#Leadership : 5 Signs of Work Stress That You Should Never Ignore…Simply Recognizing That you’re Stressed & Taking Steps to Change your Work Environment or How you Respond to It can Be very Helpful

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Everyone has the occasional stressful day at the office. But for some, work-related stress is a chronic problem. Sixty-five percent of Americans named work as their top source of stress, the American Psychological Association(APA) found. Eighty percent of people surveyed by Monster said they experienced the Sunday night blues, and 76% of those characterized those blues as “really bad.”

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Work-related anxiety does more than just put a damper on your weekend, however. In men, chronic stress is linked to a host of health problems.

 “Men under stress are more likely than women to report having been diagnosed with high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease or heart attack,” Simon A. Rego, PsyD, director of psychology training at Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine, told Everyday Health.

Unfortunately, men may be more likely than women to ignore or downplay stress, both at work and in their personal lives.

“Men notoriously have trouble putting their feelings into words,” Edward Hallowell, author of Crazy Busy: Overstretched, Overbooked and About to Snap! Strategies for Coping in a World Gone ADD, told WebMD. “They bottle things up so they’re more subject to the damages of stress.”

Simply assuming that stress is a normal part of your work routine could also be causing you to miss your body’s attempts to warn you that the pressure is too much. If you’re experiencing any of the following symptoms, they might be due to work-related stress.

1. Frequent headaches

Frequent headaches are one of the biggest physical signs of stress, according to The American Institute of Stress. Over-the-counter pain relievers may help to relieve the occasional work-related tension headache, according tothe Cleveland Clinic, but if your headaches are chronic, you might need to explore stress management techniques, counseling, or even anti-anxiety medication or antidepressants.

Migraine headaches that happen over the weekend could also be a sign that the pressure at work is too much, since sudden decrease in stress levels may trigger these severe headaches, reported Prevention. Maintaining a consistent eating and sleeping schedule could reduce the chances you’ll experience a weekend migraine.

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2. Jaw pain

If you’re stressed, you may be clenching your jaw or grinding your teeth at night and not even realize it. Jaw pain, earaches, and headaches are all signs of bruxism, which might be caused by day-to-day stress. Practicing stress-relieving techniques like meditation might help minimize teeth clenching and grinding, as can consciously trying to relax your face during the day. If you grind your teeth at night, your dentist may tell you to wear a mouth guard to prevent damage to your teeth.

3. Upset stomach

A stressful situation at work could be the reason behind your stomachache or other gastrointestinal troubles, like constipation. That’s because “the brain and the digestive tract share many of the same nerve connections,” Douglas A. Drossman, M.D., a gastroenterologist and psychiatrist and co-director of the University of North Carolina Center for Functional GI and Motility Disorders, told Eating Well.

Altering your diet can help minimize stress-related tummy trouble. High-fiber foods like oatmeal can help regulate digestion, while fatty fish like salmon and sardines may reduce inflammation that exacerbates your stomach problems. Sugar, caffeine, alcohol, and junk food can all make your stress worse, says the Stress Management Society.

4. Breakouts and other skin problems

If your skin suddenly looks like you’re back in high school, tough times at work could be the cause. Your body’s chemical response to stress can increase breakouts, since your body is producing more cortisol, which in turn can lead to oily skin and acne flare-ups, according to WebMD. If you suffer from dry skin, eczema, psoriasis, rosacea, or other skin problems, stress can also exacerbate those conditions.

If you’re too focused on work-related troubles, you may forget to wash your face, not get enough sleep, or eat poorly, all of which can make skin problems worse. Sticking to your regular skin care regimen can help reduce breakouts, as can getting enough sleep, exercising, and drinking plenty of water.

5. Hair loss

Hair loss is a fact of life for many men, often linked to genetics, aging, or a decrease in testosterone. But if your hair is coming out in handfuls when you comb or wash it, you might have telogen effluvium, a condition that can be triggered by stress, as well as by certain medications or infections.

Occasional stress isn’t enough to cause sudden baldness, though. “Stress because you’re late to work or you’ve got a heavy workload is not going to cause you to lose hair,” dermatologist Paradi Mirmirani, MD, told WebMD. Long-term stress that causes other physical changes, like dramatic weight loss or big shifts in diet, could trigger hair loss, however. The good news is that this kind of hair loss is often temporary and may stop once you get your stress under control.

Tips for Reducing Work Stress

While you can take steps to alleviate some of the physical symptoms of stress, those remedies aren’t likely to address the underlying cause of your anxiety. Identifying stress triggers and finding ways to manage them may be the best way to reduce the headaches, stomach pains, and other stress-related problems that you’re experiencing, as well as to avoid the long-term term health problems that constant stress may cause.

Exercising, practicing meditation, creating boundaries between your job and the rest of your life, and taking time to relax and recharge can all be ways to manage work stress, says the APA. Making changes to your workspace and getting more organized at the office may also make you happier at work, since cramped and cluttered desks can exacerbate stress, according to a report in Time magazine.

Simply recognizing that you’re stressed and taking steps to change your work environment or how you respond to it can be very helpful, say experts. “People feel less stressed when they take control of a situation,” psychologist Emma Kenny told The Guardian.

 

CheatSheet.com | January 25, 2016 | 

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