Signs You Might Be Depressed

Depression and mental illnesses do not manifest in a way that is easily understood from the outside. There are many instances where we’re already at that stage without any noticeable symptoms.

In fact, university studies mention that most depressed patients don’t initially seek medical help for depression. Most people think they have something wrong physically and later find out the root cause was mental. This is called “masked depression.”

Consider that you might be depressed if you notice the following signs:

・You Repeatedly Make Mistakes You Never Used To Make

When we’re depressed our attention scatters, leading us to make more mistakes to perform badly. It can be small mistakes from misspelling to missing details or big mistakes like sending the wrong email to a client or forgetting an important appointment.

These mistakes can bleed into our personal life as well. Even when someone points out the mistake, we oftentimes don’t have the capacity to process what’s pointed out. Eventually, this leads to a path of more mental hardships.

・You’ve Noticed A Change In The Amount of Food You Eat

A university study indicates that when we’re depressed, we tend to overeat or crave sweets. This means that there is a correlation between the amount we eat and our mental state. There’s no doubt we need food to live, but overeating is an unhealthy habit. Weight gain and physical difficulties that come with it can become additional stress if we’re not careful enough.

・You Have Less Communication with Co-Workers

When work gets to us, we naturally distance ourselves from it and communicate less with co-workers. Even if you are an extrovert, if you find yourself being less communicative, declining work-related social engagements, it could be because you’re depressed.

5 Ways To Relieve Stress When You Feel Depressed

If you notice the signs of stress or depression, it’s best to get rid of them as early as possible. Stress coping methods differ for each person, but if you’re unsure of where to start from, below are some methods you can try.

1. Find a Hobby to Enjoy on Your Own

If work is bringing you down, allocate time for hobbies where you can completely distance yourself from the difficulties at work. It can be an outdoor or indoor activity, but ideally, it should be an enjoyable activity that is easy to incorporate into your routines.

If you don’t have any hobbies like that, we recommend books and movies. “Cry sessions” through reading books and watching movies, are known to be healthy for our mental wellbeing. Comedic movies can make us laugh and bring down our stress hormone levels. A dive into an enjoyable world will help us feel less stressed.

2. Get Enough Sleep

We all feel terrible after making big mistakes at work. If it’s a matter of our incapability, we can always take the time to grow and learn. If it’s because we’re mentally unwell, it’s solvable.

One of the most important activities for health is sleep. According to a university study, when people continue with 4-6 hours of sleep for 2 weeks, the brain function drops to as if it were pulling all-nighters for 1-2 days. In other words, unless we sleep for at least 7 hours per day, we’re carrying on with our lives under a strong stress state.

If you want to sleep but have trouble falling asleep, we recommend that you start scheduling your sleep. We share tips and tricks on that in our past blog post:

3. Have an Internal Conversation With Yourself

It’s difficult to understand ourselves from an objective perspective. Many realize the difficulties they’re going through, only after someone else points it out.

To avoid this, we recommend having a continual dialogue with yourself using methods of “self-talk.” It’s simple. All you have to do is talk to yourself in an encouraging and compassionate tone. Canadian university research shows the effectiveness of this method too.

There are many ways you can hold conversations with yourself. Talking to yourself from a second-person perspective is known to be helpful. To learn more of how to do this, check out our past post:

4. Talk With Friends Outside of Work

The basic and most effective way to release stress is to talk to friends. It may not be appropriate for you to speak about work stress to co-workers, but you can always rely on your friends from other social circles. The content of what you say doesn’t matter. The most important thing is for you to “feel better” after speaking to them.

Direct conversations with them will alleviate stress and help you gain an objective perspective on your problems. Constructively explaining what has happened and why you are feeling the way you do, will help you organize your thoughts. You might even find a positive outlook in the end!

5. Talk to a Mental Health Professional

If none of the 4 methods above work, we recommend seeking professional help.

The National Health Institute (NIH) lists ways to seek help via phone and text. They also provide guidelines in finding professional help.

If that seems like a jump to you, there are apps that can casually help. SELF MIND is an AI chatbot that assists your mental health journey. For working adults, it can be difficult to find time to go see a professional, and with this, you can converse casually throughout the day to see how you’re feeling.
→Check SELF MIND in app store

Health Is Wealth, Its Okay to Let Go

When we overthink, we tend to corner ourselves into feeling low.

Get out and enjoy your hobbies and get good sleep. Find ways to enjoy your time on your own terms, and hopefully, this will lead you to more mental and physical vitality.

References：

Konishi, K., & Hyakutake, A. (2015). Factors Associated with Depression and Atypical Depression in Japanese University Students. Showa Woman’s University Departmental Bulletin Paper, 902, 21–33. https://swu.repo.nii.ac.jp/?action=pages_view_main&active_action=repository_view_main_item_detail&item_id=6026&item_no=1&page_id=30&block_id=97

Nakao, M. (2004). Industrial Mental Health in an Information-oriented Society : Relationship between Depression and Perceived Somatic Symptoms. Japanese Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine, 44(10), 735–744. https://doi.org/10.15064/jjpm.44.10_735

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How to Spot Power Harassment

There are 6 types of actions that qualify as power harassment:

• Psychological abuse
• Physical abuse
• Elaborate demands (Demands that exceed a person’s skill or capabilities)
• Miniscule tasks (Tasks that limit a person’s skill or qualifications)
• Socially isolating a person
• Invasion of privacy

In this article, we will focus on power harassment based on these 6 types.

