Many people get stressed at work, but it can often be the case that the stress will often come out at home. If you have to keep calm under pressure then it can be easy to vent on your family when you get back. This can be bad for children as they may get upset. You stress may manifest itself in you shouting at children or being distant or impatient. This is not good, but there are things that you can do which could help you.
Try to Use a Relaxation Method on Your Commute Home
If possible, it can be a good idea to try to relax before returning home after your job. If you are driving, then perhaps listen to some music that you enjoy or even an audio book or podcast which might help you. If you are on public transport then you could also do this or even do some meditation. It might be that you work form home or have a short commute and then you might want to use a relaxation method when you get in, before you start to interact with your family. You may not be aware of which relation methods will work best for you, but you could try different things and see which you enjoy and which you find will work the best. It can be good to ask people what they do or look online for helpful hints. There are plenty of places to find out some ideas.
Find Someone to Talk to
It might be useful to have someone that you can talk to about anything that has happened at work. Being able to vent can be very useful. This could be a friend or family member or maybe even a counsellor. It might be something that you benefit from doing daily or just on occasions where you feel particularly stressed up. It is good to think about whether this might benefit you Some people find it hard to talk about their problems, but they might be the very people that will benefit from doing so.
Introduce Some Relaxing Hobbies
It could be an idea to introduce some relaxing hobbies into your life. You might benefit from taking up yoga for example. You might want to start meditating or things like this. There are also hobbies that can help you to relax that do not need to specifically associated with relaxation. For example, some people find watching a comedy will relax them others cooking, being in nature or reading. It is important that you try different things and find something that will appeal to you. You may be able to revisit old hobbies and past times that you found good in the past so have a think about that as well.
Consider Sport or Exercise
It can be a good idea to think about using sport or exercise to help you. There is a lot of evidence to show that exercising can be good for stress reduction. This is because many of the symptoms of stress are caused by adrenaline which can be worn off by exercising. It can also be energising which can help if you feel worn down by stress.
Change Jobs
If it is the specific nature of the work that you are doing that is causing you stress, then it could be wise to consider changing jobs. This is a big decision and should not be made quickly. You will need to ask yourself whether stress management is something that you struggle with and so regardless of the job that you do, it could still be a problem. Some people find stress follows them because they are just unable to cope with it. This is not a criticism of the person at all, but it means that changing jobs will not help them. There is also no such thing as a stress-free job but some may be more stressful than others. It is not always easy to know how stressful a job will be until you start it though.
Give Up Work
It might be an idea to consider giving up work altogether. If one parent is needed for full time childcare, then it could be that the one that gets most work stress should do it. It might seem a bit of a role reversal, but there are many stay at home Dads these days and it can be a very rewarding role to have. Obviously, you will need to consider whether there is a big income difference between you both and if that will be a problem. However, income isn’t everything and having a happier home life, a better environment for the children and better health as a result of less stress could be well worth considering.