What are some techniques to help mentees develop stress management skills?

As a father of 5, entrepreneur and Ukrainian mentor living all this war time in Ukraine I could recommend: 1. Promote Self-awareness. Make regular self-reflection, identify your stress trigers Integrate mindfulness techniques in your everyday routine Be thankful for everyday of your life. You are lucky to be alive! 2.Time Management and Prioritization It Paretto principle there is some secret mathematics: in 20 % of you actions which brings 80% results there is also 20% the most effective ones. So 4% of your actions will bring you 96% of your results. Find them and prioritize! 3.Establish Healthy Habits Walk, drink water, eat healthy food, love and breathe. Simply as that. Is it helpful? )

As a human resources head, I am aware of the significance of assisting mentees in the development of skills that are successful in managing stress. Assisting mentees in determining the precise causes of stress in their lives is the first stage in the development process. Journaling, practising mindfulness or even just having open conversations are all potential methods for accomplishing this. To begin the process of developing coping skills and addressing the underlying reasons of their stress, mentees might begin by gaining an understanding of the triggers.

Effective stress management mentoring uses many methods. Promote self-awareness by helping mentees identify stress triggers and responses. Teaching them mindfulness and relaxation techniques like deep breathing, meditation, and progressive muscle relaxation builds resilience. Time management, realistic goals, and task prioritisation reduce stress by promoting work-life balance. Mentees can manage expectations and boundaries by learning communication and assertiveness. Regular exercise, sleep, and a balanced diet also help manage stress. Stress management success depends on tailoring these techniques to the mentee's needs and providing ongoing support and encouragement.

Help them identify their stressors by giving or showing them it is ok to take a step back and turn inward. Pause --》Connect with self --》turn inward (body orientation) --》What situations in your life is difficult right now? --》 reflect together with your mentee

In my experience, I find that the cause of stress is usually not what the person says or thinks it it is. It helps to establish a non-judgemental channel for communicating and then asking the right questions to help the mentee to explore further. Once you get to the real cause of the problem, you can together figure out if it is something that can be sorted immediately and if not, how to manage it better.

It is possible to equip mentees with instant tools to manage stress in the present time by providing them with guidance on various relaxation techniques. The mind and body can be calmed through the use of techniques such as deep breathing, meditation, progressive muscle relaxation and visualisation. These techniques can help reduce stress and promote general well-being.

These days I find that almost everyone with access to internet knows the techniques. They know what needs to be done. The problem is usually with the implementation. In such cases, simply teaching the techniques will not help. It is more useful to find what sort of unhealthy thinking patterns prevent the mentee from implementing the relaxation methods they probably already know. Also, help them find other effortless ways of relaxing. Like finding activities which they love - just for the sake of it. (without making hobbies into overly serious goals!)

“Walk and talks” are a good way to do this with employees without seeming like a magazine telling someone they should take more walks. It’s efficient and exercise!

Being a mentor, it may feel like we need to help our mentee get out of the stress. But the fact is, we need to let them undergo the process of relieving from it. Distracting yourselves from the stress can never help you grow. That’s why you should undergo the process! Undergoing the process doesn’t have to be hard too! Just helping them jot down everything that boggles their mind will help. Journaling can be a productive stress buster, rather than a distracting buster!

Through the incorporation of healthy habits into their daily routines, mentees can acquire the ability to withstand the effects of stress. Participating in activities that they enjoy, maintaining a balanced diet, receiving sufficient amounts of sleep and engaging in regular exercise are all included in this. These routines have the potential to enhance both their physical and mental health, placing them in a better position to deal with stressful situations.

When mentoring, I love to work on work-life balance. Personally, I've had to learn how to prioritize healthy habits as someone who typically prioritizes work and to-do lists over personal items. Something a mentor taught me that I continue to pass down to those I mentor is time-blocking. This has been incredibly helpful in making time for healthy habits like exercise, sleep, meditation, preparing food, so on. Writing healthy habits into the daily schedule and to-do lists ensures that they're included regularly to the point they become a habit an no longer need to be written into the schedule. Making this collaborative and being vulnerable with them about your own learnings is a great way to introduce the conversation in an inviting way.

