The 8 Consequences Of Overwork: Physical And Mental Health Problems
Working is necessary both to guarantee livelihoods and to develop good self-esteem; By feeling useful, we learn to believe in ourselves. However, like any habit, Overwork can damage our physical and mental health with amazing ease.
That is why it is important to always control the amount of work we face on a daily basis, on the one hand, and the way we react to it, on the other. If not, the logic of productivity will drag us to make professional work our reason for living, something that cannot be healthy.
To prevent problems related to overwork, we must know how to recognize the warnings that the body sends us. Below you can see what they are and how they are expressed in your body.
1. Anxiety
It is the clearest consequence of all. It is a feeling of discomfort and alertness that, in turn, makes it more difficult for us to face the challenges that lie ahead. Anxiety makes us always activated but at the same time, we are afraid to think about our responsibilities, which is why we postpone some of them. This procrastination contributes to the accumulation of obligations.
2. Burnout
Burnout syndrome is a psychological and physical condition typical of demanding work environments with little capacity to respond to the needs of professionals. It consists of a mixture of depersonalization, crisis due to the absence of motivating expectations, and anxiety generated by work stagnation and monotony.
It must be taken into account that Burnout syndrome does not have to appear due to overwork, but rather has to do with repetition and the lack of moments to take a break and get away from the work context Thus, taking time to recharge your batteries and clear your mind usually helps, but in other cases it is necessary to change your occupation to feel good.
3. Work addiction
Paradoxically, excess work can make us enslave ourselves even more under the yoke of future tasks to be performed and needs to be met. Because? Because the fact of having gone through difficult and unpleasant situations to reach the objectives we have set means that we deny less room to choose if in the future we are in a similar situation again.
Simply put, the possibility of having our project or company damaged by our inability to work more seems an intolerable idea in view of the sacrifices we have had to make so that initiative does not fail.
On the other hand, we run the risk of normalizing excess work, assuming the belief that always being overwhelmed is what can always be expected, what is normal. From this point of view, avoiding working more or taking a break is irresponsible.
4. Carpal tunnel syndrome
It is one of the most common physical problems among workers who use computers a lot, such as administrative workers, IT professionals or editors. It appears when having the hand in the same position to use the keyboard causes one of the nerves in the hand to be pressed at the wrist.
As work piles up, we are much less likely to perform the tasks necessary to work while maintaining standards of well-being, and taking breaks to change posture or stretch our legs is one of those options.
Sit all the time in the two or three positions that we believe help us produce faster it damages both our muscles and the joints of our spine Over time, it contributes to us adopting that hunched position when walking or standing.
6. Insomnia
Sleep problems are common when there is too much work. The causes of this are rumination and recurring thoughts based on one’s own obligations, as well as the destructuring of working hours and excessive use of screens.
7. Gastric problems
The digestive system is very sensitive to stress and anxiety problems, so overwork feels like a blow to your functioning. This causes gas, diarrhea and other complications to appear. Not only are they annoying, but they very clearly affect all the other functions that take place in our body. Ultimately, we are what we eat, which includes how we assimilate food.
8. Cardiovascular problems
This problem is related to poor anxiety management, which becomes chronic, and to poor diet and exercise habits that are a consequence of lack of time to exercise and eat healthy. Hypertension is the alarm signal
