4 strategies for managing stress

1. Ground yourself

If you're feeling stressed and your thoughts are racing, Taitz recommends taking a moment "to feel the weight of your feet on the floor, then consider: What am I thinking? What am I feeling in my body right now? What am I doing right now?" Then, Taitz recommends asking yourself, "Are my thoughts helping me at this moment?"

If you're thinking about the busy day ahead of you while you're getting ready for bed, grounding yourself can help you notice what you're doing so you don't work yourself into a headspace that prevents you from falling asleep, Taitz writes.

This anchoring technique has been taught in a research-based program called the Unified Protocol developed by David Barlow, a professor emeritus at Boston University, and colleagues. It is used to treat conditions fueled by overthinking, including depression and anxiety, Taitz writes.

2. Examine your thoughts

Often, our thoughts about ourselves aren't helpful or empowering. So, instead of allowing those thoughts to dictate our lives, we can take a moment to use what's called cognitive defusion — the idea that we shouldn't take our thoughts so seriously — to create distance and perspective from our thoughts, Taitz writes.

For example, Taitz writes that at a conference she attended once, a leading academic asked Taitz if she'd be giving any talks. Taitz responded by saying, "Public speaking has never been my forte," to which the man replied, "Did you thank your mind for that thought?"

Thoughts are not "hard-and-fast truths" but rather "patterns of ideas," Taitz writes. "It's hard to get stuck ruminating if you treat your thoughts less like cement and more like Play-Doh."

3. Be accepting of uncertainty

One reason it's tempting to ruminate on thoughts is the idea that doing so will help you avoid all the disastrous possibilities in life, Taitz writes. If you're thinking something like, "The worst is going to happen," try focusing on the present moment with openness and curiosity and try to relax your jaw, face, and hands — these physical actions can make it easier to feel open.

It's pointless to spend your free time guessing what the future will bring, Taitz writes. "There are an infinite number of bad things that could possibly happen (although most are unlikely), and there is just no way a person can anticipate them all," said Michel Dugas, a psychology professor at the University of Quebec.

Being accepting of uncertainty can mean dealing with some level of fear, but the alternative is "trying to micromanage reality, which simply isn't possible," Taitz writes. Accepting your feelings also helps you realize that feelings are fairly transient when you stay focused on the present moment.

4. Validate yourself

Having unresolved issues with people we see daily can easily lead to overthinking, Taitz writes. If a customer says something offensive to you or a prospective employer doesn't contact you after multiple interviews, you may be inclined to replay the event in your head over and over.

Replaying an unfair situation in your head can feel like a way of justifying your feelings of distress, but those thoughts will only prolong your discomfort, Taitz writes.

One strategy, often used in dialectical behavior therapy, is called self-validation, and was developed by Marsha Linehan, a professor emeritus at University of Washington.

Self-validation is a strategy in which you legitimize your emotions and move beyond replaying the situation on a loop. For example, you could think something like, "This isn't what I expected. Of course I feel angry and sad," which can help ease the pain rather than simply rehashing it over and over.

These four techniques can help improve your "psychological flexibility," Taitz writes, which has been shown to help people adapt to life and its complexities. "All it takes is allowing yourself to be aware of your thoughts and open to your emotions, as you persist in moving toward what you value." (Taitz, Harvard Business Review, 1/30)

Use this tool to  help identify staff who may be experiencing emotional stress and prepare leaders to conduct a well-being check-in. This check-in is not aimed at solving the staff member's emotional stress in the moment, but rather is to address concerning behaviors, and ensure the staff member has the right support, connecting them to existing resources within the organization.