Actualize Training
  • Home
  • News
  • Kyriba ▼
    • On-Boarding
    • Bank Account Management
    • Bank Connectivity
    • Bank Fee Analysis
    • Bank Statements
    • Business Intelligence
    • Cash & Forecasting
    • Cash Accounting
    • Financial Accounting
    • Financial Transactions >
      • Foreign Exchange
      • Debt & Investments
      • IR Swaps
    • Fraud & Compliance
    • GL Reconciliation
    • Hedge Accounting
    • In-House Banking
    • Netting
    • Payments
    • SSO/SMS
    • System Administration
    • Valuations
  • Mid Market ▼
    • Implementation Process
    • Training
    • Daily Process
  • Best Practices ▼
    • Bank Account Management
    • Bank Fee Analysis
    • Bank Reporting
    • Cash Accounting
    • Cash Management & Forecasting
    • Debt & Investments
    • Financial Accounting
    • FX and Valuations
    • GL Reconciliation
    • Hedge Accounting
    • In-House Banking
    • Payments
    • Referential Data
    • System Administration
    • Higher Education
  • Actualize Resources ▼
    • New Kyriba Consultants
    • Technical Resources ▼ >
      • More Education ▼ >
        • FAQ
        • Release Notes
        • Tips & Tricks
      • Bank Account Management
      • Bank Fee Analysis
      • Bank Connectivity
      • Bank Statements
      • Kyriba Reporting ▼ >
        • Business Intelligence
        • Open Report Studio / Custom Excel
      • Cash & Forecasting
      • Cash Accounting
      • Core Data
      • Connectivity ▼ >
        • Standardized Interfaces
        • Bank API
        • ERP Connectors
        • Open API
      • Data Exchange
      • Financial Accounting
      • Financial Transactions
      • Fraud & Compliance
      • GL Reconciliation
      • In-house Banking
      • Liquidity Planning
      • Market Data & MTM
      • Netting
      • Payments
      • Supply Chain Finance
      • System Admin & SSO
      • Valuations & Risk, Hedge Accounting
    • News & General ▼ >
      • Consultant News
      • Team Expertise
    • Project Resources ▼ >
      • Blueprint & POC
      • Project Management
      • Projectplace
      • Training Portal Form
      • Escalation Procedures
      • Kyriba Processes
      • Knowledge Management
    • RPA
    • Sales and Account Management
    • Training Portal Requests
  • Contact

3 steps to manage stress

9/21/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
Kerry Wekelo, COO, Actualize Consulting

Stress is a non-negotiable part of life. Recently, though, in the midst of the pandemic, it seems especially unavoidable. Life had to be adjusted to match our new reality, which included many new problems for our employees, like taking on the role of teachers for their children and caretakers for sick family members on top of a full-time job. According to a recent study by the Kaiser Family Foundation, more than half of adults in the U.S. believe the pandemic has negatively impacted their mental health. As a part of our annual September wellness program, I decided there was no better time to dedicate a week to combating stress – particularly, what to do when it strikes. The trick to overcoming stress comes in three parts: Accepting stress, identifying how you currently react to stress, and trying alternative, health-seeking behaviors to cope.

1.      Accept Stress: We often think of stress as negative – which exorbitant amounts of it can be. But from a biological perspective, stress is important for survival. Our “fight or flight” response comes from the need to make quick decisions for life-threatening situations. While we hopefully never encounter a need to run from another mammal, this response does help us think on our toes and raises the stakes for us to do well on, say, a high-pressure work project. For this reason, we must accept stress for what it is; our body doing its job. We can simultaneously thank our sympathetic nervous system for doing its part and recognize that it isn’t beneficial to our overall health to worry about things we can’t control. I created a Mindful Minute Meditation as a tool for helping you accept what each day brings.

2.      Identify Your Reaction to Stressful Situations: We all have existing coping mechanisms in place, whether we realize it or not! When the higher blood pressure hits, our body works hard and drains our immune system. Based on how our body and mood changes, we can easily pinpoint activities that may help ease anxiety. For example, do you become overexcited – angry, agitated, overly emotional? If so, do activities that quiet you down. If you become under excited – depressed, withdrawn, or spaced out, do things that are stimulating and energizing. Knowing this, are the habits you currently have beneficial in your times of panic? One of our team members mentioned they often snack when they are feeling overwhelmed, and has to make a conscious choice to focus on a coping mechanism that is more productive.

