How to Reduce Stress at Work with Sophrology

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Wellbeing and mental health at work is becoming essential concerns for both organisations and individuals and many are seeking solutions to reduce stress at work.

In the corporate world, the pressure is constant. Employers and employees not only have to perform but most of the time they also feel they have to excel and be fast. The number of complaints is growing: too much stress, intense tiredness, physical tensions, burn-out, sleep disorders, lack of concentration but also loss of motivation and confidence…

Stress is taken more and more seriously by organisations, as it can affect the workplace in a variety of ways, such as absenteeism, difficult interpersonal relationships, lack of efficiency and productivity. And for staff, it's becoming survival to achieve a more sustainable work-life balance and improve their physical and mental health.

I was not always a Sophrologist. I started my career in Legal & Business Affairs in Paris and then in London, in the media industry. I was at the forefront witnessing (and experiencing) the requirements to perform at a high level, and face work pressure and challenges on a daily basis, with long hours and few breaks. Such a rhythm requires a constant high level of energy. It is hardly sustainable and it quickly became obvious to me that having strategies and tools to cope better with work stress was a priceless asset to my personal life.

Naturally, when I became of Sophrologist, I decided to use all my experience in the corporate world to develop tailored stress management programs for both individuals and organisations to help establish healthy boundaries and improve workplace wellness.

HOW CAN SOPHROLOGY HELP WORK-RELATED STRESS?

For those not yet familiar, let's take a look at what is Sophrology. Sophrology was invented in the 1960s by a neuro-psychiatrist and it is a unique blend of Eastern practices and Western science designed to help relax and positively deal with life's challenges. It combines simple relaxation, breathing, visualisation and gentle movement to balance the body and mind, build resilience, and bring awareness and positivity into daily life.

Sophrology is widely used on the continent. Some insurance companies in France and Switzerland even include it in their scheme, as it is now proven it can really help people with stress-related symptoms. And in the past decade, Sophrology has now naturally made its way into the workplace: it is notably used in resilience programs, as well as for burnout prevention and recovery, sleep problems and to reduce stress at work, just to name a few examples.

At BeSophro, we are a team of experts in work-related stress, passionate about Sophrology and dedicated to our clients and their physical and emotional health. Over the years, we have worked with a number of executives and leaders, supporting them to perform at their best in the most relaxed, safe and comfortable work environment possible. Our solid experience and our knowledge of the business world have allowed us to create effective solutions for our corporate clients to avoid stress.

3 STEPS TO HELP REDUCE STRESS IN THE WORKPLACE:

At BeSophro, our stress management programs are built around 3 key points:

UNDERSTANDING THE MECHANISMS OF STRESS:

Understanding the physiology of stress and what is at play when under stress and feeling overwhelmed is the first step in building awareness, in order to better implement solutions. It is also about understanding the differences between acute and chronic stress, as well as the gap between ‘objective' and ‘subjective' sources of stress.

Stress does not always have negative effects - it's time to fight stress and use it to our advantage instead.

RAISE AWARENESS AMONGST CO-WORKERS AND ESTABLISH BOUNDARIES TO HELP RELIEVE STRESS:

When implementing an employee assistance program to support them with work-related stress, it is essential to have a global approach and encourage employees to take part.

We always assess in depth the needs of our clients and discuss simple health and lifestyle tips that are easy to apply. It can be as simple as taking regular breaks, learning “quick fix” stress solutions, improving time and quality of sleep, cutting down screen time, learning to set priorities and develop healthy responses, preventing musculoskeletal problems and so on.

PRACTISING SIMPLE, 10-MINUTE EXERCISES ON A DAILY BASIS TO MANAGE WORK STRESS

The time of practice is a time to pause, recuperate, calm the mind and lower muscular tensions. Sophrology exercises combine deep breathing techniques, dynamic relaxation and positive visualisation.

Depending on the aim, the practice can also be theme-based, such as learning how to relax and let go; managing stress in a work environment; increasing confidence; improving focus and motivation, and regaining energy and balance.

Audio guides and exercises are given to our clients so that they can practice at their own pace when they need it most. Repetition will allow a gentle shift and a safe transformation towards improved mental health.

HOW DOES SOPHROLOGY HELP RELIEVE WORKPLACE STRESS?

