use that energy towards action planning with your leader or supervisor.

Source: Workplace Strategies for Mental Health

Positive affirmations are positive phrases or statements that can be used to challenge negative or unhelpful thoughts. You may choose to use positive affirmations to motivate yourself, encourage positive changes in your life, or boost your self-esteem. If you frequently find yourself getting caught up in negative self-talk, positive affirmations can be used to combat these often subconscious patterns and replace them with more adaptive narratives.

There are many benefits to positive affirmations, including:

1. Self-affirmations have been shown to decrease health-deteriorating stress
2. They may help us to perceive otherwise “threatening” messages with less resistance
3. They can make us less likely to dismiss harmful health messages, responding instead with the intention to change for the better
4. They have been linked positively to academic achievement by mitigating GPA decline in students who feel left out at in post-secondary learning
5. Self-affirmation has been demonstrated to lower stress and worrying

To learn more about positive affirmations, among other resources for Managing September Stresses, visit the Employee Well-being website.

Source: Catherine Moore, Positive Psychology