3.      Find Alternative, Health-Seeking Solutions: There is no one-size fit all method to combatting stress – the best coping mechanism is the one that works best for you. Here are a few to try:

a.      Breathing: Breathing is proven to lower blood pressure and relax your muscles. Paul Baram, Director of the Actualize UK office, has noted that his Apple Watch always pings him to take deep breaths and that he immediately feels relaxed once he follows the prompt. The great thing about breathing is that it is quick, easy, and effective, so often one deep breath will do the trick.

b.      Journaling: Some on our team cited journaling as a practice that helps to get the jitters out – Maddie Yaskowski, Senior Consultant, notes, “when I write down my worries, I am able to shift the perspective and see that I am often making the stakes higher than they actually are.”

c.      Getting Some Exercise: Stepping away from the task at hand to do some quick exercises will bring a fresh perspective and give you a wave of endorphins that encourage a state of overall wellbeing. Theresa Santoro, Actualize Director of Human Resources and Operations, often plays field hockey, one of her passions, in times of stress.

d.      Avoiding Caffeine: Did you know high doses of caffeine are proven to induce anxiety, especially in individuals who already have anxiety disorders? Small doses are fine, but if you find yourself feeling anxious, caffeine might be the culprit.

How do you handle stress? Have you found a coping mechanism that works well for you?

0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    News Overview

    Latest release news and tips for your Kyriba implementation.

    Categories

    All
    Cash & Forecasting
    Debt & Investments
    Financial Transactions
    Foreign Exchange
    Industry
    On-Boarding
    Payments
    Release Notes
    Training Updates
    Wellness

    Actualize Services

    Banking RFP Management
    Payments & Bank Connectivity

    Archives

    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    March 2019
    November 2018
    July 2018
    May 2018
    March 2018
    June 2017

    RSS Feed


Visit Actualize Consulting's website
  • Home
  • News
  • Kyriba ▼
    • On-Boarding
    • Bank Account Management
    • Bank Connectivity
    • Bank Fee Analysis
    • Bank Statements
    • Business Intelligence
    • Cash & Forecasting
    • Cash Accounting
    • Financial Accounting
    • Financial Transactions >
      • Foreign Exchange
      • Debt & Investments
      • IR Swaps
    • Fraud & Compliance
    • GL Reconciliation
    • Hedge Accounting
    • In-House Banking
    • Netting
    • Payments
    • SSO/SMS
    • System Administration
    • Valuations
  • Mid Market ▼
    • Implementation Process
    • Training
    • Daily Process
  • Best Practices ▼
    • Bank Account Management
    • Bank Fee Analysis
    • Bank Reporting
    • Cash Accounting
    • Cash Management & Forecasting
    • Debt & Investments
    • Financial Accounting
    • FX and Valuations
    • GL Reconciliation
    • Hedge Accounting
    • In-House Banking
    • Payments
    • Referential Data
    • System Administration
    • Higher Education
  • Actualize Resources ▼
    • New Kyriba Consultants
    • Technical Resources ▼ >
      • More Education ▼ >
        • FAQ
        • Release Notes
        • Tips & Tricks
      • Bank Account Management
      • Bank Fee Analysis
      • Bank Connectivity
      • Bank Statements
      • Kyriba Reporting ▼ >
        • Business Intelligence
        • Open Report Studio / Custom Excel
      • Cash & Forecasting
      • Cash Accounting
      • Core Data
      • Connectivity ▼ >
        • Standardized Interfaces
        • Bank API
        • ERP Connectors
        • Open API
      • Data Exchange
      • Financial Accounting
      • Financial Transactions
      • Fraud & Compliance
      • GL Reconciliation
      • In-house Banking
      • Liquidity Planning
      • Market Data & MTM
      • Netting
      • Payments
      • Supply Chain Finance
      • System Admin & SSO
      • Valuations & Risk, Hedge Accounting
    • News & General ▼ >
      • Consultant News
      • Team Expertise
    • Project Resources ▼ >
      • Blueprint & POC
      • Project Management
      • Projectplace
      • Training Portal Form
      • Escalation Procedures
      • Kyriba Processes
      • Knowledge Management
    • RPA
    • Sales and Account Management
    • Training Portal Requests
  • Contact