How My Job Ravaged My Health: Is Your Job Making You Ill?

My job is making me sick. To be more specific, the stress of my job gives me headaches, heartburn, and frequent infections. Before starting this position two years ago, I was never ill. The only childhood illness I had was the Chicken Pox. During my adult life, I've only caught the common cold once every other year. My immune system was in top-notch condition, fighting every virus that threatened to enter my body.

In the past two years, I've had a colon infection, two ear infections, six colds, an ovarian infection, frequent heartburn and constant headaches. My energy level went down, my hair started shedding and I gained about 20 pounds. At first I didn't know what was going on until one of co-workers stated that they were in my same situation; she was the type that never was sick, now she is out sick at least once a month. It was then clear that the office was making us incredibly sick.

Stress can kill, literally. There may be many events in your life that your body responds to by activating the nervous system and certain hormones. Stress caused by emergency situations or momentary events isn't the one that is costing long-lasting effects. It is the stress overload of ongoing events, like divorce or a difficult boss, that wear out the body's reserve and weaken the immune system causing major problems down the road.

Stress overload, too much stress, is what I was dealing with at work. I was running into full burnout quickly and needed to take action to prevent this. Some of the signs that I ignored previously were anxiety, constant feeling of being pressured, moodiness, stomach problems, headaches, chest pain, sleeping problems, overeating, sadness and depression. I was experiencing all of this and didn't know the root of it. It was clearly time to see a doctor.

After visiting the doctor, I received solid advice on keeping down. The first thing I had to do was to identify my stressors; events that provoke stress. That was easy. I knew what and who provoked stress at work. Lots of people work in stressful jobs all over the world. The difference between having a stressful job and becoming overloaded with stress is how you deal with your stressors.

Some of the tips that you can use to help the negative effects that your stressful job will have on your health is to learn to relax and try not to do everything in one day. You probably can not eliminate stressors altogether, but you can keep stress under control. Relax, treat your body well with good food and exercise, get a good night's sleep, only solve the problems that you can and try to watch your outlook on the way things are. I know it sounds like the same old advice, but it is good advice. Stay positive and focus only on the things that are positive to you.