MichelleWRX1994

Forgot to mention I go to a gym, I tend to be able to deal with work a little bit better, but for the type of position I am in I shouldn't be under the pressure that we are under, even two of the others feel the same, the fourth retires very soon, so it is a case of stick it out till then.......

fast bloke

Chelle- Maybe if you spent less of your day posting on scoobynet (god forbid) you wouldn't be under so much pressure at work? On the other hand maybe the stress is caused by work getting in the way of posting

MichelleWRX1994

As far as I can see it has no real defined symptoms, I am off to see a stress counsellor but why will that help? because it won't remove the cause of the problem, only help me deal with it better?

But wouldn't it be better to cure rather than treat it?

I am looking for another job anyway as I am very unhappy in my current one.

If scoob has to go cos I take a drop in pay then I guess she goes, but it is better than working myself into the ground just to keep her

Michelle.

philc

a deep and brooding question for 3:35am in the morning - luckily it's 7:45pm over here on Friday night so the weekend beckons !!!

Stress at work - it s'posed to be due to having responsibility without the authority.

What can a stress counsellor do? Provide better coping mechanisms

Why not look for the cause? Probably because the cause is something like being frightened by a large dog at the age of six months. And how does knowing that help?

What's to look forward to? If the stress counsellor is worth his/her salt, he/she will talk about stress, adrenalin and the nervous system. And that some people pay mega-dollars to go bungy-jumping, rollercoaster riding or fast car driving to achieve the same adrenalin rush you are achieving by just being stressed.

So - ENJOY - stress is cheap (and less dangerous).

And the end result is - if you enjoy the stress, the stress goes away.

It's all very paradoxical.

regards

The psychiatrist is in - 5c (pls refer Peanuts for this reference)

kav

Chin up! Things will get better.

What do you do, BTW?

Cheers
Kav

astraboy

Michelle,
I too get down at work from time to time. Wont go into the reasons here but the cure is V simple for me and it might work for you too. take the scoob to the nearest smooth grassy knoll, partake in as many donuts as you can get away with before the illuminous army turn up, safe in the knowledge that you aint killin your tyres in the process.
It works for me. There is a grass carpark near me which is dead smooth, open till 8.30 at night and has no carpark attendent. Red rag, bull etc
Hope you feel better soon enough Michelle.
astraboy.

KimA

Michelle,

I truly hope things start to look up for you soon. No job is worth becoming ill over (it happened to me - I, eventually, thought "this is stupid, it's only a job" and got myself a new one - now couldn't be happier, well...)

What do you do for a living? Am sure most of us on here would be glad to help you out if we can.

Take care of yourself.
Kim

fast bloke

I used to have a t-shirt which defined stress as follows

Stress - the condition which arises when the brain overrides the body's basic desire to kick the living **** out of some a55hole who really deserves it.

This was quite close to the truth.

Chelle - there are two distinct forms of stress -
Physiological - Too much adrenalin being constantly released into the bloodstream. A burst of adrenalin (say a bungy jump) causes the fight or flight syndrome. You blood pressure goes up, blood starts pumping to your muscles, your mind becomes more alert etc etc. This sudden rush also releases endorphins, the substance which makes you feel good. If you have a stressful job, you get a constant stream of adrenalin, or repeated bursts. You become acclimatised to this, and the endorphins are never released, your blood pressure stays constantly high your body stays in a state of readyness to fight or run and you end up with no energy to do anything.
This starts to have a mental effect. You worry about having no energy, not being able to do everything you feel you should etc etc. You then start worrying about worrying. You need to sort this out or you will become depressed.

Physiological stress is the easier of the two to deal with. Most people find exercise is the quickest way to make an improvement. You can also do this through having a good diet,(cut down on stimulants - caffine - nicotine etc. These have only increase the effects of adrenalin) or a complete change of lifestyle (change jobs, cars, move house) but you can't do this every time you get stressed. Go to a gym or take up a contact sport - boxing/martial arts. After a session in the gym or beating the crap out of a punchbag or someone else, your body does the decent thing and releases the endorphins. You feel good. Do this regularly and the long term effects will gradually diminish. Aerobic exercise (treadmill/ bike/ go running etc) will also increase your body'd metabolic rate. One side effect of this will be that the adrenalin will be broken down more quickly, so a stressful day at work won't be having an effect hours later.

Once you have started to deal with the physiologial effects you can start looking at the mental effects. This is where a stress counsellor can really help. Break your job down into all its component parts. Are there any of these which would cause you stress? probably not if they are taken individually. Chances are that the overall workload or responsibility are the main causes of stress. Once you have identified where the issues are occuring go and talk to your boss. Generally the people who are given the workload and the responsibility are the star performers. Bosses will keep heaping on work until something gives. Explain the problem clearly and your boss will more than likely help by sharing the workload or responsibility with someone else. If your boss is too short sighted to see the benefits of this, then a change of jobs may be in order. Don't change before you go through this process. The next job may be as bad or worse.

