Stress is a topic that comes up pretty often for people working in the food industry. If you work in food, you’re probably familiar with common stressors like high pressure jobs, tight deadlines and narrow profit margins. But how can we learn to cope with stress in a healthy, sustainable way?
We discuss some common signs of stress and how stress can manifest itself in the body, leading to illness, bad tempers, digestive problems and trouble sleeping, amongst other symptoms. Then we tackle our unhealthy coping mechanisms to manage stress, including booze, food and social media scrolling. At the end of the episode, we turn to some healthier stress management techniques, from mindfulness to exercise to taking a few minutes to dance around the kitchen. You can also find our Stress Bucket downloadwhich will help you to identify sources of stress in your life and to build a plan of healthy stress management techniques.
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Timestamps
[0:48] Today’s topic: A deep dive on stress management
[1:33] The food industry is a stressful business!
[3:03] Measuring stress levels in the workplace
[5:10] Pressure vs. stress: At what point does stress become unhealthy?
[6:50] Some roles within the food industry aren’t suitable for people who can’t handle high levels of stress, but not handling stress doesn’t make you a bad person
[9:25] Some people do thrive on pressure, but it might depend on what else is going on in their lives
[11:25] What are the signs of stress? Ill health, short temper, bad dreams, tiredness…and the list goes on
[15:14] Trying to cope with stress by turning to alcohol and food
[17:30] Other stress-related illnesses that you might experience
[18:53] Healthy and unhealthy coping mechanisms to tackle the stress bucket
[20:47] Noticing patterns around stress
[22:48] Learning to accept your negative thoughts and building up your resilience
[23:50] We crave dopamine, but it’s not necessarily good for us
[25:55] Taking a step back to look at the short-term and long-term techniques to cope with stress
[27:00] The difference between the stressor and the stress and getting rid of stress from your body
[28:43] What we do to manage stress
[32:52] You need to make time for fun and time for yourself
[35:04] Other resources you can use to combat stress
Links and Resources
Amy's 4 stress busting strategies download
Burnout: Solve Your Stress Cycle book
British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy
Happy Mind, Happy Life Podcast with Dr Rangan Chatterjee
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If you would like further support with myself, Amy for food industry coaching and facilitation find me here on instagram or LinkedIn
For food industry Consulting from Lucy you can find her here on instagram or LinkedIn
See you next time!