Work stress
Written by:Work stress is a process that triggers a set of reactions to biological, psychological, and behavioral level to certain adverse or harmful content aspects, the organization or the working environment. Stress occurs when job demands are not adapted to the needs, expectations, capabilities or resources (objective and subjective) of the worker or when it does not receive an adequate reward for their efforts. Stress can react more power, speed and security, launching a process of activating resources to cope with all the demands in the shortest time possible.
Symptoms of job stress
The high work stress, and produce symptoms like backaches, headaches, general fatigue, irritability or vision problems or stomach, doubles the chance of developing anxiety disorders and mood disorder in youth who did not previously these disorders. It also increases the likelihood of consuming psychoactive drugs (such as anxiolytics or antidepressants).
In general, as stated in psychology , adverse working conditions and lack of social support (friends, family, couple) predicted the onset of subclinical symptoms of anxiety and depression. People who do not have a diagnosis of mental disorder, but suffer stress begin to suffer negative emotions, insomnia and somatization, which can increase the consumption of psychotropic drugs in order to relieve symptoms, but does not solve the problems that are associated with stress (often the worse), which will continue to act on the individual to produce more symptoms and more consumption. We also know that people who suffer more stress are more likely to consume snuff, which ultimately multiplies the risk of anxiety and even panic attacks.
The first high job stress produces a series of initial symptoms, such as back pain, 30%; stress, 28%; general fatigue, 20%; muscle pain, 17%; headaches, 13%; irritability, 11%; vision problems, 9%; insomnia, 7%; anxiety, 7%; as well as other less frequent symptoms. But eventually, if it lasts, doubles the chance of developing anxiety disorders and mood disorder in young people who previously suffered from these disorders, and increases the likelihood of consuming psychoactive drugs.
Work stress treatments
On one side are the drugs, while reducing anxiety symptoms quickly should not be taken for a long time, as indicated by international clinical guidelines. Why? Because they have side effects, dependence, besides that they do not learn to manage stress. Drug treatment must be prescribed and reviewed (every month or two months) by a specialist in pharmacology, for example, a psychiatrist. It should always be accompanied by a cognitive behavioral treatment.
On the other hand, relaxation techniques help people relax, reduce physiological arousal, loosen muscles, and breathe properly. Each person works an activity. Some people prefer jogging, others do yoga, others do very well abdominal breathing or progressive muscle relaxation. The important thing is to practice them almost every day. However, relaxation techniques should not be the sole or predominant technique in treatment, but they are of great help to reduce physiological arousal permanently (not as anxiolytics, which reduce only temporarily) and have no side effects. In addition, when a person is more relaxed decreases their biases a cognitive level and serves better and better understands everything he says psychologist in consultation.
Finally, there is the cognitive behavioral treatment consisting of a series of techniques scientifically proven and designed to change our thinking (identify, understand and modify our thoughts) and behavior (habits, hobbies, addictions, avoidances, skills, etc.) so that diminish our negative emotions and increase positive, so we can direct our behavior more easily towards the desired goal. Always explain the theory, using empirically validated models, before daring to make changes or apply exposure to feared situations, so that the patient can then disconfirm their irrational beliefs for yourself and restore security and sense of control. The application of these techniques is conducted by a psychologist specializing in anxiety and stress over a few months, after which they have learned to reduce self-imposed and manage stress.