Sophrology is a very simple, practical and yet powerful approach with many benefits. It will allow staff, managers and leaders under pressure to:

• Improve wellbeing and physical health;
• Learn how to relax, calm the mind and let go;
• Support recuperation and restful sleep;
• Feel more focused rather than feel overwhelmed
• Improve concentration and memory;
• Perform well and improve productivity;
• Gain clarity on career goals and priorities;
• Deal positively with any stressful situation and emotions, learn how to respond positively rather than react;
• Prevent burn-out, tiredness, lack of vigilance and other stress-related symptoms;
• Promote self-awareness and positive communication;
• Increase confidence and feel empowered (self-esteem, assertiveness, public speaking);
• Build motivation and creativity;
• Achieve work-life balance and establish clear boundaries.

HOW TO IMPROVE MENTAL HEALTH AT WORK WITH SOPHROLOGY

There are several ways to implement Sophrology at work to help manage stress:

• One-Off seminars: In-depth presentation of the method, where it comes from and how it works. Presentation and Sophrology practice on stress management and how to find solutions for stress NOW!
• Group staff training programs: Such training programs include a short theoretical part, with a synthesis of the available information on the covered topics (stress management, general wellbeing at work, assertiveness and confidence, restful sleep, increasing energy and vigilance, how to focus better, etc…) and a moment of practice with the teaching and practice of some key sophrology techniques. The training can be organised as an intensive course [over half days or days, depending on the needs] or shorter sessions over several weeks.
• One-to-one tailor-made sessions and leadership programs: either available to all staff or to leaders, one-to-one sophrology consultations onsite to address any specific concern or issue.

“Over the years, Sophrology has proven to be a fantastic support to help staff, managers and leaders to cope better with the high demands and expectations of the business world. The strength of Sophrology is to show them efficient strategies to respond to various sources of stress, but it also encourages them to build resilience and helps them alleviate symptoms of stress.”

- Sophie 

About Sophie 

Sophie became a Sophrologist following a successful career in the media industry, during which she gained a deep understanding of what it is to be under pressure in a competitive professional environment. Through her gentle and caring approach, Sophie creates a safe space for her clients to explore their inner resources and reveal their potential, allowing a gentle transformation at their own pace.

Her primary focus is on stress management, tailored wellbeing solutions, sleep disorders, chronic stress and fatigue and burnout. She also works with children and teenagers for exam preparation, as well as offering pre and postnatal Sophrology services. Sophie regularly holds BeSophro workshops and classes for corporate, charities and schools. She is fluent in French and English.

For more information, please get in touch with the BeSophro team: [email protected]
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by Sophie McGrath

How Sophrology Helps Treat Psychosomatic Stress

In France Sophrology is increasingly being used in the medical world as an integrative approach alongside conventional medicine to assist patients to better manage their condition.  It is quite common that general practitioners will recommend Sophrology to expecting mothers or during rehabilitation from injury. BeSophro is proud to be holding Sophrology consultations at Medicare, a well-known French medical centre in London, and starting to bring this integrative approach to conventional medicine in the UK.

Sophrology is not a cure but a useful support for a specific condition and more and more hospitals and medical centres are working together with Sophrology practitioners to help people find some relief with their symptoms and better deal with their health journey to achieve a more positive outcome. Let's not forget Sophrology’s roots – Professor Alfonso Caycedo a neuro-psychiatrist travelled the world in search of new answers to provide better mental health care for his patients.

The fields of application of Sophrology in the medical environment are wide-ranging from sleeping disorders to chronic pain, birth preparation, tinnitus, food/weight problems, addictions, sports medicine and so on. In several hospitals in Continental Europe, Cancer Care Units also work with Sophrologists to help people cope better with the illness, feel more confident and positive and better manage possible side effects of treatments such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Clinical studies in France found that Sophrology helped patients feel calmer and less anxious while undergoing chemotherapy.

Sophrology can help in different ways:

MANAGING BETTER PSYCHOSOMATIC SYMPTOMS

When all organic causes of a condition have been evaluated and ruled out by doctors, patients are often then left with the possibility that their symptoms could be psychosomatic.

Psychosomatic conditions are the result of the interaction between the nervous system and the immune system. The nervous system is a beautiful and complex machine, a motorway of constant information being sent and received between the brain and the rest of the body.