One caution with this is to avoid “toxic positivity”. As humans we want to make others “feel better” but saying things like “look on the bright side” or “it could be worse”. But these aren’t necessarily helpful in moments when the best thing you can do is listen, be present, and validate the person’s feelings. Becoming a “glass half full” person is definitely a good goal, but it takes finesse and high EQ to know when to support with positivity, and when to just sit with someone with their feelings.

Three important points for me here: 1.Avoid toxis people who brings you down and demotivate. 2.Act like a professional gardener who ruthlessly weeds out all the weeds from his flower garden and doesn't let anyone shit on his green lawn 3. If you are alive - you could change practically everything. Or change your attitude towards this. Always remember it!

Stress can be made worse by negative thought patterns, which can also hinder one's ability to cope with it. Mentors can help their mentees build a more positive and resilient mindset by instructing them to fight their negative beliefs and adopt a more optimistic outlook during their mentoring relationship. The application of strategies such as cognitive reframing and the practise of thankfulness can be beneficial in this regard.

In my experience, it is more helpful to find "possibilities" within a given situation or challenge, rather than forcibly putting a positive spin on it. Usually stress is caused when a person feels "helpless" or stuck or powerless to do something about the situation. Helping them find ways to loosen that sense of helplessness is a useful first step. When they can see possible ways ahead, they can shift the focus from "what's not possible" to "what else is possible" and find a route (even if it is a little longer or indirect) to go where they need to go. Positivity can be the by product.

It is of the utmost importance to provide a supportive and open atmosphere in which mentees can communicate their concerns and seek assistance without feeling uncomfortable. Make sure to check in with them on a regular basis, give them feedback that is positive and establish connections with resources such as employee support programmes or mental health professionals if they require assistance.

I’ve seldom encountered management cultures that are “supportive”. Most corporations are too short sighted to invest the actual effort into employees that creating healthy cultures require. So the first question might be, do you understand why you should care? Do you think it’s worth it? And can you be honest up front about your need for humans or for grist?

Having someone to guide you should always be considered. It helps the journey and encourages you through tougher times. Some services are available for your GP but they are pretty who can help, some free, some not, but reach out. Stress is usually multifactorial and therefore several strategies may need employed to bring balance back.

Too many high achievers believe stress is a necessary part of their lives. It doesn't have to be this way. Embracing techniques early on that make things managemeable, less stressful and more focused on the bigger picture can be very powerful.

Something I have found impactful from my mentor and that others seem to find helpful from me, is setting realistic expectations. We’re all human, and the work is literally never done. Take care of things that have true deadlines, but most things will still be there in the morning. Another thing is determining true “urgency”. Again, as humans, we are innately self-centered. Something important to one isn’t as important to the other, and vice versa. Use different communication methods to show true urgency, and work with others to cultivate a true understanding of a request via text vs call vs email. This helps a lot with the feeling we all have that “there’s not enough time” and “everyone needs me now”.

If there is only one piece of advice - I recommend finding your psychotherapist and finally getting acquainted with proper yourself. In 2020, I did it at the age of 38, and my life has dramatically changed for the better! I am the happy CEO of my life no matter what!

In my experience the best way to reduce stress is to have a handle on your workload. This can be done by developing a list of your day to day tasks, weekly, monthly, etc. tasks. One then need to determine the priorities, level of service and deadlines. After that you work in projects with their deliverables. I have check ins as necessary to discuss obstacles, successes or assistance needed making sure to keep communication lines open. To be honest, it is up to you as manager to know your direct reports abilities to work independently. I personally use OneNote to manage my tasks/projects to be able to recall expectations. I also alleviate stress by keeping the location of business information and data at my fingertips to reduce stress.

Whenever in stress, I try to look for an answer through 5 different actions- (their origins mentioned in Sanskrit) 1. Reading (???) 2. Writing (????) 3. Speaking (????) 4. Reflecting (?????) 5. Contemplating (???) These actions collectively can help manage stress by providing clarity, support, and potential solutions to alleviate it.