Ststress, anxiety, lack of self-esteem: It happens to many to blame the work. But is it really always like this? Is it really the professional sphere that causes these kinds of problems? Probably less than you think. Or rather, often one ends up identifying in the work the origin of a problem which is instead present upstream.
to reveal it, an investigation conducted on a sample of over 3000 people, from mental wellbeing platform serenis. The research has in fact shown how only 20% of patients who begin a course of psychotherapy reporting problems related to the world of work receives a related diagnosis:
Of that 20%, the women represent the largest group, with a percentage of 67%. The age group between 25 and 35, which involves 46% of the sample, is the most affected. Finally, the category of individuals over the age of 45 appears to be the least involved, since only 9% of the survey participants show disturbances in this area.
The most common symptoms
And that’s not all. The survey also brought to light the most common symptoms experienced by those who turn to Serenis psychotherapists declaring they have work-related difficulties.
Specifically, the 37% of patients have an anxiety disorderThe 22% undertake a path linked to personal growth, 19% complain the lack of self-esteem17% have relationship problems, 8% make a stress-related pathway7% have existential crises, the 6% work on assertiveness5% have relationship problems, 4% have a depressive disorder, the 3% start a path related to conflict management and the remaining part for inconveniences related to mourning, trauma, mood disorders, panic attacks, eating behavior, sleep and more.
Stress: why do we tend to blame work?
But why, then, we tend to think that at the root of the malaisewhich also takes on very different faces, is there always work?
“The workplace is the place where we spend most of our timeabout 60,000 hours of our life spent working on average, and often puts us under the greatest pressures: it is therefore natural that it triggers other psychological difficulties – explains Martina Migliore, cognitive-behavioral psychotherapist of Serenis – In therapy, in general, the difficulties that this generates in daily behavior are investigated: not by chance, the ability to carry on an autonomous working life is also one of the psychiatric parameters for mental health. The world of work, however, is changing at a rapid pace and is often not in line with the academic preparation of our patients. This can generate confusion in objectives and perspectives, also considering the weight of family expectations, with which a very large gap is inevitably created».
If it’s not the job, what’s the cause?
But if the professional sphere and its problems often have nothing to do with it, what can the discomfort come from then? that one erroneously tends to attribute to them?
Dr. Martina Migliore, recently appointed Training and Development Director of Serenis, has identified 5 disorders often mistaken for pathologies related to the world of work and signals that can create confusion. Primarily, obsessive-compulsive disorders. It is indeed about disorders that lead people to overestimate their responsibility it’s at fear the consequences that would result from a possible bankruptcy, generally perceived as catastrophic. The work assumes organizational and decision-making skills, factors that collide with the symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorders.
Stress and pathological perfectionism
Even the pathological perfectionism can lead one to believe that one’s malaise derives from the professional sphere. It is in fact one condition that pushes workers to set very high standards, almost inhuman, ea Evaluate personal worth based on performance successes. “Everyone faces more or less productive days, and this, for pathological perfectionists, becomes an insurmountable problem since personal value for them depends on a single result or negative feedback” – explains the psychotherapist.
Depression can also affect it
At the basis of the malaise experienced at work there can also be depression which causes, among other symptoms, a generalized demotivation and chronic fatigue. Hence, for those who suffer from it, i working rhythms can easily become unsustainable, even if basic and this only increases the perception of not being enough and self-doubt.
Stress and fear of confrontation
Not only that, even the so-called social phobia it can lead people to believe that the malaise originates from work. It is in fact one condition that makes one fear the confrontation with the otherperceived as dangerous and always ready to give a negative opinion. «At work we are called, except in cases of total social isolation, to dialogue with colleagues and superiors – explains Martina Migliore. – Constriction that can create unbearable discomfort on the part of those who perceive the slightest change in their bodily reactions and in the signals of the other, which she interprets as highly judgmental ».
Attention Deficit Disorder
Sounds weird but also an ADHD disorder, often underestimated in adults, can cause a range of symptoms that are very difficult to manage and recognize, especially if in the absence of a childhood diagnosis and psychotherapy. The work involves organization and respecting deadlines and the opinion of others. Keep everything in mind and curb the impulsiveness that leads to acting out of control, for these people it can get complicated.
«In short, it is often a matter of ineffective anxiety managementOf obsessive issues that increase the workload excessively and that make one perceive an abnormal responsibility compared to the real duties, or of poor ability to concentrate and impulsivity not diagnosed in childhood, which make work organization very difficult – comments Martina Migliore. – Relational and family problems also have an important load: in short it’s a bit as if work were a cauldron in which everything boils».
When the problem really is work
They exist of course even situations in which the malaise really originates from work problems: first, all cases of harassment and specific pressures, but also the objective perception of an unhealthy working environment.
“The problem exists. Definitely the work and hyper-productivity constitute a significant source of pressureindeed, sometimes praising the slowdown of activities, the value of boredom and detaching makes those who are used to always seeing themselves on the run feel even more inadequate – explains the psychotherapist. – You have a full speed train effect which ends up derailing at the first corner or at the first pebble on the rails”.
Work-related stress: the causes and how to recognize it
As he explains in a more information on the Serenis website also Dr. Raffaele Avico, Psychotherapist, psychotraumatologist and EMDR certified therapist, there is undoubtedly one work related stress, that situation i.e. of tmental and often also physical ension that depends on an imbalance between the demands of one’s job and how much one believes one can cope with them. A condition that comes before burnout but which can still cause severe discomfort. Among the most common causes of this type of stress seem to be the excessive workloadboth in terms of working hours and in terms of overly strenuous tasks, even in terms of psychological pressure, in case of urgencies and emergencies.
Other causes of work related stress
Sometimes at the basis of this type of stress there is also ineffective communication in the workplace as well as the feeling of having little control over decision-making processes in the workplace. Also there precariousnessin cases where a clear contract cannot be counted on, as well as a work environment in which confusion reigns, or where you are unable to frame exactly what your job and role are, end up being frustrating situations, causing great stress. Naturally arriving at real forms of harassment, which can manifest themselves with psychological or physical violence, and be cause of stress but also of much more serious pathologies.
What to do?
What to do then in the case of a suspected pathology linked to the world of work?
«The first step to take to protect our mental well-being is to seek a consultation with a specialist – concludes Dr. Martina Migliore. – There are, in fact, professionals such as psychotherapists, also experts in disorders and pathologies related to the individual’s professional spherecapable of providing support, diagnosis and ad hoc treatments administered as part of a journey of discovery of the origin of our malaise”.
iO Woman © REPRODUCTION RESERVED