The Boss Thinks They’re “Teaching You A Lesson”

Type: Psychological abuse, physical abuse, elaborate demands

When you hear that there’s power harassment at a workplace, what situation first comes to mind? Many might think of a boss excessively criticizing a worker over their small mistake. No one wants to “excessively” chastise a person and there is a possibility that the boss is not aware of their power harassing actions. What they may think as a “teaching moment” turns into power harassment when they are unconsciously abusing their position of power.

On the other hand, it can be tricky for a boss when things get misinterpreted. A boss may hand over a challenging project with good intentions so that a person could grow towards taking the next steps in their career. Unfortunately, some employees may take this as a power harassing “elaborate demand” pushed upon them.

Lacks in the Ability to Assess Yet Oblivious to It

Type: Elaborate demands and minuscule tasks

It can be considered power harassment if a boss demands an unfair task to a new employee that hasn’t been taught the task yet, or if a boss keeps asking a well-experienced person to do only minuscule tasks.

It’s okay if you’ve already agreed on these kinds of arrangements, but if a boss can’t allocate proper work fit for a person’s skill, it probably means that they lack the capability to assess their employee’s skills.

Yes, there are cases where a boss may intentionally give out these tasks that don’t match a person’s qualifications. However, the most common reason this trouble occurs is when the boss is very talented himself, yet has low management skills.

They’re Insensitive to Begin With

Type: Psychological abuse, socially isolating a person, invasion of privacy

This kind of power harassment happens when a boss is incapable of thinking about what another person may feel due to their actions. They may mock an employee directly or ask unnecessarily personal questions.

The root cause of this type of harassment lies in a boss’s personality. In this case, an employee should go consult someone else who is in an adequate position to help them improve the situation.

5 Power Harassment Prevention Methods You Can Use Right Away

Most victims of power harassment never take action because they think that, “there’s no way to fix the problem.” If you don’t take action, the power harassment will continue until you leave the position. To protect your own mental well-being, the following methods may help prevent a situation before it escalates.

1. Tell Your Boss What You Really Think

As mentioned above, most times bosses may be acting a certain way without noticing what
consequences their actions are causing. Letting them know how you’re feeling is important in this case.

Let them know specifically what’s bothering you whether it’s an action they take, words they say, or if it’s simply a matter of tasks that seem unfit to your skills. Specific details will allow a boss to make improvements on their own actions.

Some bosses can affect more than one person. If there are others suffering from power harassment by the same boss, try to help each other out.

2. Keep A Detailed Record of Your Harassment

If excessive power harassment leads to PTSD or other mental illnesses, you can sue them for it.
The court case will look into whether there were grounds for power harassment or not. Keep a daily record of the harassment that you took. This will serve as proof in court.

The best proofs are visual or sound recordings of the incidents. If it’s difficult to record, the next best thing is a written record whether it be in a notebook or your smartphone. When you keep a written record, try to include the following points:

・Date and time
・A detailed description of the location
・People who were present in that same location
・Detailed specifics of the harassment (including conversations)
・How the harassment made you feel

Try to keep all recordings truthful to facts and avoid coloring the situation with biased expressions. This will enhance the reliability of your recordings.

3. Talk to Others In A Different Division or Report to HR

If you have difficulty speaking directly to your boss, you can raise your concerns to a person in HR or a different division that can help.

Research shows that people with high self-efficacy tend to try and go solve problems on their own instead of relying on others. Power harassment may not solve immediately when you raise your concerns, but external help will lead to improvements in the long run.

The courage to step forward is essential in combating power harassment.

4. Find Aspects That Your Respect of Your Boss

This may sound contradictory, but “getting to know your boss” can be an effective alternative approach. Power harassments commonly occur when a boss and their subordinates lack communication. In other words, a lack of trust can lead to power harassment.

It takes both sides, but you can build trust towards your boss on your end by finding aspects you respect about them. It’s difficult to see the good in people when we keep focusing on the negative aspects. Your boss has earned their way into a management position, so surely, there is something attractive or good about them. When we respect someone, we can start to trust them enough to understand why they act the way they do.

Trust can create a 180-degree changed perspective of an incident. If you start liking your boss, you may no longer feel that you’re being harassed.

5. File A Complaint with The U.S. EEOC

If there are no harassment procedures in place or adequate people you can talk to, there are places outside of the office where you can raise your concerns. If you’re in the US, consider filing a complaint with the EEOC. The EEOC will investigate your claim and work with your employer to put an end to the situation. If it still continues then, the EEOC will advise you to sue your employer.

If you feel hesitant about talking to a person, AI (Artificial Intelligence) counseling may be a helpful alternative. It can listen to your problems without any restrictions on time schedule, or location. It’s an affordable alternative counseling method with a free trial period. Give it a try!
→ SELF MIND

Don’t Bear Through Power Harassment

There is no need to bear through power harassment. It only harms your mental and makes you incapable of thriving. We hope that the methods mentioned in this post will help you face your power harassment issues starting tomorrow!

