Overwork is the leading cause of stress in workers
Stress is a biological response to ensure the survival of each individual, activates the person to respond to a threat.
The brain detects through thought an emergency situation, and activates a protocol to deal with the threat, symptoms such as;
- Increased heart rate
- Increases muscle tone
- Rapids breathing
- Increased blood pressure
- Decreases sensitivity to pain
- Increases physical strength
- The body secretes adrenaline
- Secretes noradrenaline
- Secretes thyroxine
- Increases cortisol.
It acts without thinking because for the brain the important thing is to save yourself and all these symptoms help you to flee from danger or to face it.
Stress is a magnificent defense for all those cases of danger of death.
Although it is also activated in everyday situations such as overwork.
The brain is unable to distinguish between a real threat or an imaginary threat created by thoughts, always setting in motion the survival mechanism.
These symptoms are designed only for specific moments, when there is no longer any threat, the brain reverses the process and everything returns to its normal rhythm.
We found three clear types of tension
Chronic stress
That lasts over a long period of time is considered dangerous because it triggers most disorders and diseases.
Acute stress
It is the result of a conflict in everyday life, an unexpected call, a misunderstanding, an examination.
It is intense but does not last over time, it can give way to headaches, migraines, muscle pain.
Accidental stress
This type of tension is what is experienced daily, it is part of oneself, the simple fact of getting up early, going to work, to the doctor in a hurry, feeling that you are not able to organize your life because you have too many things to do.
It goes very unnoticed although it is reflected with annoying symptoms such as migraines or headaches.
When stress is maintained for a long time the nervous system becomes unbalanced and the body goes into a short circuit, the mind goes into a loop with negative emotions, fear, anxiety, anger, anger or aggressiveness.
Among them cardiovascular or muscular diseases, it can affect family life and relationships, changes in emotional state and contribute to failure at work.
Reasons that cause work stress
- Excessive workload
- Poor management in the organization of tasks
- Lack of support in both peers and management
- Harassment of any kind at work
- Working under pressure
- Constant changes at work
- Lack of knowledge in the workplace
What the European Commission says about it
The European Commission says "Work stress is a sum of emotional, cognitive, behavioural and physiological responses to the unpleasant and harmful aspects of work content, work organisation and the work environment, extreme frustration, a feeling of being too much in demand."
A good environment in the workplace, not only benefits the worker to feel fulfilled, the company will obtain better performance, greater production and an improvement in well-being among workers.
The employer has the obligation to comply with the rules within the company's prevention plan, and it is necessary to involve the workers.
If you don't take into account work stress in your company, the consequences can lead to costs and cause losses.
Consequences of an overwhelmed worker
- Make wrong decisions in your job.
- Having work accidents.
- Losing motivation with its consequences.
- Skipping orders from their superiors.
- Skipping safety rules.
- Leave the company.
- Entering into prolonged periods of leave.
Physical symptoms related to excessive work stress
- Sudden dietary changes.
- Lack of concentration.
- Lack of motivation.
- Migraines.
- Mood swings.
- Addictions to tobacco or alcohol.
You can overcome work stress
Communicate or expose your stress situation with your boss, if you can't, talk about the problem with trusted people close to you, or co-workers who can understand you, it's an easy way to liberal ruminate thinking and regain calm.
Tips to minimize work stress:
Organize the night before as your morning will be, write down everything you do not want to be forgotten, you can leave half prepared breakfast or lunch that you have to take to work, this will relieve last minute forgetfulness that cause nervousness before leaving home.
Set the alarm 15 minutes before to get up calmly and follow the morning ritual with good rhythm, it is better to arrive five minutes earlier to work than to arrive with just the right time or late.
Plan your tasks of the day in order of priority, manage the tasks that cost you the most first, if you leave them for the last minute it will generate anguish.
Steps to follow to improve our body and help curb stress
- Exercising regularly helps relieve tension, increases energy, helps you sleep better and regularize your appetite.
- If you've never exercised, you can start with something gentle like walking fast, dancing, or yoga.
- Learning to breathe helps in times of peak anxiety caused by stress, moving away from the workplace for a few moments makes it easier to regain balance.
- Eating distressed is very harmful, swallowing the food without perceiving its taste or texture. Food is not digested well in the stomach and causes changes in transit that further affect mood.
- It is preferable that at lunchtime you take a few deep breaths, distract the mind with music and be aware of savoring each bite.
- Food has the important task of providing us with energy.
- Stress makes us compulsively eat products that are not recommended for our health, chips, industrial pastries, cakes, since they are a quick source of sugars that provide energy to peaks, far from helping us, they can worsen our mood and generate more stress.
- After the sugar rush comes the downturn.
- Choose foods with an extra omega-3, fish such as salmon, mackerel, sardines, or seeds such as flaxseed or walnuts.
- Beware of excessive coffee consumption, stress makes us become more addictive, we seek an emotional rest and fill it with coffee or tobacco. It is much better to take advantage of those five minutes to breathe.
- Take care of the space where you rest, the electrical devices that produce waves affect our sleep, if you are one of those who charge the mobile on the table, you have the computer in the room or the television, the radiations will prevent you from having a good rest.
- Check your routines at bedtime and get up, avoid having a late dinner.
You must give importance to the fact of living with anguish
You see the havoc it can wreak on both a mental and physical level.
If you often feel moody, tense, anxious, tired, and distracted, you have clear signs of stress.
With the guidelines we have given you you can make changes in your life so as not to be all day with a feeling of stress, if we are realistic, stress will not disappear but minimizing its effects is already a positive point in your favor.
Be the change you want to see in others, and start enjoying life instead of suffering for living it.
