Friday, August 29, 2014

How to Know When Job Stress is Affecting Your Health: Tips for Baby Boomers and Seniors



Is your job stressing you out? Maybe there is someone or something at work that you cannot cope with and it is resulting in adverse physical, mental and emotional symptoms. Many baby boomers and seniors who are returning to work are under stress for various reasons.

Men.webmd.com suggests that there are several health risk related factors on jobs including elevated tobacco and alcohol use. There is also the risk of becoming overweight, having an elevated blood pressure and high cholesterol.

Ask yourself what kinds of symptoms you experience when you are under stress at work.

For example, you wake up one morning and feel that you cannot face going to work and want to call in sick. Instead, you give in and go to work. By ten that morning, you have a mild headache, feel dizzy and are nauseated. At noon, your pulse is racing and you know your blood pressure is rising. You experience difficulty breathing and begin to have intermittent chest pain. Suddenly, you have a severe headache and have difficulty focusing on your task.

You ask to leave work, which angers your supervisor, as there is no one to replace you. He or she feels your forehead and says you do not have a fever and therefore, are not sick. Your supervisor suggests you are imagining the symptoms and cautions you that if you leave, you may not have a job to come back to. You, as well as others, are shocked at these kinds of comments. You request pain medication, but the nurse at your work place is not available. The next morning you call in sick, because you simply cannot face going in to work again.
  
If your job, someone on your job or something job related is stressing you out, you will know. Your body will tell you when you are reacting to someone or something, where you work.

It may be time to consult with your physician and undergo a medical assessment.

Stress can be the direct result of problems on your job. If there is someone like a supervisor who is harassing you, you can experience strong, adverse feelings about your job, as well. Stress is usually a combination of things affecting you and your health in a negative manner. Perhaps you have simply become tired and bored with your job and do not realize it.

From a medical perspective, you may be ill, have allergies or be reacting to toxins in the immediate, work area. At times, bouts of stress lead to repeated symptoms that occur only when you are at work. These symptoms can become increasingly serious and result in a stroke or heart attack, if ignored. An immediate medical investigation into any job related untoward symptoms is important. You should not ignore symptoms like dizziness, nausea, headaches, elevation of blood pressure, difficulty breathing or intermittent chest pain on the job.

Do you get angry easily or cry frequently at work, for no reason? Are you and others always fighting on the job? When these kinds of incidences are recurrent where you work, they may be the result of job related stress.

Medical investigation can rule out other possible causes of illness or disease processes.

Your doctor may advise you to seek employment counseling, a change of jobs or a transition in terms of your employment environment. Be aware that there may be health and safety related concerns in your current place of employment that need investigation, as they can affect others, as well. Reporting abusive and non-compassionate supervisors or others may lead to their dismissal.      

It is normal to experience some stress on any job, but when the stress is affecting your mental, physical and emotional health, note the recurrent symptoms and report them at work, as well as to your family doctor. You may save your own life, as well as that of others.



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