TRAINING & EDUCATION
Mental health Stressed out!
For many people, work related stress can become an unbearable burden. All too often we feel we must just keep our heads down and carry on with the job in hand, despite knowing deep down that we are struggling. Peter Britton suggests that this can often lead to tragic consequences should it go unrecognised and untreated
T
he Health and Safety Executive tell us that work related stress is defined as “The adverse reaction people have to excessive pressure of work or other types
of demands placed on them”, which is all very well but, when a person is suffering from stress, surely it is difficult to separate work from personal life?
If you are stressed from your home life, for whatever reasons - financial, relationship, troublesome children and such forth - then it is pretty much impossible to not take those anxieties into the workplace. Conversely, problems at work are easily brought to the supper table.
Essentially, when stress is triggered as a result of work pressures, it can be due to a number of reasons, such as long hours, excessive workloads, tight deadlines, organisational change, lack of support, harassment/bullying to name a few.
Many may be forgiven, in today’s economic climate, for feeling ‘grateful’ to have a job at all and, therefore all too easily, the added pressures of working life get accepted rather than questioned. Some may even consider it a weakness to suggest that they are unable to cope with the added pressures.
However, with the exception of the top echelons of the turfcare industry, many sports facilities are themselves, under financial pressure and this often results in ‘stress managing stress’; turfcare professionals are often expected to ‘make do’ with outdated machinery, staffing numbers are reduced and the finances can’t be found to complete meaningful renovations, let alone ongoing maintenance.
The first thing you need to do is recognise that you are suffering from stress, and that may not always be easy. A feeling of anxiety in the run-up to an important event is an understandable and expected reaction, but if that feeling continues on ‘normal’ work days, then you are probably stressed.
128 PC October/November 2018 What are the signs and symptoms?
Often people don’t recognise the symptoms of work related stress and, instead, adopt a ‘coping’ mechanism, putting it down to just being extra busy and they should be able to cope. People can also convince themselves that it’s just for a short while until things get better but, more often than not, this is not the case.
Stress can manifest itself into various symptoms which can include:
• Insomnia leading to tiredness • Irritability or outbursts of anger • Sadness and high emotions (low mood) • Consuming too much caffeine or alcohol
• Poor productivity, accompanied by feelings of low achievement
• Prone to making mistakes
• Regular absence and a higher sickness rate
• Being accident-prone • Being cynical and defensive • Finding fault
• Ailments such as headaches, backache, indigestion, weight loss or gain, shortness of breath, regular or lingering colds.
If you recognise any of the above symptoms, then it is time for you to seek help; for yours and your family’s sake.
How can you get help?
The first thing you could do is talk to someone you trust about how you are feeling. At work, that could be your immediate superior, a colleague or a close friend; in your personal life, your partner, close family member or your mate down the pub. You may be surprised to learn that many will have experienced a similar situation.
Stress won’t go away unless it is recognised and managed. In extreme cases, it can lead to more challenging medical conditions and
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