Chronic stress can contribute to illness and in these tough times of the credit crunch many people will be affected by work stress. This could be through changing their jobs although those who retain their jobs may also feel anxiety and become stressed because of the insecurity and changeable nature of the economic climate. They may feel their jobs are constantly at risk.
The: Holmes-Rahe Life Stress Inventory mentions death of a partner as the top cause of stress, with getting fired from a job rating 8th. Change in Finances, Business Readjustment and Change in Work all feature in the top 20 most stressful things in life. Apart from the obvious symptoms of work stress, how can warning signs be recognised?
Signs of Stress
Most people have experienced tension in their shoulders or neck, or stress headaches when they are under pressure. This is usually a passing event and recognised as part of a stressful time.
Some symptoms are not interpreted as stress, for example, forgetfulness. However, when there are several activities competing for attention and some sort of overload is reached, deadlines will be forgotten, mistakes will be made and it becomes more difficult to concentrate. This can lead to anxiety and more stress. When this is happening at work, the additional anxiety can escalate the stress resulting in even more forgetfulness.
10 Symptoms of Work Stress
- Poor time management. Running late with work and finding it difficult to complete tasks because of indecision.
- Feeling under increasing pressure to make money and be successful, even if it means neglecting friends and social life.
- Getting stuck with worrying about work problems, rather than looking at ways to solve them.
- Blaming work colleagues when things go wrong because it is too overwhelming to take responsibility.
- Feeling out of control and perhaps turning to alcohol or drugs more often to soothe those feelings.
- Poor sleep patterns. Difficulty getting to sleep or waking early and worrying about problems. Sometimes people handle this by asking the doctor for sleeping tablets. This might help the symptom but will not reduce the stress that causes the problem.
- Eating more or less than usual. Comfort eating is a recognised sign of stress, but loss of appetite can also be an indicator.
- New nervous habits such as nail biting or finger tapping can be symptoms of work stress.
- Depression and anxiety often accompany stress, particularly when people feel isolated at work or unable to cope.
- Increased incidence of colds or infections could be the effect of stress on the immune system.
If stress headaches or any other symptoms are problematic, consult a doctor and discuss ways of reducing stress before it reaches a chronic level. Some of these symptoms can also be signs of other illness and should always be checked.
Chronic stress can be avoided and it is possible to get the life you want by making positive changes.
Elaine Walker - Elaine has written text for everything from information packs for hospitalsbrochures for foster-carersnewsletters for a ...
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