Business stress and what you can do about it – apart from pulling out your hair!

by Nan Berrett - Word Solutions 

You feel like grabbing a handful of your hair and pulling really hard, but you know it’s not going to help.

It’s not just common to older women (and men) in business, but as we get older and wiser we still don’t always manage stress in the best possible ways. When we embark into business we are infused with excitement about the challenges and possibilities, but as time passes we often struggle with overwhelm.

I’ve been pondering, again, on stress and how it affects us and, more importantly, how we can manage it. Last week I went to my doctor for what I thought was a regular visit following a blood test and discovered I was low in Vitamin D (winter does that!), everything else was fine, except my blood sugars were through the roof. The root cause right now has been, for me, stress and skipped meals because of something happening over which I have no control. I’ve had to cancel a few meetings, play catchup and drive a lot.

The doctor’s answer to my poor sleep and general stress was a very (and, honestly, it was a very) low dose of a popular anti-anxiety medication. She was hoping I would sleep better and feel less anxious, what she didn’t predict, after only one half of a very low dose tablet taken at night, was my superb reaction….

I took the tablet, went to bed, had a restless night, got up and drove to Adelaide for an appointment with my husband. By 11.30am I was a mess. The morning started fine and I drove without a problem, then, suddenly, I felt as if I was walking through water. Every movement was an effort and my speech slowed to the point of slurring. I could barely form a coherent sentence. My husband drove home and I slept. I did not take another tablet, but it took almost 36 more hours before I was the ‘normal me’ again. The tablets are going back to the pharmacy for disposal.

There are other ways to deal with stress – and this episode made me think of them and do those things which work for me, including drawing Mandalas.

There are plenty of tricks we can use to help our minds de-stress – it’s just a matter of finding something which works for us and gives the results we need.

“There is no trouble so great or grave that cannot be much diminished by a nice cup of tea.”

Our minds are constantly filled with clutter. Some of our thoughts are useful, but many are just distracting ‘noise’ which are tiring in their own right. When we are stressed there is an additional persistent humming in our heads which focusses on our fears and anxieties – and this is the most difficult noise to silence.

We are fearful of an outcome, worried about our relationships with our lovers, families or friends, concerned about looming deadlines, unfinished tasks or general overload because we take on too much, and it then becomes important to try some calming techniques for the mind.

Mandala is a Sanskrit word which means “circle”, and although it is a spiritual and ritualistic symbol associated with Hinduism and Buddhism, it can be used as a tool to allow our minds to problem solve and find calm.

In spiritual practice Mandalas are often created using coloured sand to form intricate and exquisitely beautiful patterns, but for our purposes we will create a de-stress Mandala using paper or card and a handful of coloured textas, pencils or crayons.

Start by drawing a circle on your paper – use the boundary of a saucer rather than a dinner plate. Somewhere inside the circle, not necessarily the centre, draw a representation of your anxiety. This can be as simple as a symbol, a letter of the alphabet, a stick figure, or even a word.

Take a black texta, pen, or pencil and, starting from just outside the boundary of the circle draw parallel lines, like a little road, and wind this path within the confines of the circle, until it reaches your anxiety drawing. This bit can be tricky and you’ll have to concentrate, drawing one side of the track and then the other side, so you keep the path even.

When you finally get to your goal you can start the fun part. Choose your first colour and begin to fill the track – you can use the same colour all along, or you can change colours. While you are colouring in start thinking about your anxiety and consider some of the strategies you could use to eliminate it from your life or fix it.

When you’ve finished the path, it’s time to colour in the remaining white space – this is your Mandala, so you choose how you want it to look. Draw patterns, dots, block colour, whatever you feel drawn to do.

You’re almost finished – take the black texta and go over the lines of your path again and make them stand out. Add some shading if you want to. Pop some edging onto the boundary of the circle and you’re done.

Sit back and admire your work – it looks pretty good! You may have had some emotional reactions when creating your Mandala. It’s not unusual to cry, or even start talking to yourself while you’re working. There’s nothing wrong with showing emotion.

Look at your Mandala and trace the path from the outer edge to its windy end. Every turn represents a new thought about the problem, a memory, a decision.

The Mandala in the illustration was one I drew years ago when I was having some serious issues with someone I considered my best friend. At the time I felt betrayed and abandoned, but by the time I had finished the exercise I had remembered all the great things about our friendship and that I was as much as fault as she had been. It gave me the clarity to approach her and mend some bridges – best thing I ever did.

As well as my day to day business to business work I also workshop strategies to support positive emotional wellbeing outcomes – these include crating and walking labyrinths, journaling, creative writing and poetry.

PS – if you are anxious and/or depressed do seek some medical advice to help you. Anything I suggest is supplementary to professional support.

Have a virtual coffee with me!

Want to chat about how I can help you or your workplace create some peace and calm, then let's connect over a virtual coffee.

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Nan Berrett creates visibility for small business as well as mentoring small business owners and startups to help them navigate the mountain of knowledge which seems to be part of our everyday life in a digital world. She is based in regional South Australia in the beautiful Clare Valley and is happy to travel to meet clients or chat over Zoom. Find out more or book some time to chat: www.wordsolutions.com.au