References:

Hara, M. (1969). Significance of Legislating Measures to Prevent Power Harassment. Seikei University: The Journal of Law, Political Science and Humanities, 90, 183–196. https://iss.ndl.go.jp/books/R000000004-I029808675-00

Sekine, A., & Naganuma, Y. (2015). Which factors inhibit talking about workplace victimization? The Proceedings of the Annual Convention of the Japanese Psychological Association, 79(0), 1EV – 060. https://doi.org/10.4992/pacjpa.79.0_1ev-060

The post 5 Ways to Combat Power Harassment at Work appeared first on SELF MIND.

Reasons Why Mid-Management Positions Are Stressful

Mid-management positions face more stress from multiple directions and this can cause their mental health to deteriorate. Here are a few reasons why this happens.

You Feel Trapped Between Your Boss and Subordinates

As the word “mid” suggests, mid-management positions work through constantly feeling sandwiched between their boss and subordinates. Oftentimes, tasks under this condition can feel unpleasant.

For example, even if you visioned a great working environment for your subordinates that considered their mental well-being if the boss only valued productivity, you can’t direct a working environment that’s best for the workers. This kind of contradiction can create a lot of stress.

Your Position Requires Long Work Hours

Mid-managing positions like a general manager often require a person to multi-task several roles while managing a team. They’ve already made it up to this position by proving their worth, and they may have high standards to start off with. Work hours can extend incredibly long hours while they try to meet their own tasks and take care of subordinates at the same time. This kind of environment causes difficulties when it comes to mental health.

A university study concluded that when a person in a mid-management position worked for more than 10 hours a day, they felt 2.4 to 3 times more stress compared to an average worker with the same hours. Long work hours can cause all sorts of trouble in terms of lifestyle and sleep quality.

There Are Fewer People You Can Talk To

When a person enters a managing position, there are fewer people they can talk to. Their position makes it difficult to casually complain or talk to anyone (boss or subordinates) about work difficulties.

Many people who struggle through stress find it helpful when they can talk to someone. A person can start feeling mentally unwell when they feel like there is nowhere to turn to.

The Pressure Between Work and Family

By the time we reach a management position, some of us may also be managing our own families. A study from the University of Georgia concludes that quality time with family has benefits on the job for managers. There is a known link between great leadership and positive family interaction.

However, it can be difficult to balance quality time with family when the boss doesn’t understand the importance of family commitments, or the demands of the team never seem to end. As a manager, we naturally try to step up to the position, but sometimes the demands of the family and work conflict in a way that creates more stress.

5 Things To Try for Mid-Management Stress

If you’re under a lot of mid-management stress, the following activities may help you.

1. Seek Professional Help

If you struggle sharing your difficulties, we recommend that you seek professional help. Middle managers are known to carry a lot of stress. A professional therapist or counselor can be helpful in figuring out the core of your problems to improve your mental health.

An AI counseling app can further assist your mental wealth too. It can listen to your problems without any restrictions on time schedule, or location. It’s an affordable alternative counseling method with a free trial period. Give it a try!
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2. Make Friends Outside of Work

It’s important to build relationships at work so that things go smoothly, but there’s a downside to this. If we only strengthening work relationships, our headspace can never escape the work environment. Therefore, we recommend making friends and joining communities outside of work.

It can be anything like a study or hobby group. A place where you can be yourself and have friends to talk to will help take away stress and improve your overall mental well-being. At the same time, if you could find friends in similar mid-management positions, there are opportunities to share and grow together.

3. Talk to Your Boss

We recommend that you try and talk to your boss if things are really tough. There’s a possibility that your skills and capabilities have nothing to do with the problems presented. It could be because there are not enough people on the team, or it could be a corporate structural issue. A talk with the boss can improve and change the working environment for the better of everyone.

Most likely, your boss has experienced a similar position as you. They could provide personal advice and insight for you to improve. Stop worrying about the negative consequences of speaking to your boss and try to seek advice with an open mind.

4. Understand That You Don’t Have to Be Perfect

Just because you’re in a management position doesn’t mean you have to be perfect. Instead of feeling overwhelmed with self-guilt, understand that there are strengths and weaknesses in everyone.

Skills and experience will grow as you go. Perfectionism can be harmful to your mental well-being. Recognize your strengths and weaknesses and don’t be too harsh on yourself.

5. Read Books That Inspire You

There are many business books that dabble on the topic of middle management. These books are an excellent way to gain insight into how to overcome some of the common challenges.

It doesn’t even have to be business books. Reading provides a temporary distance from our anxieties. It allows us to absorb knowledge and provides great comfort when we can’t fall asleep because of stress.

Embrace Your Career with Optimism

If you want to keep advancing in your career, there’s no way around going through a mid-management position. This position can get to you mentally if you’re not caring enough for your own mental health.

We hope that you can learn how to embrace this mid-management position as a stepping stone, and can hold an optimistic outlook on the career path you’re on!

