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Economic crisis stresses families
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October 26, 2009
"Financial crisis may increase mental health woes"
Reuters, Oct. 9, 2008
"Financial fears trickle down to kids"
MSNBC, Oct. 6, 2008
"PTSD Survey Shows Increase"
Army Reserve Family Programs (Online), March 12, 2008
"Foreclosure-Related Suicide: Sign of the Times?"
ABC News on Call, July 25, 2008
The headlines for 2009 haven't been any lighter!
Stress, burnout, and worry can wreck havoc on any workforce, and no one appears to be immune from feeling overwhelmed while at work. As a professional counselor, my purpose is to assist people in coping with the many difficult challenges we all face as part of life. As employees our work experiences expose us to a certain level of abnormal events that brings about stress reactions. Once the stress hits, people will respond out of learned habits for coping.
Just look around your workplace and it is not hard to notice frazzled employees who are in need of help. Our health is affected, blood pressure rise, fatigue sets in and productivity falls. Our bodies and minds are under tremendous strain.
Across the nation, counselors are becoming concerned that our country's financial problems could push those affected into states of increasing panic, and potentially violent. Mental health professionals are seeing an increase in stress related calls, Behavioral Health Hospital services are in high demand and domestic-violence shelters are full.
Consider just some of the today's causes of "on-the-job stress:"
• Strict deadlines
• Reduced manpower, but more responsibility
• Conflicts
• Not enough professional development
•The decline of 401k account balances
As an employee assistance professional, I have a chance to look into the window of the workplace to observe the types of reactions and impact of stress on workers.
The impact of our nation's financial crisis is an additional layer of stress that may overwhelm a person while dealing with an existing major life event such as a divorce, legal problems, health crisis or job change.
Recently I responded to a request for services related to a death in the workplace for a local prominent company. There, a well-liked employee, a man who others thought of as a strong leader, had committed suicide much to the shock of his coworkers. What I learned about the survivors was that they are consumed with stress. The cumulative effect of events such as financial strain, possibility of layoffs and then the death of a friend shut people down emotionally.
The first 72 hours after experiencing the impact of a crisis/death most people are in shock, emotional numbing takes place. Afterwards, the way a person copes will depend on his belief system, habits and perception of available resources.
Suicides are on the rise. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is increasing at an alarming rate. Depression is quickly becoming the No. 1 cause of employee absenteeism in corporate America and costing Businesses an average of $25,000 per employee.
Here are some quick notes on responding to stress:
Get motivated to pay off debt
If you don't have a compelling reason (other than more money in your pocket) to pay off personal debt, you may struggle harder to succeed at it. A compelling reason is a secret ingredient that empowers you to achieve a goal. Reducing debt is no exception.
Identify powerful, compelling, and tangible reasons to reduce your debt. Frequently repeat and remind yourself of these reasons.
Cast aside any thought that you won't succeed, and keep up with this script. Chances are you will become a lean, mean, debt-fighting machine.
Compress, conquer stress
Managing stress can include detaching from it, avoiding it, rethinking it, and escaping from it. But have you tried compressing it?
Identify tasks that you have been putting off, the ones that cause stress just thinking about them. Pursue them with a full frontal assault. This stress technique can work because you regain control over events that until now have been controlling your thoughts and even your mood.
Tags: Business
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