In today’s workplace, stress isn’t just common, it’s constant. Shifting expectations, increased workloads, ever changing schedules, difficult colleagues, and the pressure to “perform with a smile” can stretch even the highest-achieving professionals thin. And when coping skills aren’t strong enough to match the stress load, people don’t simply get tired, they get overwhelmed. That overwhelm, left unaddressed, can slowly slide into burnout, disengagement, and eventually depression.

While it’s very important to acknowledge that depression is a clinical condition that requires medical care, there is a powerful truth every professional needs to know: your emotional habits either move you closer to depression or protect you from it. Emotional Intelligence (EQ) isn’t just a nice to have skill; it’s a preventative tool.

Using my Elevate EQ Framework, we will look at the two internal areas of Self-Awareness and Self Management. With these, professionals can strengthen their coping strategies, stay resilient, grounded, and emotionally well, even during high-pressure periods.

Know What’s Changing Before You Reach a Breaking Point

Depression rarely arrives suddenly; it builds in quiet ways. The challenge is that most professionals don’t notice the shift until they’re already deep in it.

Self-awareness is your early-warning system.

We have 3 A’s of Self-Awareness to catch those changes earlier and today we are going to look at the first one:

Assess –Notice what’s happening in your body, thoughts, and energy.

Ask yourself:

• What am I feeling emotionally? (anxious, flat, irritable, overwhelmed)
• What physical signs are showing up? (tight chest, headaches, poor sleep, tension)
• What thoughts are on repeat? (“I’m failing,” “I’ll never catch up,”)

Assessing yourself physically and psychologically, helps you notice emotional shifts before they turn into emotional overload. When you can see your inner state clearly, you’re far better equipped to cope, ask for what you need, and take preventative action.

Self-awareness isn’t about judgment. It’s about information. And information empowers you.

Shift from Reaction to Regulation

Professionals often believe they have to “push through,” but coping isn’t about endurance, it’s about emotional regulation. And when stress begins to climb, your ability to regulate becomes one of the strongest protective factors against sliding into emotional exhaustion or depression.

In my Self-Management framework, there are 3 B’s and today we are going to focus on:

Buffer – creating space before you react

When you’re overwhelmed, trying to change everything at once isn’t realistic. But building one reliable coping skill is.

Buffering is the intentional pause that protects you from reacting on autopilot. It gives your brain a moment to reset and prevents stress from stacking into emotional heaviness.

Simple ways to buffer include:

• Taking three slow breaths before responding
• Walking away from your desk for two minutes to reset
• Sitting back in your chair and releasing your shoulders

These micro-pauses may seem small, but physiologically, they stop the stress-response snowball from gaining momentum. When you buffer consistently, even in tiny doses, you prevent emotional overload from becoming emotional shutdown.

Use my Enjoy, Evolve, Earn Philosophy

Your emotional wellbeing directly affects your performance:

• Enjoy: Coping skills help you reduce emotional pressure and create more ease in your workday.
• Evolve: You build emotional agility and resilience, skills that strengthen professional potential.
• Earn: You protect your productivity, reputation, communication, and long-term career trajectory.

Emotionally healthy professionals make emotionally healthy decisions.

A Final Thought

You don’t need to wait until you’re in a dark place to start coping. EQ is your first line of defence. When you strengthen your emotional awareness, regulation, you build a workplace experience that supports your mental wellbeing, not one that silently erodes it.

If you want to help your team build these skills, I’d be honoured to support you through my website https://www.emotionalintelligenceconsultinginc.com/ were you can find free resources and more on Elevating your EQ!

Jade Bodzasy

Jade Bodzasy, Founder of Emotional Intelligence Consulting Inc., is a dedicated Coach and Consultant for Optometric Practices. Her extensive background includes over 20,000 hours of expertise focused on customer relations, work structure refinement, training method development, and fostering improved work culture within Optometric practices.

Certified in Rational Emotive Behavior Techniques (REBT), Jade possesses a unique skillset that empowers individuals to gain profound insights into the origins of their behaviors, as well as those of others. Leveraging her certification, she equips optometry practices with invaluable resources and expert guidance to establish and sustain a positive, healthful, and productive work environment.