Are you a stress junkie?

Many working Americans believe a 40-hour workweek would almost feel like a vacation. We work long hours. We spend time commuting to our jobs. We have families to tend to. We try to squeeze in time to eat, sleep and exercise, but there’s only so much time in the day. There is more to do than time to do it. This creates stress.

At the same time, many of us secretly — or openly — treat the marathons we’ve turned our lives into as a badge of honor. It’s easy to become addicted to stress. You can even pay lots of money for “time management,” so you can get better at getting even more done in a day. Yet, ironically, this very busy-ness is often a self-sabotaging escape from truly addressing what’s most meaningful to us in our lives and careers.

How stressed are you?

Sometimes, stress sneakily blinds us from recognizing when we’re too stressed. How good are you at accurately reading your stress level? Find out in less than 5 minutes with this straightforward Psychologist’s World stress test. Unlike traditional tests, which rely more heavily on more generic life events, this assessment focuses on observing and assessing your own personal clear physical, emotional and behavioral cues. Can’t spare 5 minutes for the test? You are definitely too stressed!

Not all stress is bad stress.

Stress is like salt. Too little and everything is too bland. Too much and it takes over. Stress is at the heart of great beginnings and inevitable endings. Stress goes hand-in-hand with challenge — which makes our lives exciting and interesting.

When is stress bad for you?

Left ignored and out-of-control too long, stress can literally be deadly. NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety) reports “Mood and sleep disturbances, upset stomach and headache, and disturbed relationships with family and friends are examples of stress-related problems…. Evidence is rapidly accumulating that stress plays an important role in several types of chronic health problems — especially cardiovascular disease, musculoskeletal disorders, and psychological disorders.”

Does your job stress you?

The American Institute of Stress reports that after money, work scores as the second largest stressor. Given that most of us work for a living, one could argue that money and work form one heckuva double-header when it comes to stress.

Research reveals:

40% of workers report their work is “stressful or very stressful”
26% of workers report they are “often or very often burned out or stressed out by their work”
25% of employees view their jobs as the number one stressor in their lives

Job stress results when the requirements of the job do not match the capabilities, resources or needs of the worker, according to a CDC (Center for Disease Prevention and Control) NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety) Report.

How does the way you handle stress impact your career?

Feeling sleep-deprived, sick and acting moody from stress? That’s hardly the ideal career success building blocks for rational decision-making and stellar collaborative working relationships — or for finding another job that’s less stressful!

Stress management tips with a caveat.

Holly Stokes, The Brain Trainer offers these top 5 stress relief tips though aptly points out “There are many stress relief activities that will help calm your mind and your body, but these only take care of stress after it happens.“ Ultimately, she believes the key is to train your mind and body to learn to handle stress better by creating a calm response rather than going into the fight or flight response.

Or, you can reconsider whether the best change is to find a job that’s a better fit, or where crises-management and 60+ hour-a-week workweeks are not the norm.

Plan your great escape … to happiness

Not sure if you can find happiness where you are, or need a job or career change? Consider some career consulting. Stress may be just the siren call you need to re-examine your life, and transform it into the rich, meaningful and connected life you want to live.

Are you a stress junkie? Stress Management Ideas

Connie Dorigan, Founder and Director of Recruiting, sees the food processing industry as the link between good living and good people. She’s the west coast’s most experienced and trusted food processing recruiter. She also provides Executive and Career Coaching and lots of free job search tools. Once you’ve connected with Connie, you’ll always be connected.

This is a general interest article and does not constitute specific or legal advice.

Spread the love