References:

MARUYAMA, S., KOHNO, K., & MORIMOTO, K. (1995). A Study of Preventive Medicine in Relation to Mental Health among Middle-management Employees (Part 2). Effects of Long Working Hours on Lifestyles, Perceived Stress and Working-life Satisfaction among White-collar Middle-management Employees. Nippon Eiseigaku Zasshi (Japanese Journal of Hygiene), 50(4), 849–860. https://doi.org/10.1265/jjh.50.849

O’Connell, B. (2021, March 9). How Your Family Life Might Make You a Better Manager. SHRM. https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/people-managers/pages/managing-workers-like-family-.aspx

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The Challenges After a Stress Leave

A common pitfall is to treat all career breaks equally. Paternity or maternity leave is very different from leaves due to mental health issues and should be treated accordingly. Research claims that long durations of stress leaves taken more than 3 times increase difficulties for a healthy return.

Let’s look at some of the challenges that come after a stress leave.

Mental Recovery Is Difficult to Measure

Mental recovery is usually assessed by a doctor, but that doctor’s assessment still relies on their personal subjective opinion in the end. Unlike physical wellness, mental well-being is difficult to measure recovery by definitive numbers.

One might seem healthy and well, yet have a high tendency to suppress depression whether conscious or unconscious. This makes assessments of a person more complicated, even for mental health professionals.

Returning to work before full recovery should be avoided. If a person ends up acting okay when they’re not, it risks more harm.

Mental Health Is a Constant Journey

Full recovery from depression and other serious mental illnesses is known to be difficult. While things could seem all better, oftentimes it can just be a state of temporary remission. It’s not rare for an incident or flashback to trigger symptoms to re-emerge.

For example, if constant harassment from a boss leads to enough mental health issues for a person to take a break from work, this person can struggle or be triggered easily through their relationships with future bosses when they return to work again.

We should understand that mental health recovery can be a long journey that requires patience and coping skills.

Rushing Back to Work After Stress Leave

People who are vulnerable to mental health pitfalls can be a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) or have the tendency to prioritize others before themselves. This tendency makes them worry about their job or co-workers before themselves and pushes them back to work earlier to prioritize others. This results in an unsuccessful return as the person never took the time to adequately recover.

Any plans of returning to work should be given generous time. Most times, it’s more time than we ‘think’ we need.

Career Blanks Can Affect Our Self-Esteem

A career blank can affect our self-esteem and create worries about our future job prospects. For many, it can be a challenge to see their break in a positive light when they are ready to return to work. People who already struggle with mental health issues tend to fall into the belief that they had to “downgrade” or that they are “unwanted.”

Tips for Smooth Work Transitions

As mentioned above, there are many challenges in returning to work after extended mental health leave. It’s more unlikely we have everything perfectly figured out before going back to work, so the focus should be on mitigating these challenges.

Here are some tips on how to make a smooth transition back to work:

Create Relationships Outside of Work

If the work environment is a big factor for mental stress, create relationships outside of work. Joining communities outside of work can be a great outlet when you’re feeling down. The more we have family, friends, and romantic partners that support us, the more we can share our feelings and focus on other fun activities. An escape community from ‘work thoughts’ is always great to have and will help mental recovery.

Don’t Rush to Get Back to Work

As mentioned above, rushing back to work is not a good idea, as it can lead to needing a break again soon. It’s normal to want to go back to work due to financial concerns, societal pressure to work, or from worries of leaving work for long durations.

It’s hard to expect a full recovery of our mental health right away. Even if when you feel ready, stop for a minute and ask for a second opinion. Take slow steps to assure a healthy return to work.

Create Distance From Triggers

Every person has a different reason why they might have needed a stress leave. It can be anything from work relationships, unfit job positions, to harsh working environments, etc. If you understand the initial cause, try to create a distance from your possible triggers. Psychological triggers can be avoided if we set proper boundaries from the potential cause.

Take Slow Gradual Steps Back to Work

In our stressful modern society, it’s not uncommon to need a break from work due to mental health issues. If you’ve already taken a career break and feel ready to go back to work, try to keep these challenges and tips in mind as you make decisions moving forward.

After a long career break, the best way to get back into the groove of work is through slow and gradual steps.

Looking to improve your mental health? Try the SELF MIND app for a FREE trial!!
If you’re looking for more tips on how to care for your mental health, check out some of our past blog posts!

References：

Kashiwagi, Y., Taguchi, F., Monou, H., Ebana, S., & Ashihara, M. (2006). INVESTIGATIVE RESEARCH ON SUPPORT FOR RETURNING TO THE WORKPLACE FOR PERSONS WITH IMPAIRED MENTAL HEALTH—QUESTIONNAIRE SURVEY OF RELATED PERSONS WITHIN AND OUTSIDE THE WORKPLACE. Japanese Journal of Occupational Medicine and Traumatology, 54(3), 113–118. http://www.jsomt.jp/journal/pdf/054030113.pdf

Kashiwagi, Y. (2006). THE ISSUES OF RETURNING TO THE WORKPLACE FOR PERSONS WITH IMPAIRED MENTAL HEALTH. Japanese Journal of Occupational Medicine and Traumatology, 54(2), 49–53. http://www.jsomt.jp/journal/pdf/054020049.pdf

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Workplace Relationships Affects Everyone

It’s not that difficult to avoid stressful situations if it’s within personal relationships. You can usually cut ties with a person or create distance so that they can’t distract you.

However, when it comes to stressful relationships at the workplace, it can be impossible to avoid certain people due to work responsibilities. Unavoidable work stress can cause mental illnesses when they’re left unattended.

