Perks and Panic Attacks: What Should We Do When Our Job is Making Us Sick?

The likelihood of a rosy future and a world of possibilities is part and parcel of the emotions we feel upon graduation. The promise of a new career and, in turn, a new life, can make us feel so much enthusiasm, but we can all make mistakes at this point, especially when it comes to our careers. Ambition can pave the way for illness, which is more commonly felt in the modern day, where you must dedicate more than your core hours as an unwritten rule. But doing too much, even if you think it is going to further your career, will undoubtedly wear you down in the long run. If we find ourselves in a role that is hitting our health, we have to take the right steps to improve our body, our mind, and our relationship with our careers.

Pinpoint the Source

We can all feel warning signs, perhaps a sense of panic during the commute or sickness brought on by stress. The impact of feeling stress at work does not just stop at feeling unwell; it can result in making mistakes in your job. While a workplace injury lawyer helps in working environments where people experience accidents as a result of poor leadership, if you can identify the root cause in your workplace that is causing you these sensations, you can start stepping in the right direction to solve those problems.

Minimize the Physical Symptoms of Stress

This is a critical part of those sensations we feel every single day, but tend to ignore. The problem when we don't sleep very well or feel sick in the mornings is warning signs that we can misinterpret or put to one side. When you identify what is happening to you based on your physical symptoms when you are doing certain tasks, for example, if you feel sick when you are preparing for a meeting with the boss, you can identify the patterns and work towards minimizing the physical symptoms with the right practices. For example, if you experience tense muscles or aches, you may want to try a tool like progressive muscle relaxation or practice calming yourself before the situations that ramp up your stress.

Setting Boundaries

An essential part of ensuring you are in control of your work, even if you are attempting to climb your way up the career ladder. Lots of people think nothing of checking their email before they even set foot out of bed, and if we get a message that we interpret as negative, it can set us up for a very downbeat day, to say the least. Setting boundaries that keep your work and home life as separate as possible ensures you separate the associations between the two. Many people check their emails late at night thinking they can get ahead the next day, but it is a slippery slope not to mention the blue light being emitted from your phone can stop you from falling asleep. If you have to work in the evening, you should set yourself a rule of using your phone for the last time two hours before sleep.

When Was the Last Time You Had a Break? 

It's a very obvious question to ask, but if you can't remember the last time you had a true break from your work, having time away allows you to step off the treadmill, regain composure, and understand better if your work is actually benefiting you. If your job is making you sick and it gets to the point where you feel physical pain you think will continue, you may have to decide if it's truly time to step away. Many people think about the money and make the mistake of using the paycheck at the end of the month as a reason to stick it out for yet another 30 days. By making a list of the things that your job gives you, good and bad, from perks to panic attacks, you can determine if your health is worth it in the long run.

Many of us step into the world of work thinking that it's all about knuckling down and that we will get to a comfy position as long as we overexert at the outset. The world of work is ultra-comparative and requires a lot of physical, mental, and emotional effort. Many of us believe that we have the fortitude to deal with whatever comes at us. But we don't size up the organization before we step into it. Whether you are the individual that works in sales having to hit ever-increasing targets or the marketing team member that is expected to work later than everyone else, whatever you choose as a career, if your job is making you sick, don't wait until it stops you in your tracks.