The Most Common Psychological Problems In Senior Executives
People under high pressure are more likely to develop certain psychological disorders. This is the case of senior executives, managers and other highly responsible positions.
Below we will compile the most common diagnoses that usually occur in this type of people due to the characteristics of their jobs and their lifestyle.
What are the most frequent psychopathologies among senior executives?
Executives, managers and other profiles at the highest business level are subject to daily routines that facilitate the appearance of a series of pathologies. We’ll see What are the most common psychological problems in senior executives and related positions?.
1. Anxiety
It is not surprising that the first psychological pathology that we encounter when talking about people who live by and for their work is anxiety. These individuals will tend to live in a constant state of alert, continually anticipating possible situations related to their work environment and decisions that must be made to always achieve the best results.
This overactivation, logically, is not something that the body or mind can withstand for a sustained period of time. without there being a series of consequences, some physical, and others psychological. The most common psychological symptoms of anxiety are a constant feeling of guilt, worry, and overwhelm. Sometimes you can fear loss of control and even think that you may die.
Among the most common psychological problems in senior executives, anxiety causes these people to be restless, irritable, have trouble concentrating and feel like they forget some things. They may also experience motor blockages, which feeds back into the feeling of anxiety, establishing a vicious circle.
2. Depression
Depression is, along with anxiety, one of the most frequent mental disorders, so it is logical to think that it is another of the most common psychological problems in senior executives and in fact it is not unusual for the two to appear together, since Anxious-depressive symptomatology is one of the conditions that psychologists encounter most often in their consultations.
Depression is characterized by a mood of general sadness, feelings of guilt and unhappiness, sometimes as a result of a traumatic event and other times without a clear cause, but which can perfectly fit with a draining lifestyle that ends up exhausting the individual’s mental defenses. The case of senior managers would be a profile in which this disease could emerge if the necessary precautions are not taken to avoid it.
3. Obsessive compulsive disorder
Another of the most common psychological problems in senior executives would be OCD or obsessive-compulsive disorder, which would actually be related to anxiety disorders but with very specific characteristics, which is why the DSM-5 diagnostic manual gives it a category. independent. In this case, People develop a series of irrational obsessions that they try to appease through compulsive behaviors..
These obsessions or circular thoughts saturate the minds of these individuals, preventing them from focusing on other issues normally, which is why they develop rituals or compulsions to try to leave those thoughts behind and be able to focus on the issues at hand. For a person like a manager who needs maximum mental capacity, intrusive thoughts represent a big problem.
OCD is not a disease that affects as many people as anxiety itself.but it is common for those people who have a greater propensity to suffer from it to see it even more facilitated by a high level of stress maintained over time, which is precisely the lifestyle that a manager usually leads, hence this is one of the most common psychological problems in senior executives.
4. Narcissistic personality disorder
The fourth psychological alteration that we would find would be narcissistic personality disorder. In this case we are talking about a psychological alteration that affects the personality of the person who makes him perceive himself with an importance beyond that which corresponds. The individual who suffers from this disorder usually believes himself to be the center of the world, with qualities that few or no one else possesses.
Not only that, but he needs others to make him see how special he is, so praise will almost be a requirement. This feeling, furthermore, causes a tendency to consider that his rights are greater than those of his neighbor and will therefore expect better treatment than anyone else, simply for being who they are.
He will have little or no empathy and will expect his subordinates to be 100% involved in the company’s tasks, regardless of their personal lives, health status or other issues. Indeed, it is a profile that could fit some senior managers in some companies, so narcissistic personality disorder could not be missing as one of the most common psychological problems in senior executives.
What elements of the professional context generate these alterations?
After addressing the most common psychological problems in senior executives, we must know the bases that make these people have a greater tendency to suffer from certain pathologies than the rest of the population. We are talking about a profile of a person who usually works many more hours a day than would make up a typical work daywhich is generally 8 hours.
These individuals, on the other hand, may spend 10, 12, or even 14 hours in the office. It is also common for them to move between different locations, sometimes internationally, which involves traveling by plane, sometimes even changing time zones, with the consequent jet lag. Time is everything and they generally rush from one place to another to arrive on time for all meetings, and may have several in the same day.
Besides, This implies very poor sleep., supplemented with large doses of coffee, which only acts as a patch, since nothing works like a restful sleep. It is not only the lack of sleep, it is also that this situation is usually accompanied by a nutrition that can be greatly improved, because sometimes, in order not to lose a single minute of work, the intake is carried out very quickly or sometimes it does not even take place, which which is even worse.
As if that were not enough, the issues dealt with at work on a day-to-day basis are of great sensitivity, involving making decisions of enormous significance, which can mean the rise or fall of the company’s stock market, million-dollar profits or losses, and being able to close agreements. essential with other companies or even have in their hands the possibility of achieving or losing projects that involve many jobs.
Handling all these issues constantly is something that not all minds are prepared to do. Even the strongest ones can suffer a series of consequences, which are some of the most common psychological problems in senior executives and that we have previously seen in detail.
The last factor would be free time. Disconnection from work, so important to clear the mind after an exhausting day at work, is something that many executives do not have. Endless days in the office are followed by moments at home in which this person does not disconnect. You use your phone or computer to answer calls or emails, review documents, or try to move forward on different projects.
The same thing happens during the holidays. These individuals never really disconnect from work, because they think that their tasks are essential for the company and therefore they do not usually take days off and if they do, the same thing happens as when they get home: they are looking at their laptop or their phone. smartphone, so they simply move their workplace to another location.
This factor also affects their personal and family lives., because sometimes they have problems getting involved as much as they would like and thus being able to enjoy more time and quality, for example with their children, their partners, their friends, etc. This could enhance the discomfort that the person already feels with the situation, since it would go from affecting only him to involving third parties.
In short, we are talking about people with responsibilities of the highest level, who travel constantly, sleep little, do not have healthy eating habits, who can barely or know how to disconnect, with hardly any vacations or free time with their own family. It seems like an extraordinary breeding ground for generating a whole series of pathologies that we have seen and that represent the most common psychological problems in senior executives.