The Impact of Stressful Relationships at Work

Stressful work relationships are continually listed among the top 10 reasons why an employee quits their job. Not everyone leaves their job for positive reasons and sometimes, their mental health can be way too damaged by the time they leave their job.

High Risk of Depression and Burnout

There’s a risk to a person bearing through high-stress environments for long durations. Long-term stress is known to lead to possible mental illnesses.

A prominent mental illness due to prolonged depressed feelings and anxiety is depression. Workplace stress can cause unhealthy conditions for your mental well-being, as well as physical symptoms like insomnia and fatigue. As a result, some serious cases may even cause difficulties in getting out of the house in the end.

Burnouts are typical symptoms due to high stress. This happens to people even when they used to enthusiastically work before, but lost any motivation to move forward. It is said that burnouts strongly correlate with depression.

Mental illnesses that stem from stress require immediate attention. Once a person recognizes the state that they’re in, they should go seek professional help right away. For some, it may be hard to understand their state from an objective perspective. It’s important to create a work environment that allows people to look out for each other so that everyone can recognize when someone is “off.”

How to Deal With Stressful Relationships at Work

How vast of a relationship you need to hold depends on your industry and type of job, but most of us need to maintain relationships with a variety of people. As much as diversity is important, the differences in age, background, and type of employment can all easily become a blocking point as well.

What kind of stressful relationships exist in the workplace and how can we deal with them?

1. Workplace Harassment

Workplace harassment is a huge issue when we consider stressful situations and relationships at work.

Below are a few possible categories of workplace harassment:
・Discriminatory Harassment – based on race, age, gender, religion, etc.
・Power Harassment – a person in power harasses a victim who is lower on the office hierarchy
・Physical Harassment – based on physical attacks and threatening behavior
・Psychological Harassment – discrediting, isolating or belittling a person
・Sexual Harassment – includes unwanted sexual advances, conduct, or behavior

In many cases, the problem lies in the fact that the harasser is not aware of what they are doing. No matter how humorous, genuine, and encouraging they “think” they are, their words and actions could be taken differently by the receiver.

＜How to Improve The Situation＞

To stop harassment, you must let the harasser know so that they become aware of what they are doing. Social dynamics may make it difficult for you to directly speak up or confront the person in power. If so, try to talk to someone who is in an adequate position to raise your concerns for improvement.

If it’s difficult to voice your opinion on your own, talk to someone who is in a similar position as you. Submitting concerns as a group is more effective than doing it alone. If there is no one that you can talk to, you should consult a lawyer or get in touch with the U.S. EEOC.

Workplace harassment can be solved through action. There is no need to stay quiet or hold it all in. We all need to take part in creating an environment that will not tolerate any kind of harassment. Our individual awareness of this issue is essential for ourselves and for any other potential victim.

2. There’s Somone You Dislike

When we spend long hours at work, naturally, there will be stressful people that have challenging personalities and different ideologies. They don’t necessarily do anything intentionally bad towards you, you just don’t get along with them that well.

Projects that involve close teamwork with managers and coworkers we dislike can cause long-term stress. There are people we grow close to through frequent communication, but there will always be a few that we have difficulties with.

According to studies, people who easily hold a strong distaste towards others tend to have low self-esteem. In other words, people who have no self-confidence are more critical towards others. This means that building self-confidence could help reduce our dislikes. When we truly accept who we are and reach a point of confidence, there’s no behavior that can really bother us. Even if tension arises between another person, we can brush it off optimistically when there’s confidence.

＜How to Improve The Situation＞

We should always stay calm when friction arises so that we can think through the issues objectively. An open mind with a rational view can give us an opportunity to look at things with less bias.

For example, if a boss got upset at your mistake and you only focused on the fact that they were “upset,” an emotional response might be that we feel angry and stressed. However, an objective view would help us switch things into a positive narrative, where we feel thankful that our mistakes were corrected early on so that they won’t happen again.

Verbalized thoughts are effective in gaining objective perspectives. Talk to someone you trust or write a diary. It can even be an internal conversation with yourself. All of these things will help you organize your thoughts to see things more clearly and objectively.

The Positivity of Healthy Relationships

On the other hand, positive relationships at work can be the best medication for our mental health. A coworker you can talk to daily, or a great boss can all help reduce stress.

Good relationships at the workplace are known to:

・Improve teamwork and collaboration
・Improve employee morale
・Increase employee productivity
・Lead to higher employee retention rates

As we can see, relationships can be both toxic and helpful for our wellbeing depending on the situation.

There are no straight answers on how to solve relationship issues. Everyone seeks their own path to reach a conclusion. A shift in perspective or new ways of thinking can hint us towards a better direction to improve our relationship at the workplace.

Looking to improve your mental wellbeing? Try the SELF MIND app FREE for 1 week!
If you’re looking for more tips on how to care for your mental health, check out some of our past blog posts!