When under stress, we produce stress hormones and it can affect the general balance of the body: the body keeps on trying to adjust in accordance to the signals it receives, but it’s like the signals are all scrambled. This results in physical symptoms, which are the manifestation of the imbalance.

Such symptoms are sometimes disregarded, with people often saying “it’s all in my head!”. However, they’re very real and they can be very disruptive! This can affect the quality of life so it is worth finding ways of dealing with these symptoms.

In such cases, the aim of using Sophrology within a medical context is to calm the mind and relax the body, in order to get them to work together in harmony again. In other words, it’s clearing the clutter and getting the traffic flowing again.

Sophrology could help with various symptoms, including:

• Difficulty to deal with stress, anxiety, emotions
• Insomnia, sleep disorders
• Chronic pain
• Some skin conditions
• Fatigue, chronic fatigue, burn-out
• Psychosomatic symptoms

MANAGING AN ILLNESS BETTER

Helping people to deal better with an illness is another field of application of Sophrology.

In this case, clients have already been diagnosed with a specific illness and may have to undergo medical treatments and procedures.

In France, some common uses of Sophrology can be found in helping people with cancer, but also with neurobiological conditions (such as Parkinson disease), hypertension, treatment-diabetes-info.com, or weight issues for instance. Sophrology can also be a great support to anyone who has to prepare for a medical procedure.

In such situations more than ever, Sophrology will not come as a cure nor replace any medical treatment. It will come as a support to help the patient to:

• Accept the diagnosis
• Lower stress and anxiety
• Find the resources to better cope with medical treatments and procedures
• Deal better with pain, sleep and eating
• Rest, recuperate, and find ways to implement well-being solutions
• Prepare for a medical intervention with confidence
• Maintain confidence, motivation and project positively into the future
• Deal with mood swings, emotional turmoil or lack of concentration
• Manage change positively

While Sophrology has only started to become better known in the UK and the US, it is a great step forward in the right direction that Medicare in London will be making Sophrology consultations available as an integrative approach.

For more information on Sophrology and its applications, please visit www.be-sophro.com

by Sophie McGrath

Stress Management Pro: How to relieve and reduce stress?

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How to relieve and reduce stress?

The mental health foundation study of 2018 shows that in the past year 74% of people have felt so stressed they have been overwhelmed or unable to cope. In this article we’re going to answer the question…how do you reduce stress?

The World Health Organization has dubbed stress the “Health Epidemic of the 21^st Century”, costing American businesses an estimated $300 billion a year.

The numbers say it all and yet stress continues to spiral upwards and my feeling is that it is not going to stop any time soon… We know that stress directly affects our physical health and mental health as well as our levels of happiness. If you are waiting for things to calm down by themselves to feel less stressed, for example, the situation with your business, your partner, your children or your finances, let me tell you that this probably won’t happen overnight. Unfortunately, in this day and age, there are always good reasons to feel under pressure. If you feel overwhelmed, you can’t sleep, you feel depressed or you lack motivation, it is time to act because you are the only one who can change this and it’s not as complicated as you may think…

Identifying stress

Stress is a condition that makes people feel under increased pressure, whether this is real or imagined. Stress is linked to the way we perceive events and process them. For example, you have a similar workload every day but one morning you wake up and you feel overwhelmed. This could be happening for many reasons, for example, because you hadn’t slept well the previous night and you feel exhausted or because feelings of inadequacy have taken over and you think you can’t cope any more. How is stress manifesting for you?

The first step is to understand how stress manifests in your mind, body and life.

Stress can manifest itself differently in each individual: some people experience more physical symptoms such as increased heart rate and blood pressure, sweaty palms, headaches, backaches, difficulty sleeping or digestive issues; others experience mental health imbalances such as lack of motivation, anxiety and depression. At times, both physical and mental issues occur and it’s important to speak to your doctor to work out if these symptoms are related to stress or another condition.

The power of a break

Once you have recognised that you are under stress, there is a simple way to start changing it’s impact on your body and mind. Stress is often linked to the feeling that we don’t have enough time in the day to do everything we should. We expect our mind and body to behave like good soldiers, supporting us no matter what we make them go through: worries, rushing around, performing to perfection in our jobs, going through emotional difficulties, lacking sleep, eating junk food etc. On top of it all, we may need to remind ourselves that an active and busy life needs to be balanced with some downtime. The natural rhythm of the body is about having time to integrate our experiences, to switch off from work and to nurture ourselves both physically and emotionally. Even our phones need recharging and resetting regularly!

