Five Signs Your Mental Health is Suffering from Work Stress Symptoms
“You’ll never work a day in your life if you do something you love.” We’ve all heard that, but it’s not necessarily true. At the end of the day, work is work, and too much of anything is not great. Stress, burnout, adjustment problems, post-traumatic stress, and general anxiety can all show up in the workplace. These work stress symptoms can show up in people who work for someone else, as well as those who are self-employed. Business owners are especially susceptible to negative mental health stressors as there is extra pressure to perform and show everyone that your creation can be successful.
Work Stress Symptoms to Look Out For
Have you found that your work has become completely unhealthy or toxic for you? You may be questioning the career choices you’ve made. Or wondering if you are in the right place and making healthy decisions for yourself? There are a few work stress symptoms you should look out for to decide if it’s time to make a change.
Avoidance of work & low motivation
Many of us can think of a coworker or teammate who wasn’t really pulling their weight, slacking off, or maybe even started quiet quitting. When we start our careers, it’s hard to imagine that we could undercut ourselves or anyone else by working less. Then, you find yourself daydreaming when you’ve got deadlines and finding reasons not to meet your job duties. These are all work stress symptoms to pay attention to as they could mean your priorities and interests have changed dramatically.
Work Stress Symptoms Includes Irritability toward others
Have you found that people who once didn’t bother you much are rubbing you the wrong way? Or maybe some of your coworkers have mentioned that you’ve been short-tempered with them. This type of work stress symptom might also include being reprimanded for the way you reacted to a manager or customer. If you’re coming off as aggressive and irritable, these could be signs of career stress or burnout. You’d likely benefit from talking to a work stress therapist about your interactions with others. In order to learn about what’s triggering these types of relationship and work problems. So that you can learn tailored coping strategies for stress.
Compromising your values
If you’re compromising your values at work, it’s possible you are exhibiting behaviors that weren’t typical when you first started. Were you always the vocal teammate and hard worker at the start? But here recently you’ve been quiet and disinterested in your work obligations. Then you may find yourself going against your values by giving less input and providing a lower performance rate. Or, if you were always the quiet person who was calculated with sharing ideas and thoughts, and suddenly you find yourself saying things you regret later, then your stress may be leading to your behaviors as opposed to your values.
Compromising your values can be as simple as not showing up as your best self. Or as severe as breaking workplace ethics or laws that put yourself at risk for legal consequences. A work stress therapist can assist you with noticing any changing behaviors about yourself and bring attention to any compromising beliefs contributing to poor decision-making.
Overwhelming Work Stress Symptoms can cause severe anxiety or panic attacks
You may find yourself experiencing racing thoughts the night before a workday. The anxiety builds all night, and before you know it, you wake up unrested and unable to get out of bed. You may be oversleeping, pressing snooze too many times, or just laying there awake with dread. Once you finally pull your feet to the floor and get ready, you notice yourself finding excuses not to leave for work. You may feel physically sick or nauseous and have even called in sick a couple of times this year.
On those days that you somehow push yourself out the door, your heart starts racing. You may feel hot, dizzy, or almost as if you could die. You’re thinking that things are really out of control, and you really don’t want to go anywhere like this. You imagine yourself walking into work and trying to manage this anxiety, and your fears only get worse. Panic can be mixed with tearful emotion, and before you know it you’re crying and fighting to breathe.
Some people have never had a panic attack before and it’s the scariest event they’ve physically experienced due to feeling out of control. If you notice these experiences occurring on your way to work; or even at work, this could be related to work stress symptoms.
Questioning your worth
It’s typical for us all to want to be “paid what we’re worth”. However, questioning your worth is different if you are wondering if your work is truly meaningful to you. Many people have careers where they aren’t too passionate about the type of work they do. But the income they bring home brings meaning to their lives and families. They may use the income to make a difference in their household or community. Others have found a career that is a passion, even if it doesn’t bring much income and they really enjoy the work. Either way, if you’re suddenly questioning why you are doing the work you do, something has changed.
People who question their worth also begin to dream about alternative careers or a better workplace where their values align with the work that they do. If the only hope you have for the future is not in the career you’re currently in, and you stay there you could be at risk for burnout or depression. There’s a chance that hopelessness could continue to be a theme at work. Complacency sets in and eventually, the irritability, anxiety, and bitterness spill over into other parts of your life. If you’re finding that you’ve been questioning your worth and meaning around your work; it’s time to do some personal reflection and exploration by meeting with a work stress therapist for stress management.
Start Therapy for Work Stress Symptoms in San Francisco, California
If you’re noticing changes at work where you don’t quite feel valued or aligned with yourself any longer, it’s time to explore these stressors with a work-stress therapist. In therapy for work stress, you can become more aligned with your happy life. As well as set career goals that allow you to be your best possible self. If you want support so you can learn coping strategies for stress at Online Therapy California follow these steps:
Schedule your first appointment for therapy for work stress
Start setting career goals that help you live your best life
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