References：

McFarlin, K. (2019, February 5). Importance of Relationships in the Workplace. Small Business – Chron.Com. https://smallbusiness.chron.com/importance-relationships-workplace-10380.html

Nagatomi, Y. (2015). Psychological harassment and mental health at work. Journal of Osaka University of Economics, 66(1), 223–233. https://ci.nii.ac.jp/naid/120005616521

Nagatomi, Y. (2016). Stress trigger and process under workplace harassments. Journal of Osaka University of Economics, 66(5), 243–248. https://doi.org/10.24644/keidaironshu.66.5_243

Ostuka, Y., Suzuki, A., & Takada, M. (2007). Mental Health at The Workplace: Recent Trends and Stress Coping Realities. The Japanese Journal of Labour Studies, 49(1), 41–53. https://ci.nii.ac.jp/naid/120002099808

Yahnke, K. (2020, June 12). 11 Types of Workplace Harassment (and How to Stop Them). I-Sight. https://i-sight.com/resources/11-types-of-workplace-harassment-and-how-to-stop-them/

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What is “Burnout”?

Burnout (or sometimes referred to as “blow out”) is a persistent state of lethargy with a loss of mental and physical energy. It is not the name of an official psychiatric diagnosis, but a type of stress reaction that occurs as a result of stress. There are many well-respected people who used to work hard, but lost their motivation only to be forced to leave their jobs as if they have “lost fire”. Initially, experts believed burnout was more common amongst workers in the service sector, such as medical care and education. However, in today’s world where many people are under excessive stress, people in a wide range of occupations (not just in the service sector), are at risk of becoming burnt out.

Symptoms of a Burnout

One of the main symptoms of burnout (or blow out) is “emotional exhaustion”. Emotional exhaustion is a state of weariness caused by stressful interpersonal relationships, being too busy, or by the gap between one’s ideals and reality. This symptom is also linked to other manifestations of burnout, such as “depersonalization”, a disconnected or detached sense of feeling from one’s self and emotional acts, or “diminished personal accomplishments”, the lost sense of fulfillment and competence.

How is it Different from Depression?

Burnout is sometimes considered to be a form of depression because the symptoms of depressed mood and lethargy manifest in a similar way to depression. However, there is a lot of controversy about equating burnout with depression, as burnout has been studied primarily in the field of psychology, while depression has been studied primarily in the field of medicine.

While the cause of depression can be all kinds of stresses in life, burnouts most likely occur due to workplace stress. Recent studies have established a checklist of items to measure the level of burnout in the workplace. If you can relate to many items on the list below, you are at a higher risk becoming burnt out.

Susceptible Characteristics for Burnouts

Burnout is often referred to as a “disease that strikes people who have a sense of purpose and idealism.” People tend to be at a higher risk of burnout if they are dedicated to their work and are attentive to their surroundings. In particular, people with a strong sense of perfectionism and responsibility possess a higher risk of burning out because of the mental stress experienced when faced with a different reality.

To prevent becoming burnt out, it is important to separate ourselves from our duties and obligations. Although in the midst of constant daily stress, it is no easy task to maintain a healthy mindset through personal efforts alone.

How to Prevent Burnouts

Burnout is not just about personal qualities; environmental factors are also deeply related to the phenomenon. Overbearing amounts of work, one-sided communication from the higher-ups, and tasking underqualified workers are all environmental issues that increase the risk of burnouts as well as a variety of stress-related illnesses. To prevent burnouts, we need to re-evaluate our work environment and look for ways to improve.

For example, it’s helpful to ask these questions in the workplace:

• Are my personal workload and emotional burdens overbearing?
• Is the work appropriate for my qualifications?
• Is there interactive communication taking place on both ends?

Constant review and improvements of the above points are an effective way to prevent burnouts.

When You Find Yourself Burnt Out

So what can we do to regain our energy again when we actually fall into a burnout?

The first step is to notice the problems we face. People who are prone to burnout tend to strive for perfection. This makes it difficult for them to recognize their problems. To get an accurate picture of the condition, it’s helpful to seek advice from family, close friends, and supervisors. After we understand our situation, we need to take time away from the source of our stress to question our values. For example, if work is the reason for burnout, a leave of absence or a short separation from work can be the best way to recover.

Not an End, But a New Beginning

According to one study, of the 20 people who recovered from burnout due to a leave of absence, only one returned to the same job. The other 19 people chose to leave their previous careers and rediscover their value in a new environment. It takes courage to change your lifestyle, but taking a step toward a new environment without fear may be the key to avoiding a repeat of burnout. In that sense, being burnt out is not a dead end with nowhere to turn, but rather a starting point for a new career.

No Need to Give 100%

In general, people with good work ethics and attention to detail are considered “excellent” and “respectable”. However, in the real world, no one is perfect all the time. No matter how good a person is considered to be, they can’t always do 100%. Some days may be 80%, whereas some days may be 45%, and that’s okay!

There will also be moments of happiness within these days that aren’t our best. Even if our day’s efforts end up around 30%, there will still be times where family, friends, and hobbies will fulfill us. Try to avoid getting caught up in your ideals. Allowing imperfections and maintaining a relaxed state will help avoid burnouts.

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References:

Irie, M. (2017). Burnout and Depression. Journal of Health Science, 39, 41-47. doi: 10.15017/1800858

Kubo, M. (2007). Burnout – Stress in Human Service Jobs. The Japanese Journal of Labour Studies, 49(1), 54-64.

