You've had three angry customers, someone dumped a coke into your keyboard and your boss wants something done *right now* that is nearly impossible to accomplish.
Sound familiar? You may not have had these exact things happen, but your morning may have been just as bad.
So, it's lunchtime.
What do you do? Get away from the desk: Just leaving the scene can give you some stress relief.
Staying there will keep eating at you, and you may end up eating while sitting there.
That's bad for a lot of reasons, including the risk of food poisoning.
Your boss can't demand you skip lunch if you're a full time employee.
Choose your meal wisely: Burgers and fries may seem like an ideal way to de-stress, but that's not the case.
In fact, studies show that high sodium, high fat meals actually increase stress levels.
Instead, choose something lower in fat, calories and salt.
Go for a walk: The fight or flight hormones released in your body need to be worked out, or they'll keep building up.
Walking can help with that, plus release endorphins.
These hormones are sometimes referred to as the "runner's high," because they can make you feel that much better.
On top of that, it's good exercise.
Change the subject in your brain: Read a book, start a conversation with someone in another department, but find a way that your brain doesn't keep working on everything that happened that morning.
Let that go so you are able to handle the afternoon.
Don't let it keep going around like a hamster in its wheel.
Pray: I've been told to "Give it to God and let it go.
" It's not easy, but it does help.
If you believe in a higher power, that's Who you should talk to about your situation.
A stressful morning doesn't have to carry over into your afternoon.
You may luck out and have an easy one, but even if it's just as bad, you have had enough of a break to make it easier to handle.