I've been delaying this blog post for a number of weeks now. Partly down to procrastination and also because it's hard to focus on what you are currently trying to prevent from bringing you down. Maybe I should stop stressing about how to write this piece and start by asking you one seemingly simple question: do you work to live? Alas, here is the new blog post - raw and honest as usual; in all its glory. It's short and brief. Sometimes less is more! I hope you enjoy it and take something from it. You're probably reading this and thinking 'well duh, there are bills to pay' and yes that's true. I guess that's a good place to start. Our perception that we cannot afford not to work - taking a break is unquestionable. For heavens sake, what would people possibly think if we were to be signed off for stress. How would we even prove it? Maybe we should just man up. So, let me explore the notion of 'living to work'? And no, you did not mishear me. In my opinion, too many people are now living to work. Work becomes the be all and end all. We want to succeed. We want to better our lives. We work in jobs that interest us and so we strive to continue. We have bills to pay. We have societies expectations to live up to. But the big question is what happens when it all becomes too much? And do we even recognise when that happens? What are our options? Are our options all they promise to be? No need for an elephant in the room - let's get to the point nice and bluntly; work related stress. It's a period of illness that is still widely discriminated against. It's written boldly in policies, procedures, in GP handbooks but how many organisations actually recognise it when it confronts them in the face? A small proportion I believe. It's still signposted with stigma. Support is subjective and dependent on the morality and personal values of who you approach. Work related stress is when your daily duties at work are impacting on your mental health. We are talking: stress, anxiety, depression, and personal circumstances. Work related stress is caused by both a lack of support to the employee and also the cause can be inevitable. My experience of work related stress made me question my whole career - something very poignant and worrying considering I have only just qualified. Nonetheless, this demonstrates my point that WRS goes unnoticed due to the amount of pressure upon us in the 21st century and therefore we forget the importance of what is good for our heart and soul and mind. No job is ever worth your health. A job is replaceable and you simply are not. My first experience of WRS saw me signed off work for a period of time. I can honestly say that it took 5-6 weeks for me to actually recognise how unwell I was and how far I had relapsed. My eating habits had changed - appetite nil. My enjoyment, concentration and interests had changed. The only thing that got me out of bed in the morning was going to the gym as I thought I was getting fat. Not exactly healthy but it did give me some purpose to hold on to. But the sleep..... oversleeping - I have never slept so well in my life. I'm no longer anxious about needing a break. I've seen the worst and the best of work related stress. I now know the signs and hope to educate people further. I've learnt that trying to manage health conditions/procedures, lower immune system, bereavement ASWELL as my mental health was way too much for me the last six months. I didn't recognise that I had work related stress as all I thought was; 'I cannot lose my job' and 'This job is all I have' and 'this is just life, I should deal with it'. Taking a step back and doing my reading I have been able to acknowledge opportunities where I could have taken a break and/or asked for supper. Being taken away from that environment has allowed for me to breathe and deal with everything I have endured the past year. Digest it all. Something I should have done a long time ago. But it's still something that I'll shy away from talking about unless I know people will understand the reasons why. I'm hoping that's something that will soon change.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
CategoriesArchives
January 2019
|