Mind Tools Content Team (n.d.). Burnout Self-Test: – Are You at Risk? Retrieved October 30, 2020, from https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTCS_08.htm

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Defining Workaholic

Am I a workaholic?

A workaholic describes a person who is addicted to work and works compulsively for long hours. It’s generally regarded as a negative state that is detrimental to one’s physical and mental health, but some people consider it a positive sign of enjoyment and fulfillment being met at work.

The definition of workaholic varies among experts. If you work long hours on a daily basis, and the following statements apply, you likely are a workaholic.

・I can’t stop thinking about work even on days off

・I sacrifice health and personal time to devote myself to work

・I find myself disinterested in non-work related topics

People who are prone to workaholism often carry heavy workloads and tend to be under excessive work pressure. If we find our workload increasing one after another or if we’re juggling multiple tasks at once, we should be cautious.

Work Fulfillment Impacts Our Well-Being

According to research, less fulfillment in work leads to unhealthier individuals, both physically and mentally. Long hours at an unfulfilling job puts our minds and bodies under a lot of stress. More hours invested in work means less relaxation and resting hours as well, causing a constant accumulation of stress without relief. This can lead to more serious conditions such as burnout, depression, and even karoshi (death due to overwork).

Generally speaking, work is a strenuous task that involves social responsibilities and it can be challenging to make it fulfilling on our own. To reduce unhealthy mental and physical pressure from work, we need to come up with ways to make work enjoyable and create that change together as a society.

However, we still shouldn’t work long hours even when we enjoy work. The higher ratio we spend on work every day, the more fatigue naturally accumulates with more potential damage to health. Regardless of whether we enjoy our work or not, excessively long work hours should be avoided.

Escaping the Workaholic Lifestyle

Workaholism is a condition caused by excessive long hours of work. To prevent this, the entire workplace needs to regularly review and consider whether the workload and working hours are appropriate for each individual. It’s also important to implement a system and environment where employees feel at ease voicing their working condition needs for a healthy work-life balance.

What can we do if we still find ourselves falling into workaholism? If we want to escape the workaholic lifestyle, we should consciously switch gears between work and personal. As for starters, try to become aware of the following two things:

1. Find a hobby as passionate as work
   Hobbies can be a great escape from work. It can lead to increased motivation at work to generate the money necessary for the hobby and help avoid long work hours to invest in personal time.
   
2. Cherish time with family and friends.
   Communicating with family, friends, and others who are not directly involved in our work helpslp us switch off “work mode”. Investing in relationships outside of the workplace also prevents social isolation later in life when we retire.

To prevent workaholism, we must understand our situation objectively, although It’s not easy to do when we’re overwhelmed with work. Remember to listen to family, friends, and colleagues who care about you most. If you think that you’re fine even though you’re overwhelmed and pressured with work, watch out. You may have already lost your way through workaholism.

Image: Unsplash

References:
Fujimoto, T. (2013). Psychological Distress and Physical Complaints of the Workaholic. The Japanese Journal of Labour Studies, 55(6), 47-58.

Takeishi, E. (2010). Challenges in Achieving Work-Life Balance: Implications from International Comparative Surveys. RIETI Policy Discussion Paper Series 10-P-004.

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Listen to Your Surroundings

Close your eyes and listen carefully to your surroundings. What do you hear?
Is it the buzzing of the refrigerator or the whirring of your computer? Perhaps you hear city sounds, with busy cars zooming past your street?

There are many different sounds in our daily lives, from the sounds we usually hear to the sounds we are hearing for the first time. Some are natural and some are artificial. What’s more, each sound has an impact on our emotions, even though that impact may be small. Take TV dramas, for example. The background music of each scene influences the viewer’s emotions, such as a happy pop song that plays during a happy scene.

It’s no exaggeration to say that sound is an inseparable part of our lives. It’s then no surprise that sounds seem to be deeply related to our mental health as well. How do different sounds affect our minds?

City Sounds and Noise Pollution

There are various cases where sounds do affect our health. One of the most negative is noise pollution. In terms of mental health, noisy urban city sounds have a huge impact on our sleep. For example, one survey in Japan across 3,600 adult women from different regions looked at the relationship between city sounds and sleep habits. Results showed that the risk of insomnia was proportional to the amount of traffic in areas within 20 meters of a major road. These results may be easily understood if you imagine living in a high-traffic area, as the city sounds are highly likely to disturb your sleep.

On the other hand, some studies have shown that noise pollution does not affect reading and other activities. Even if you are initially too distracted by the noise to concentrate, you gradually get used to it to a point where it doesn’t even bother you. In fact, some sounds can even increase our work efficiency.

Good Sounds, Good Vibes

Some sounds are negative, like urban city sounds, while others are positive. One of the most typical and successful applications of positive sound is background music in cafes. Successful background music hides and mitigates unnecessary noise, such as the chattering of the neighboring tables. If the background music is to your liking, you will be more satisfied with the environment. Likewise, it’s common to use music and nature sounds in the workplace as a method of stress management for the workers. Naturally, such positive sounds are mentally beneficial to our well-being.

