Stuck In A Stressful Job? How Can You Maintain Your Composure And Improve Your Mood?

While few working adults are happy to hear the sound of their morning alarm, if your first thoughts upon waking involve dread at having to go to a workplace that has become stressful or even toxic, you may be investigating anything that will help make your workplace more bearable until you can transfer to another job. Fortunately, there are a number of natural mood boosters and stress relievers that can help you work out your feelings without launching into a tirade against supervisors or coworkers. Read on for several inexpensive and unobtrusive ways to calm your workday.  

Cold, citrus-flavored water

While water may seem a simple solution to a complex problem, taking a few sips of ice-cold water whenever you find your mind (or emotions) racing can provide an instant calming effect, in addition to improving hydration. Adding some lemon, lime, or orange slices to this water can add some mood-boosting and invigorating scent and flavor. 

Because dehydration (especially chronic dehydration) can actually reduce the size of your brain, ensuring you always have a glass or bottle of cold water handy can improve your thought processes and help you work out complex issues even without much forewarning. After a few weeks, your increased water consumption will become habit, improving your health in the long run.

Olfactic or aromatherapy inhalers

The use of scent to improve or stabilize mood has been around for decades. In fact, this is one of the logistical reasons behind grocery stores and other retailers often locating their fresh-cut flowers or baked goods near the entrance, as these floral and fragrant scents can lift your mood and even stimulate your appetite as soon as you enter the store, encouraging you to buy more items.

Aromatherapy can help you in the work context as well. Calming scents like lavender and eucalyptus can bring your anxiety levels down, while invigorating fragrances like peppermint or orange can help wake you up or kick-start your thought process if you're tackling a particularly stubborn problem. However, burning an oil diffuser at your desk may cause problems with your coworkers or superiors if they're scent-sensitive -- a better and more targeted form of aromatherapy involves an olfactic inhaler, such as one by Way Of Will. Like asthma and allergy inhalers, these aromatherapy inhalers provide a burst of scent each time you depress the trigger. These inhalers force you to breathe deeply and slowly during their use, providing another force for calm.