How occupational stress affects mental health Essay

Stress is a normal condition that affects many people. However too much stress leads to both mental and physical health. When a person has, too much stress there is a high probability that a person will stop functioning normally. Severe stress also can also lead to breakdown. This can be observed through the behavior that a person exposes. This means that a person changes the set of patterns of behaviors. Their performance in day to day duties are also affected and become worse as days pass. A person tends to lose interest and the ability of functioning as a normal person. These are obvious signs of nervous breakdown. Severe stress cause mental disorders in people. This happens especially if the stress becomes severe. It is good for one to deal with stress because of the effects it has on the mental health. This is because some of the factors that lead to stress are complicated for the mind to handle. Stress compels one part of the body against another part of the mind. This leads to pulling and pushing against the positive forces. This then leads to compression of emotions and thoughts. This makes a person to have feelings of loss of control of life. If a person dwells on the negative feelings this makes the person to have high possibilities of being subject to mental illness. The mental health is affected as stress leads to change of the equilibrium in the brain, which applies pressure to the mind. Lack of reinstatement of the equilibrium leads to chemical imbalances and diseases. In case the mind has some faulty areas, this makes a person have difficulty in coping with stress. This leads to more negative thinking including suicidal thoughts (The British Psychological Society, 1993). There are several symptoms of stress and anxiety caused at work. Stress at work is caused by work pressure, relationships, at6 work or issues related to finances. The nature of work has changed over the last century and is still undergoing change drastically. With these drastic change, stress is inevitable as workers try to cope with the changes. Stress by the workers is dangerous as it affects not only their health but also the health of the organization. The symptoms of work stress vary from person to person depending on the situation or how ling a person is subjected to the stress and the stress intensity. Some of the typical symptoms of work stress include lack of concent6tartion in one responsibility, frequent absenteeism without valid excuses, some workers turn to substance abuse and one show some signs of frustrations and extreme anger, which is usually directed to fellow workers (Tetrick, 1987). Workers who are at high risk of getting stress and anxiety are the ones who are experiencing job insecurity as a result of the metamorphic changes that may be occurring in the work place. Reorganizations, downsizing and takeovers are some of the changes that occur in organizations that lead employees to have stress and become anxious, as sometimes they do not understand where future in the organization lies. High demand for performance also leads to stress and anxiety for instance increased workload, long hours of working and intense pressure to perform at peak levels but without increase of the pay. Workers who are faced with these kinds of p-pressures have possibility of getting anxious and stressed. People who their believes conflict and those who are unable to cope with workplace culture also have high possibilities of getting stress and anxiety (Tetrick, 1987). Example of workplace cultures that may lead to stress include adapting to dress code, communication pattern, hierarchy and the behavioral patterns. If a person experiences stress and anxiety as a result of the above and does not seek help the stress and anxiety may be worse leading to mental and physical problem. There are various ways in which individual can deal with stress. It is necessary for one to be able to change with time so that to prevent stress. Being able to change with time makes a person feel more secure. Foe example, in work places it is important for an individual to be continually prepared for any change that might arise so that to survive and avoid stress. It is also good for one to find emotional and moral support from friends and family members. It is good to find time to remotivate and reenergize whenever one feels down. This prevents the stress from escalating to more severe problem. Individuals who turn to substance abuse, as a way of relieving stress should also avoid this because substance abuse acts as way of increasing the stress. It important to develop positive attitude towards every situation in life including stressful situations. This is done to prevent situations such as fear anger and negative thinking, which leads to stress. This can be done by employing personal growth techniques such as exercises, breathing and meditation. Work place stress can also be reduced by celebration of accomplishment of other people’s accomplishment. In case of stress that is chronic, it is advisable to seek assistance from a health profession (Koeske, Kirk & Koeske, 1993). This knowledge regarding stress and anxiety and the ways to handle them is important as it help me understand that in some cases they may not be inevitable in the workplace. By understanding this, it is important to understand the way to prevent them from occurring and way I can do to stop them from affecting my performance. The knowledge is also helpful as it make me understand ways I can help my colleagues whom I find with the problem in the future.