The S Word...
I always wanted to be the person that doesn't take work home with me. That leaves the typical work stresses and worries there, ready to pick back up again in the morning. The person that doesn't let work dominate their every conversation and seep into the fabric of their being. I wanted to have clear distinctions between myself as a person and myself as an employee. However it never really seems to go to plan, I never really fully log off, I am like a laptop that never gets shut down properly, just put on sleep mode constantly ticking away. Although it is a magnificent thing to love your job, and really care about doing the role well (I know that is more than can be said for some). It certainly looks good from a management perspective too. But just like ivy growing around the brick work of a house, it can look nice on the exterior but do considerable structural damage to the house itself. The house being us, the employee, the person. I want to talk about the S word... Stress. Disclaimer, I am giving no advice so to speak of, so if it is that which you are seeking, please search else where. Instead I just have some fleeting thoughts in my head that I've typed up as they've come, combined with literature on doctor google. Maybe it will make you reflect upon your own work life balance. Possibly make you consider what coping mechanisms and strategies you implement in your own life, if any at all? Stress is something we all feel and experience, not just adults but children too. If you have any of your own pearls of wisdom regarding stress management, please feel free to drop it in the comment section below. We would love to read it and share ideas.
The S Word.
For me. I feel as though I persistently have a current of stress running through my veins. Of course the watts increase and decrease depending on the time and day, but it never really just stops. Even though sometimes I just wish it would. When I sleep, worries of upcoming deadlines infiltrate my dreams. I get so caught up in stressing at the ever growing list of jobs and tasks I need to complete, that it is debilitating, and I often end up not even starting at all. Or I go to the complete opposite end of the spectrum. I work tirelessly, unfortunately I just do loads of tasks not on the job list (sound familiar?) In fact they are not things I need to do at all; like reorganising a perfectly tidy draw. Procrastination at its absolute finest.
Some people say stress is part and parcel of the job. They say that in some positions you will always be on duty. Any job really where you look after or protect someone or something, like being a police officer or paramedic. However, what does this constant buzz of stress do for us, the employees in these industries? Is it positive or negative? I have read so many articles online, some praising small doses of stress for helping with productivity. It can apparently help boost memory and motivate you to achieve goals. A 2013 study published in Pyschoneuroendocrinology even stated that moderate levels of 'manageable' stress can possibly help to protect oxidative damage, which is linked to disease and aging. Yet other articles list the countless negative side effects of stress. Particularly if its chronic and long lasting. They say bad stress can cause you to be irritable, angry, unable to focus and complete tasks, experience a change in eating habits and even anxiety. Several studies have indicated that chronic stress can lead to the prefrontal cortex shrinking (which is the area of the brain responsible for learning and memory), and even kill brain cells.
So it is the goldilocks complex again. Another area of our life that is difficult to get just right. We need to balance so many parts of our life, it can be hard to keep all the plates spinning. Managing stress levels, taking care of ourselves, keeping up with social commitments and managing money. It's a lot to juggle. The problem I usually find as well, is that the minute you drop one plate, they all come crashing down.
It is no wonder we are living in a world where so many people are struggling with their mental health. Our society itself demands so much of us, and that is before all the additional trauma many of us experience. From bereavements, to break ups, to job losses.
It appears we cannot escape stress. We can take some steps to maybe try and reduce our work load, ask for help from family and friends, or introduce tick lists to try and break up scary tasks into smaller more manageable ones. Yet the stress never really goes, just constantly fluctuates along a spectrum. I imagine the same way in which our mental health does, the two things more than likely coincide or correlate.
Although stress isn't a mental illness itself, it can definitely be a big contributing factor. I read on the Mind website that even health care professionals cannot fully agree on a stress definition. They often disagree on whether stress is the cause of problems or the result of them. So I'm interpreting that to mean it is a vicious cycle.
More recently I started to experience the physical effects of prolonged stress for the first time. My body started to fail me, from getting run down with colds, to hair loss. Not just a few strands, but clumps of hair making crop circles in my head. Diagnosed as a stress related alopecia, I am hoping this is not something that has to be permanent, as I know the body can do wondrous repairs. Yet it has happened all the same and I am conscious that it is there.
So I ask, is it really part and parcel of the job? As now the S word is taking my hair...?
Something to bare in mind for everyone next time you hear the staff room walls whispering. You know what I mean.... Those side eye glances and eye rolls when people are on sick leave for stress (the same happens for mental health related sickness too), we've all seen them. The numbers speak for themselves though. According to the Health and Safety Executive (2020) 40% of all work related sickness in the UK is stress related. That accounts for 4 in 10 absences, which is a shocking figure. So maybe its not just something that just comes with the territory of working, maybe It's something that needs to be improved in job culture? Having systems in place to protect workers when stress becomes chronic or prolonged, so that no-one has to reach breaking point (physically, mentally or emotionally) before being allowed to lessen the work load.
Anyways, I must return to spinning my plates before everything comes crashing down. I've been procrastinating again.