You don’t even need to take a three week holiday if that’s not possible. Instead,  aim to carve out 10 minutes a day to look after your mental and physical health – your me time!  This will allow you to slowly but surely break the stress cycle you are in and regain perspective and positive energy in your life. This can be first thing in the morning, in the evening, during the lunch break or whilst you commute. It is not about complicated techniques or committing to an hour-long class, but a short daily practice to restore lost energy and enjoy a moment of pause in any busy day.

What is the best technique to reduce stress?

Sophrology means ‘the science of consciousness in harmony’ and was devised in 1960 by Neuropsychaitrist Professor Alfonso Caycedo in Spain to provide a kinder therapeutic process for mental health. He notably studied with yogis in India to understand Eastern philosophies and practices for consciousness as well as Zen and Buddhist meditation.  Sophrology uniquely blends Eastern practices with Western science so that through a simple practice, everyone has the opportunity to discover new inner resources and live up to their full potential. Since the 1960’s the practice of Sophrology has been widely used in Continental Europe notably as a stress-management technique in offices, schools, hospitals and sleep centres.

Unlike meditation, Sophrology is an easily accessible technique even for people who can’t focus for a length of time. Sophrology uses standing and sitting exercises, breathing and body awareness techniques so that everyone can find an easy way to tune in. Sophrology is practiced in a state of relaxation, which means that it supports recuperation as well as making us more present and empowered. It’s almost impossible to meditate and find your zen if you feel exhausted, so with Sophrology you can embrace rest first. It also uses specific exercises combining relaxation, breathing and visualisation to tackle issues you have identified, for example, sleep deprivation, anxiety, lack of motivation or confidence, low self-esteem, worries about your future or finding your life’s purpose. In just 10 minutes a day being guided through a simple set of techniques, you can benefit from an increased feeling of calm and overcome life’s challenges. After a few sessions, you can even practise the exercises on the go.

Learning Sophrology will equip you with a toolset of relaxation techniques that you can tap into any time you need them. Over time, you can spot early signs of stress and allocate the appropriate Sophrology exercise to help lessen the symptoms. The starting point is to learn the techniques with the help of a qualified Sophrologist: it is a good investment at the beginning of your wellness journey as you get the chance to ask questions and get feedback, as well as getting an in-depth consultation and personalised programme.

One of the most important advantages of Sophrology is that it is preventative as well as remedial: in other words, once you become familiar with the technique you can lower your stress levels and catch the early signs of stress, so you can nip anxiety in the bud. How do you identify stress and notice that your tension levels are rising?

Sophrology - Stress Relief Exercises:

TRATAC

The TRATAC is a powerful gesture that allows you to calm the mind within a few seconds. It helps you focus and make the practice more powerful. It is an easy way to connect mind and body and feel balanced, shutting down all the noise from negative thoughts.

Start with the TRATAC: in a sitting position inhale, stretch out your arm in front of you keeping your hand clenched and your thumb up. Fix your gaze on the thumb with your arm outstretched to focus the mind. Follow the thumb as it comes closer to the face by bending your arm, breathe out and close your eyes when the thumb reaches your forehead. Rest your arms on your legs.

THE BUBBLE

The Bubble Exercise allows you to connect with a sense of calm and even recall it any time you need it, even on the go. For example, if you start feeling anxious or overwhelmed, take a few minutes to do the Bubble Exercise and find your peace again.

Sitting down, start with the TRATAC to close your eyes. Then, connect with the presence of your body inviting it to relax. Visualise a bubble enveloping your body – choose its colour and shape to your liking. Imagine that all your life’s stresses are outside of the bubble and they don’t affect you. The inside of the bubble is your oasis of peace and you can fully relax there. Enjoy the sensation of calm and, if you feel any tension rising, tense and release your muscles to let it go. After doing this exercise, notice how you feel: are you feeling calmer and more relaxed?

If you would like to benefit from Sophrology now, my latest book The Life-Changing Power of Sophrology, includes 13 short Sophrology audio practices or practice Sophrology online with our Relax, Reset and Overcome Stress online course. Enjoy!
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by Sophie McGrath