Clenched stomach. Racing heart. How stress shows up for you can be very personal. So can the simple solutions that work best to help you reset.
Mayo Clinic staff members from doctors to chefs have road-tested ways to create calm, even in the midst of their most stressful clinic days. See if what works for them might help you, too.
We asked Mayo Clinic experts: How do you deal with midday stress?
Kay Kosberg, R.N., Transplant Center: I think getting away from the computer, getting away from that constant having to respond to everything coming at you with emails.
Laura Raffals, M.D., Gastroenterology and Hepatology: If I have a moment and I'm feeling really tense at work, I go outside and I do one lap around the building, and I find just getting off the floor and doing a lap outside can sometimes help reset me to get me better.
Kay Kosberg: Go for a walk and go browse the gift shop and maybe go sit and just watch people.
Dr. Raffals: I also have this whole box that I gave to our trainees of those squeeze balls, the stress balls. I keep those around when I'm really tense.
Jen Welper, Executive Chef, Mayo Clinic Healthy Living Program: Some people go for walks with stress. I like to just dig through it, I guess. If things are really intense, I might scream in the cooler.
Joerg Herrmann, M.D., Cardiovascular Medicine: If I have time in the middle of a workday, I might just go and get a cup of coffee. I just love that.
Jen Welper: I do a lot of breathing. I'm not your Gordon Ramsay. I'm pretty chill.
Dr. Herrmann: Believe it or not, talking to my wife. She works here too, so just giving a ring, having a little chat … that's really good.
Mikel Prieto, M.D., Transplant Surgery: Just sitting down and resting for a few minutes, putting your thoughts back together. That's about it. I don't need too much.
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