Are you noticing the warning signs?
A colleague recently suggested that your manager has a greater impact on your health than your doctor. Is it any wonder that leaders need to understand what causes and triggers stress? We need to recognise the signs, so we can take steps to reduce it – for ourselves and our people.
While some stress is essential to prevent boredom and encourage productivity, too much can be dangerous.
Chronic stress occurs when the level exceeds what we can comfortably sustain. For example, increased and continuous pressure at work can lead to chronic stress.
Stress provides us with plenty of warning signs. It’s like the metaphor of the feather, the brick and the truck.
I’ve had many instances of feather and brick.
For example, in my late 20s, my feather was that I was consistently lying awake at night, worried about all the work I needed to do.
The brick was having constant chest pains and my doctor giving me a warning that if I didn’t make some radical changes, I was on the fast track to having a stroke. At 29.
I listened and made some big decisions – quitting my job, ditching the dodgy boyfriend, moving to Brisbane.
These decisions mean I didn’t get hit by the truck, unlike one friend who had a stress-related stroke in her late twenties, or another friend who had a SCAD (spontaneous coronary artery dissection) heart attack at fifty-three. (I had never heard of a SCAD heart attack until this friend had one two years ago. The trigger is usually a short period of extreme stress. More than ninety per cent of people afflicted are female, in their forties or early fifties, appear healthy and have no other risk factors.)
With good levels of self-awareness, we are more likely to recognise the feathers. Some of the more common are:
Consistently working long hours. An occasional ten to twelve-hour day is fine, but continually working more than eight hours a day means something is wrong. This level of work is just not sustainable.
A decline in work performance. You start doing ‘busy’ work rather than deep work
You’re moody and grumpy with increased mood swings, and you might cry a lot
Difficulty sleeping – either getting to sleep or staying asleep
Headaches
Excessive hair loss
Drinking more alcohol or coffee than usual
Chest pains or heart palpitations
Grinding your teeth (My dentist told me she fitted more patients for mouth guards during the first eighteen months of Covid than in the previous fifteen years.)
A feeling of overwhelming sadness
The inability to make even simple decisions.
If you notice any of these symptoms for a prolonged period, get to your doctor. And if you are struggling with anxiety and not sure what to do next, please seek professional support.
In Australia, you can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or use its anonymous online chat service (available between 7pm and midnight AEST) at www.lifeline.org.au. You can also visit Beyond Blue’s website, www.beyondblue.org.au, for additional support. For crisis assistance, call 000.
Talking with someone (such as your doctor, a trusted friend or a representative at your employee assistance program) who tells you you’re not going completely crazy can be therapeutic and reassuring. Your doctor can refer you to a psychologist or psychiatrist and prescribe medications. In Australia, you may be eligible for a Mental Health Treatment Plan, which gives you Medicare rebates for support from psychologists and other health professionals. For more information, go to www.healthdirect.gov.au.
Please don’t be afraid to ask for help if you’re struggling.
It could save your life.
