While much of the stress in our lives comes from external factors such as work pressures and interpersonal tensions, it is also true we are directly responsible for the great majority of stress in our lives. The subject of self-created stress was recently the focus of an insightful blog post from the Mayo Clinic. In it, one of the clinic’s doctors describes their regular meetings with a colleague who feels that their work is being overlooked and that their contributions to the overall success of their medical institution are severely undervalued.

The Mayo Clinic physician notes that while their colleagues’ concerns seem genuine, they are also putting their mental and physical health at risk by fixating on their professional grievances.

Ultimately, work stress is an unavoidable part of life. Even people who absolutely love their jobs will at times find them to be frustrating, unfulfilling or exhausting. As such, it’s important to develop practices that will allow us to moderate the effect work stress has on our overall well-being.

One way to do this is to engage in regular aerobic exercise as it is not only a great way to reduce stress, but also helps keep our bodies operating optimally so that they can better process the physical effects of stress. Another great way to do this is to engage in regular massage sessions as they are highly effective at putting the body in a state of profound relaxation, something we all need after especially trying days at work.

Read the full article here: http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/expert-blog/learning-to-let-go/bgp-20204060