Our job, occupation or profession is an area of our lives where we can feel a tremendous sense of accomplishment and purpose. However, as stress and dissatisfaction creeps in, it sheds away the positive out-view and replaces it with lingering symptoms – mental health symptoms.
Mental health “off-spells” or breakdowns are common in today’s society, more employees reporting feeling stressed at work than ever. “Stress” per se becomes an umbrella term for a constellation of thoughts, feelings and behaviors; however, when these daily hassles turn into major impediments in our everyday functioning, we know we have reached a stage where we need to go and see a therapist.
But what are some of the signs we are struggling?
- We engage in denial, escapism and avoidant behaviors . We abuse substances (drugs or alcohol) to aid and facilitate coping with what we perceive to be “the problem”.
- We develop difficulties in forming and maintaining interpersonal relationships, finding it hard to get along with others. We display intense anger, resentment and irritation with minor or no obvious triggers.
- We experience signs of anxiety and /or depression, sweats and palpitations, tremor, disordered / pressured speech, teary eyes or crying. We feel low, lack motivation, display dramatic increase or decrease in appetite and weight, as well as self-esteem fluctuations.
- We lose interest in our work, under-perform or don’t show up at all.
The outline of signs we are struggling is by no means exhaustive, we all have our “favorite” way of getting through feeling “down in the dumps”. However, we need not feel alone.
Depending on the area of residence, finding a suitable therapist is not a laborious process. By accessing the services of our General Practitioner, we can be referred to a mental health professional.
Additionally, most companies and organizations may have an employee mental heath department that operates on a self-referral basis. Take the leap forward and promote your mental health wellbeing.
When was the last time you felt your job was getting the best of you and how did you find a way out?
For more information on psychology and mental health support pathways please visit:
National Institute of Mental Health
American Psychological Association
Image Credit, FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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Article by Ioana
Ioana Lazarov is a Careers Blogger for Express and Star, and a contributor to a number of other sites. She is a graduate of University of Wolverhampton School of Applied Sciences with a Bachelor of Science with Honors in Psychology, and additionally holds a Life Coaching Diploma. Her career pursuits and passions include Psychology and Mental Health Rehabilitation, Automotive Electric Systems Manufacturing and Engineering and Retail. When she’s not tweeting, facebook-ing and blogging, she enjoys the finer things in life: friends, food, traveling and sports.
Ioana has written 21 awesome articles for us at FT Careers Blog
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