City Sounds Aren’t All Bad

The world is filled with all sorts of sounds and everybody has different preferences for sound. A sound that has significance for you may just be meaningless noise to someone else. This seems to be true not only for individuals but also for different locations. Cicadas, for example, are common insect sounds heard in certain areas during the summer. While some regions may consider this sound a nuisance, other locations may consider it to be a pleasant indicator that summer is in the air. Some cultures consider sound as a form of environmental awareness, actively paying attention to these sounds of nature. In a sense, it’s a method of environmental education. If you think about it this way, listening to urban city sounds could also be a form of spatial and environmental awareness. Moreover, there are some interesting aspects of this from a mental health perspective.

Be Playful with Sound

Close your eyes and really pay attention to the sounds you hear, from those far away to those that are closer by. Do you hear city sounds, nature sounds, or maybe household sounds? When we create a picture purely through the sounds that we hear, it may be different from the actual visual scenery that unfolds in front of us Thus, this may help us to better understand the breadth of your consciousness.

Listening to the sounds of nature – such as the wind and trees – and noticing their changes can lead to new discoveries within. Other exercises are worth trying as well, such as physically moving our posture to notice how the vibrations in our voice change through movements. This particular activity is considered bodywork that incorporates the element of sound. When we start re-focusing our attention to the sounds normally dismissed, it gives us an opportunity to think about our relationship between self and sound. These activities that allow us to pay attention to sounds have a profound effect on our mental health.

Sounds That Resonate With Each Individual

It’s easy to understand from above that there’s a deep connection between sound and mental health. We live in a world that is littered with all sorts of sounds – from nature sounds, to urban city sounds, to household sounds… So, re-focusing our attention on the sounds that we tend to miss in our daily lives is sure to be a plus.

Now, once again, close your eyes and listen carefully to the sounds around you. The sound of rain hitting against the roof, a refrigerator buzzing, a voice over the phone, sounds that cheer us up, sounds that soothe us, sounds that resonate with our sadness. The benign sounds around us could be fueling our energy without us even realizing it. If you’re feeling up to it, I recommend that you try to find a unique favorite sound that resonates with you personally.

Looking to improve your mental wellbeing? Try the SELF MIND app FREE for 1 week!
If you’re looking for more tips on how to care for your mental health, check out some of our past blog posts!

Reference:
Kageyama, T. (1998). Sound Environment and Mental Health. The Japanese Journal of Mental Health, 13(1) P34-39.

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A large decorative plant placed in the corner of the office.
A small potted plant placed on the desk.

We often see plants in our workplace. But why? “It looks good” or “It’s healing,” we may say. Many of us only have a vague impression. Research indicates that greening the office actually reduces fatigue.

Plants Make Space Feel Brighter

Scientists blocked sunlight coming through the window by placing partitions and plants to see if it made a difference in impressions. Even though plants blocked the sunlight and made the room darker, results showed that it gave off the impression of a brighter room. On the other hand, using partitions clearly gave off a darker impression when placed in the same position. Scientists think that this is because greening the space by placing a plant evokes more of a ‘psychological brightness’ in our perceptions.

A Little Bit of Greening for Relaxation

Some of you may think, “I don’t all have enough desk space for plants!” To see if size matters, an experiment measured fatigue levels in participants provided with three different plant options to put on their desks. Each participant received a large plant, a small plant, or nothing at all. Participants with large plants and small plants ended up showing signs of relaxation. Participants with no plants showed no signs of relaxation. In other words, the size or number of plants doesn’t matter when greening your workspace.

Smaller plants were also found effective in suppressing drowsiness for viewers. Researchers believe this is due to participants having more visual contact with smaller plants throughout their work hours and breaks. The more attention they gave to the plant, the brighter their work environment was perceived.

Different Plants, Different Effects

A wide variety of plants are ideal for interior decoration. Some plants have leaves that are lush and round, while others are mixed with colors ranging from green to red. People have different tastes, but no matter what you choose, the impressions we get viewing them seem to be pretty consistent.

Research with 102 college students using 16 kinds of plants tested the impression different plants gave off. A large number of students chose; Weeping Figs, Corn Plants, and Lemon Cypress as plants they’d want in their room. Many of them claimed that it made the room feel luxurious, refreshing, and restful.

On the contrary, Garden Crotonas was most mentioned as the plant that made them feel a little restless when placed. Respondents described the plant as cold and tense. The lack of comfort may be coming from the fact that the leaves are mostly red on this plant.

Uplift your mood at the office today, by placing a small green plant on your desk. Whenever you feel tired, try gazing at it for a while. The power of the plant can assist you in reducing your fatigue.

→ Looking to improve your mental health? Try the SELFMIND app FREE for 1 week!
If you’re looking for more tips on how to care for your mental health, check out some of our past blog posts!

Image：Unsplash

Reference:
Asaumi, H., Nishina, H., Namba, R., Masui, Y., Hashimoto, Y. (1995). Evaluation of Impression of Ornamental Foliage Plants and Psychological Rating of Rooms with Ornamental Foliage Plants by Means of Semantic Differential Method. Shokubutsu Kojo Gakkaishi, 7(1), 34–45. https://doi.org/10.2525/jshita.7.34

Hasegawa, T., Shimomura, T. (2010). Comparison of psychological effects on workers between a small interior plant and a large interior plant. Journal of the Japanese Society of Revegetation Technology, 36(1), 63-68. https://doi.org/10.7211/jjsrt.36.63

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