Having a job and becoming successful in your role is part of being an adult, but it’s important to ensure that it doesn’t take a toll on your mental health. If you’re concerned that this may be happening, read on to see five signs that your job is affecting your mental health negatively.
1. You’re Suffering From Anxiety or Depression
The first sign that your job is taxing on your mental health is when you start to suffer from anxiety or depression at increased levels. Decreased motivation, hopelessness, chronic anger, and feeling like you’re not valued or a part of the team are some other pointers that you don’t enjoy being in the work environment you’re currently in. On average, job seekers spend an average of 11 hours per week trying to find the perfect job. If you find yourself spending similar lengths of time looking for a job while you’re currently employed, you may be looking for an escape from your current job due to it being stressful.
2. You’ve Gained or Lost Weight Unintentionally
Another sign you may be experiencing that is affecting your mental health at work is realizing that you’re either gaining or losing weight without intending to do so. Whether it’s a result of having a bad boss, co-workers you can’t relate with, or having a poor office culture, you may find yourself eating more or less than you need to. This will have an adverse effect on your weight, and over time, this can become a permanent problem for you and start to take a toll on your self-esteem and even physical health.
3. You Have Cognitive Dysfunction
Your cognitive abilities can take a blow when you work in a toxic environment. You may find yourself unable to concentrate on simple tasks, make more mistakes and miss things, and become increasingly distracted. When this happens, you may be suffering from the immense stress that comes from working a job that you don’t like at all. The fact that longer work hours are directly proportional to the amount of stress in individuals means that if stress is added to these hours, there will be an even bigger effect on their mental health. With about 1.8 billion websites operating around the world at the same time each day, it’s easy to find more signs that will let you know if you’re suffering from cognitive dysfunction online.
4. Your Immune System is Weak
A weakened immune system is a sign that you’re extremely stressed. This is because stress leaves you with fewer natural killer cells, among other issues. These cells are responsible for fighting viral infections and tumors. When exposed to high levels of stress for a long time, you will suffer from more issues with your immunity and experience bouts of illness and disease more often. With chronic stress, you develop poor sleeping and eating habits, both of which contribute even more to a more weakened immune system.
5. You’re Experiencing Hair Loss
Finally, hair loss can be a sign of chronic stress, so if you have hair loss along with one or more of the signs listed above, you’re likely experiencing hair loss as a result of stress at work. Note that every day, a person will typically lose between 50 to 100 scalp hairs. When this number is markedly higher, you need to consider looking for ways to de-stress while at work.
Your health is more important than any career you could ever have, so make sure that you prioritize good health over a job. If you suffer from extreme stress as a result of your job, consider changing it to see if you will experience improved health.