The Relationship Between Work Stress And The Most Common Psychopathologies
Work stress is recognized by the WHO as one of the most common problems in the workplace, a form of discomfort that millions of workers around the world experience daily.
It is a public health problem suffered by more than 45% of workers in all countries in the world, according to the Human Resources Observatory, and which decisively affects both their physical and mental health.
Currently, work stress is the second cause of sick leave in the European Union, and 28% of Europeans suffer from this problem. But in addition to making us feel bad and affecting our professional performance, Work stress is capable of interacting with various psychopathologies either facilitating its appearance or reinforcing those that the person had already developed before.
The link between work stress and psychological disorders
This is a brief summary about how work stress can be related to the main pathologies that arise in people’s mental health.
1. Generalized anxiety disorder
One of the main mental health disorders that develop in people with high levels of stress at work is included in anxiety disorders, and within this group, generalized anxiety disorder is the most common manifestation.
Not being able to relax either at work or in free time (because the person continues to think about their accumulated responsibilities and tasks and does not let their guard down) generates an apparent need to always be alert for possible unforeseen events that would generate extra work that we did not count on and from there general anxiety arises.
In addition to that, this anxiety can also be derived from a high level of excellence or performance at work promoted by superiors and bosses of all kinds, which can also generate fear and anguish in the person.
2. Major depression
The feeling of stagnation due to not being able to move forward in the face of all the accumulated work can lead to a feeling of vital stagnation and from there to major depression, a disorder that is also very common in people around the world.
Depression is one of the main mental health disorders and a workplace with an overload of tasks, a toxic work environment or high levels of demand can end up causing this pathology that is so serious for mental health.
3. Addictive disorders
Addictive disorders, whether chemical (such as drug addiction) or behavioral (such as gambling addiction), can also be caused by work stress in any worker.
This happens, again, in difficult work environments, where the worker does not feel fulfilled, has a lot of pressure, his superiors make his job difficult and demand a lot from him, or he is simply not happy in his position. The need to escape from any of these problems at work or having “extra energy” to better cope with work days can lead to drug addiction with substances such as alcohol or cocaine.
4. Obsessive-compulsive disorder
The search for perfectionism when working It can cause the development of an obsessive-compulsive disorder, a quite common phenomenon in jobs where the employee is subjected to great pressure.
The need to do things as well as possible, pathological perfectionism and a lack of rest are related to this disorder. It is important here to highlight the importance of resting correctly and disconnecting from time to time to avoid the appearance of cases of OCD.
5. Burnout Syndrome
Burnout syndrome is the classic disorder suffered by workers who are overloaded with work, responsibilities or tasks that they cannot delegate to anyone else or that they cannot cope with.
It is a mental health disorder in which Anxious and depressive symptoms combine whose effects on mental health and impact on the personality and motivation of workers are known by health professionals.
To avoid the appearance of Burnout syndrome or a burnt-out worker, it is important to rest properly, have time and space for oneself, not overload with work and be able to delegate accessory tasks to other colleagues or subordinates at all times.
6. Panic attacks
Panic attacks are mental health disorders that They are based on sudden and unexpected episodes of terror and very intense fear accompanied by other physical symptoms of discomfort and distress.
Panic attacks usually last from 5 to 20 minutes and even several hours and are related to high levels of work stress or from an unpleasant and traumatic experience that intensely affects the person.
7. Sleep disorders
Insomnia and cognitive deficits linked to lack of rest They can also appear after experiencing intense work stress for several days or weeks and can be very varied depending on the characteristics of each person.
The most common cognitive deficits are usually loss or decline in memory, decreased attention, loss of skills to solve problems quickly, or decreased skills in learning important concepts or information.
