Holistic Health At Work: Success & Stress – Are They Truly A Power Couple?
As a society, we have come to accept stress not only as part of our daily life, but as an unavoidable component of achieving success. We carry it with us wherever we go, sometimes even wearing it as a badge of honor to represent our superiority within an organization, our self-worth and our work ethic. Yet, most of us only have a superficial understanding of what stress is and how it impacts us.
What Is Stress?
When the word stress is mentioned, our brains quickly associate it with psycho-emotional pressure, such as work, family, relationship and financial obligations. But there’s a lesser-known, equally important form of stress – physical stress.
Physical stress is your body’s perceived threat to its physical wellbeing. Common examples of this are:
- Low quantity or quality of sleep
- Inactivity (i.e. sitting at a desk from 9-5)
- Blood sugar highs & lows
- Fasting, undereating or food restriction (i.e. low carb diets)
- Nutrient deficiencies
- Hormonal imbalances
- Pain and inflammation
- Impaired digestion (i.e. gas, bloating, acid reflux)
- High toxic burden (i.e. constipation, working or living in a water-damaged building, eating fast food regularly, consuming alcohol, wearing deodorant and fragrances etc.)
- Chronic exposure to blue light from screens
- Exposure to artificial light after the sun goes down
If you thought to yourself “oh shit”, you’re not alone.
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How Does Stress Impact My Job Performance?
When our body’s stress response system is activated, either from a psychological or a physiological stressor, our cognitive function is impaired from reduced blood flow to the brain and the activation of the amygdala.
With our amygdala triggered, our thoughts and behaviors become more emotional. We are more likely to feel anger, frustration and aggression. This makes us more susceptible to having a shorter temper, less patience with our co-workers, and decreases our capacity for analytical thinking and rational decision making.
Studies have also correlated decreased scores on IQ tests to being under high stress. It’s not exactly the formula for success for securing a promotion or landing your dream job.
What Are The Warning Signs?
The most common signs of an acute stress response are an elevated heart rate, increased sweat production (commonly in the armpits and palms) and shallow breathing.
Symptoms for being under constant stress include chronic fatigue regardless of the hours of sleep you get, cravings for sugar or carbs in the afternoon, salt cravings, feeling wired, afternoon energy crash, brain fog, and weight gain around the central abdomen. If you continue to ignore these warning signs, you risk burning out.
Is stress and success truly a power couple? Or are the heightened reactivity, impaired cognition, chronic fatigue and risk of burnout symptoms of a toxic relationship?
In the next article, I will be sharing practical tips on how you can calm your nervous system to support your job and interview performance, but also increase your resilience to stress over time.
Related:
Find a Job Fast: The Job Search Accelerator For Career Professionals
3 Ways To Determine If An Employer Supports Mental Health At Work
5 Reasons Why College Students Should Take a Mental Health Day
Meet The Writer!
Hello! My name is Jessica Lamothe and I am a Holistic Health Coach with a mission to liberate individuals from chronic illness so that they can reach their full potential. Having been on the brink of autoimmune disease and burnout myself, I am passionate about educating about the body’s stress response and holistic lifestyle and nutrition practices which restore people to optimal health. I’d love to connect with you on Instagram @get.in.health
