Lesson 2 Warning signs
- Lack of reward or recognition
- Feeling underused or undervalued
- Doing regular monotonous work
- Constant chaos, high pressure or being in receipt of bad planning and/or delegation
- Working too hard, too fast or too long
- Being micromanaged – a lack of control over own workload
- Lack of support and/or insufficient help from others
- Lack of work relationships
- Too many responsibilities
- Being a perfectionist.
- “Every day is a bad day”
- Helplessness – caring about work/home is a waste of energy
- Exhaustion
- Feeling detached from yourself (de-personalization)
- Most of your day is about performing mind-numbing tasks
- You feel nothing is appreciated
- Nothing makes any difference
- Change in appetite
- Frequent illness
- Headaches
- Poor sleep patterns
- RECOGNISE and UNDERSTAND what you might be seeing
- REFLECT on work life – yours or theirs
- REACT to what you see in yourself or others
- REALISE the source of the burnout
- REVERSE any constant damaging
- RESET and REROUTE
Stress – does this look familiar?
Stress
Stress and work
Are you stressed?
Stress
- Stress is not necessarily bad but if it becomes excessive and/or prolonged, mental and physical illness may develop.
- Pressure can be positive and a motivating factor, it can help us achieve our goals and perform better.
- Stress is a natural reaction when this pressure becomes excessive.
Stress and work
- Responsibilities – pile on; you may not only be responsible for yourself,
- Anyone can suffer from work-related stress, no matter what work they do.
- More complex issues raised at work, since different dynamics are involved: Can’t speak up to the manager, the employee doesn’t know if the employer will help them or stigmatise them or minimize what they are going through “yeah we are all stressed mate”.
Are you stressed?
Behavioral symptoms
- find it hard to sleep
- change your eating habits
- smoke or drink more
- avoid friends and family
- find it hard to concentrate
- suffer loss of memory
- feelings of inadequacy, irritability, indecisiveness
(indicative – having one or some of those symptoms does not necessarily indicate stress)
Physical symptoms
- tiredness
- indigestion and nausea
- headaches (focus on temples)
- aching muscles
- palpitations
(indicative – having one or some of those symptoms does not necessarily indicate stress)
Mental Health‘s connection to other health issues
Mental health has many interactions with other areas of health. Sometimes symptoms from different diagnoses are similar, which is why it is not possible to make a diagnosis directly. Therefore, there can also be interrelationships with other diseases. For example, a life-threatening illness such as cancer can also trigger depression, or an anxiety disorder can be the trigger for stomach problems or pain.
Just as there is a connection between mental and physical illnesses, mental illnesses can also reinforce or condition each other. For example, depression can increase other phobias or issues.
If you identify with these symptoms, please speak to your doctor.