I hope this helps - constant stress is not a nice thing to go through. You might also want to talk to your G.P. Beta blockers are a useful short term fix which again can be a help to get you started dealing with the actual causes.

MichelleWRX1994

Hi all,

thanks for the replies, I am wiser to what stress is, though it seems to come out in various symptoms.....

Asthma worsening, raised blood pressure (at my age!!!!!!), general lethargy, aching and so on.

Beta blockers would be no use to me as they would not work in conjuction with my asthma treatment.

I am not too keen to see a counsellor as I don't really believe they would help me, I need to get away from the job, even a manager who is a close friend said it would be best to get another job where I would enjoy the work and be happier........

I would like to get into Health and safety as I have my NEBOSH certificate and am on the works committee.

We'll see.......off to the docs today

Michelle.

MichelleWRX1994

No worries there........

Internet access is denied so I can only post away from work............

Maybe it is because I CAN'T post on scoobynet.....hmmmm

fast bloke

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:<HR>Originally posted by MichelleWRX1994:
<B>
Maybe it is because I CAN'T post on scoobynet.....hmmmm[/quote]

Problem solved. Tell your boss you need full time acces or you will need to go off sick for 6 months with stress related depression.

CharlieWhiskey

'chelle you need to get a nice cushy 9-5 Monday to Friday job, so you can have every weekend free for all the Scooby meets you have said you are going to

Your NEBOSH cert should be useful, I will ask about as I have a friend in that line of work.

MichelleWRX1994

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:<HR>Originally posted by fast bloke:
<B> Problem solved. Tell your boss you need full time acces or you will need to go off sick for 6 months with stress related depression. [/quote]

Nice idea but I want to avoid that route as having time off due to stress does not look good in an interview.

Combination of post-traumatic shock whatever that is!!!! General low health, asthma especially - our office is so dusty it is untrue, and it gets cleaned!!!! And the pressure our work is putting us under, there has been a semi-take over from our customer, adding stress to us all.
Then trouble with the car.

Things will look up soon, Charliewhiskey, I would be grateful if you could do that, thanks

Michelle.

Suresh

'chelle,

Stress is what you make it (please read further).

I used to work for a major investment bank with the salary and stress that went with it. Occasionally, I had to work more than 24 hours continously to get the job done, which reduced my lifespan quite considerably (coming home from work, looking quite grey in the face made the wife-to-be scared).

Eventually I quit, used the bonus money to take an MBA (and owned a scoob whilst studying), inclusive 3 months in Oz and a 3 month honeymoon in India.

I now work in a different country, earn waaay less money and, guess what? I actually have time to enjoy my life.

Even though you may fell bad about taking a step back, no amount of money can pay for your health.

Wish you the best of luck with whatever decision you choose to make. Personally, I have no regrets about my decisions.


Suresh

Chip

Chelle,
The way I see it stress is just a modern trendy type of illness that everyone seems to have these days. Every day you read about some so called star booking in to a stress clinic for treatment as they have been suffering from overwork and exhaustion. Still i suppose it gets them in the papers doesn't it.

The older generation didn't seem to suffer with stress. They just got on with their lives and think what they had to go through.

Seriously though if you are suffering then I really hope that you manage to get over it and things get better for you. I was just trying to point out that a lot people that claim to have stress are just craving attention which takes away genuine concern for the people that are really suffering.

Anyway get well soon and we'll see you down in South Wales soon.

Cheers

Geoff.

BOB.T

I don't know owt about stress but I can give you a nice hug if you like?

Bob

MichelleWRX1994

Cheers Bob

With regards to stress, I think the symptoms of it and the actual diagnosis is far to sketchy for me to turn around and say I agree that I have stress..........

I know I don't feel physically or emotionally prepared to tackle the situations I am faced with at work.......I just hope that sooner rather than later issues I have are resolved and things look upwards.

Michelle.

BarryK

Older generations didn't suffer from stress?

Perhaps it was because they weren't constantly nagged by assorted media to rush everywhere, for no apparent reason, get every jobof work you can think of done in the same day, keep fit, don't smoke, don't drink, don't gamble. TV programmes that tell you not to watch TV.

Don't be yourself, be what somebody else tells you to be. This all pervading crap even ends up infecting those around you who want you to do everything the same as them.

Well, gollocks to the lot of them, eat lard, smoke tabs and drink beer. Oh and read Dilbert on how to work "smarter".

Oh, but older generations did suffer stress.
BUT they weren't allowed by social mores to express it. Women went nuts from being kept indoors, men went to the pub on a Friday night.

Plus ca change eh?