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Mental Health Musings

Mental Health Musings

Ep. 2: Stress Management

Applications of Stress Management

OCCUPATIONAL STRESS

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WORKAHOLISM

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One cause of workaholism is a matter of identity; some people identify more with their roles as workers than with their roles as individual persons.

The self-worth of some workers is a function of what they produce.

A strong personal identity offers the best way to prevent workaholism and other occupational stressors from negatively impacting your life.

Tips to combat workaholism:

Focus on the work your most love doing and minimize the parts of your work you dislike.

Ask yourself, “What work would I do for free?” Then try to evolve your work in that direction.

Decide how much time you want to spend working, and then limit your work time accordingly.

Build friendships at work.

Schedule open time in your work life.

Learn to say no to new demands on your time.

Stay in touch with the positive aspects of your work (e.g., personal fulfillment, freedom, opportunity to be off service, and the like).

BURNOUT

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3 dimensions of burnout:

Emotional exhaustion: Feeling emotionally depleted and tired

Depersonalization: Feeling detached from the work and worksite

Lack of personal accomplishment: Feeling incompetent and lacking achievement at work

One of the culprits in the development of burnout is workaholism.

Tips to prevent burnout:

List all things—material and abstract—that you get out of your job (e.g., motivations and value and meaning of your job).

List all activities you like and rank them in order of importance; then, note the last time you engaged in each.

Create a support group.

Start a physical self-care program.

Do something silly every day.

INTERVENTIONS

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LIFE-SITUATION INTERVENTIONS

Quit your job if you don’t like it; if that’s not feasible, ask for a change in job responsibilities or request a less stressful job within the same organization.

Don’t take work home.

Establish a tech-free time.

Take a full hour for lunch.

Do not discuss work over lunch.

Discuss your feelings about occupational stress with whomever is close by.

PERCEPTION INTERVENTIONS

Look for the humor in your stressors at work.

Try to see things for what they really are.

Distinguish between need and desire.

Separate your self-worth from the task.

Identify situations and employ the appropriate style of coping (problem-focused vs. emotion-focused).

FINANCIAL STRESS: INTERVENTIONS

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Identify income you expect to acquire for each month in the present year.

Identify anticipated expenses for each month.

Try to set aside some money each month for savings.

If you owe money, try to pay off some of your debt each month.

Control spending.

Pay bills on time.

Review your budget periodically to make sure that it’s still appropriate.

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