How to know when you suffer from a work stress problem due to excessive tasks

Many people suffer from excess work stress in modern Western societies. It is an affectation that can be caused in part by the high demands at work, a mismatch between the amount of work to be done and the organization's own resources person. In addition, in many cases, the person who suffers it is not fully aware that he is overwhelmed by her responsibilities, which perpetuates the problem.

Manifestations of work stress generated by work overload They are varied, and all of them can affect the person both emotionally, cognitively or physically. Knowing them first-hand can help us detect this phenomenon in our daily lives and remedy it as soon as possible.

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Know the 10 typical signs of work stress due to excess tasks

The truth is that excess work stress constitutes an alteration that, If left untreated, it can become a real cause of discomfort and suffering in the worker, and that increases the risk of developing severe psychopathologies.

If you are interested in knowing the warning signs linked to an excess of work responsibilities that can generate stress problems, read on. Of course, keep in mind that each of them by itself is not a sufficient reason to assume that this is the type problem that you suffer, and that the definitive diagnosis can only be made by health professionals mental; however, having a global vision of these elements will help you understand what is happening to you.

1. Lack of concentration

Lack of concentration is one of the most common cognitive indicators of stress and anxiety. And it is that the intrusive thoughts related to what worries us "pull our attention" constantly, which hinders the performance of any fairly complex task.

This is one of the most defining and influential signs of stress in the person, since a decrease in cognitive or intellectual abilities will also negatively affect emotional, psychological or Social.

Other experiences related to inattention are the reduction in the effectiveness to solve problems, decreased field of perception, frequent forgetfulness and less effectiveness in the processes of taking decisions.

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2. Psychosomatic reactions

A high level of work stress is also usually responsible for the appearance of a series of very noticeable organic alterations in the body of the person, with psychological causes, which in turn prevent the performance of the work in optimal conditions.

Some of these psychosomatic signs are: headache, muscle tension, increased heart rate, rapid and shallow breathing, chronic fatigue, increased blood pressure or abnormal patterns of sleep.

If these psychosomatic phenomena have arisen shortly after you have taken responsibility for more tasks, it is your problem is most likely an excess of stress caused by an unreasonable number of goals labor.

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3. Emotional manifestations

In addition to the physical consequences and cognitive performance, stress is the cause of a series of diverse emotional manifestations linked to psychological rumination: the predisposition to “spin” an idea over and over again, without being able to escape it.

There are many emotional signs that indicate the presence of work stress in a person, among the most important are: an increase in irritability, greater sensitivity to stimuli and distractions, sudden mood swings, a very common feeling of anguish and a tendency to actively seek distractions that allow us to stop thinking about what we are worries.

The signs of work stress that we have seen so far usually appear together and feed back into each other. That is, a deficit in cognitive skills can cause difficulties on an emotional level due to the accumulation of tasks, which in turn leads to physical symptoms due to the constant state of activation of the system highly strung.

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4. Lack of a clear reference on how much is 'too much work'

Another possible red flag that can cause work stress occurs when the employee begins to feel that work overwhelms him and that he cannot do anything to prevent it, in part because he does not have a clear notion of what is the line of tasks to be carried out that he should not cross (or, if he did, he is constantly moving it without relying on reasoning consistent).

This happens on many occasions when the person uses their moments of rest to continue advancing the accumulated work, which with the passage of time it ends up perceiving as endless but at the same time inevitable.

In this phase, the person interprets that he has lost control of the situation at work and conceives himself powerless and unable to successfully perform their obligations, another of the classic and most identifying indicators of stress labor.

5. Unable to delegate tasks

The majority of employees who cannot delegate tasks in their work because they do not want to expose themselves to the risk of something that they do not control go wrong, end up taking care of everything themselves, both new and old tasks, a fact that generates an emotional overflow linked to the stress.

The possibility of delegating tasks to other people is one of the organizational mechanisms of any company or work group, and thanks to it, employees are usually able to be more productive and work in better conditions, ordering their priorities.

6. Constantly thinking about work

People who are constantly and solely thinking about work, even in their free hours, usually present a case of work stress, so it is advisable that they consult with a specialist.

Normally, this obsession with the tasks and obligations of the job is caused by the state of discomfort that they generate in the person during their workday, and not because of how exciting the job. And often, said suffering is transferred to all areas of his lifeeven to your personal relationships at home and with friends.

7. Sacrifice hours of sleep

Some employees decide to sacrifice too many hours of sleep to advance accumulated work, since those periods spent sleeping are wrongly perceived as wasted time. This mechanism is usually counterproductive, since lack of sleep always negatively influences the quality of work and time management.

By the time this practice becomes very common and directly affects the well-being or health of the person, is when we can be talking about a case of work stress due to excess job.

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8. Self-deception

Self-deception is another of the classic symptoms that usually occur in people with work-related stress problems and who at the same time mix their professional and personal aspects.

Many people who suffer from this condition usually console themselves thinking that in the future they will have less work and that the saturation of tasks they are currently experiencing is transitory.

This phenomenon usually generates states of frustration or emotional disturbances of all kinds when the person realizes that this self-delusional thought about job improvement was nothing more than a delusion.

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9. Consideration of stimulant use for work reasons

Consuming stimulant substances like coffee or tea at work is a totally standardized and very popular practice carried out by millions of people in their fields of job.

However, when the person begins to consider the use of psychostimulants that fall within the category of drugs To work at a faster pace and to be able to carry out all the tasks, we are surely facing a case of work stress due to overwork.

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10. Social problems

The emotional, cognitive or physical manifestations caused by work stress usually also cause in the field of social relationships, both inside and outside of work.

People with work-related stress also become more irritable in their daily lives, a fact that negatively affects their social or emotional relationships, even ending them.

The solution is through psychotherapy

Psychotherapy is one of the most effective solutions to help the person overcome work stress and mental health experts.

In case of work-related stress, a psychotherapist can help you manage both your emotions and your habits related to work management, as well as identifying the causes specific problems of the problem, providing organizational guidelines, healthy habits and tools for structuring tasks and setting limits adapted to the capacities of each person.

If you are interested in having psychotherapy services, please contact me; my name is Javier Ares and I offer the possibility of conducting face-to-face or online sessions by video call.