How being Overworked can Impact your Mental Health
It is evident that being overworked can have an extremely detrimental impact on your mental health, but it’s not always in your power to alter the situation. If you have to live on the minimum wage you don’t really have an option but to work as many hours as you possibly can. Of course, in theory, you could always get another job, but it isn’t easy to find a job when the economy is in dire straits, particularly if you don’t have any qualifications or very much experience. It’s tough enough living on a minuscule income, but when you’re overworked you can find that the level of stress and depression you experience intensifies.
Clearly, then, being overworked can have a negative impact on your mental health, as whether you’re at the lower end of the pay scale or at the higher end, you simply don’t have the right balance in your life. It’s obviously harder when you’re not earning very much money, because you can’t just leave your job and look for something that pays better if you haven’t got the time or savings to enable you to do so. However, being overworked can take its toll on your mental health if you’re earning a lot of money as well, since you still have to contend with missing out on family life to go to work.
You might be a high-pressured job that demands your full attention and, although it is rewarding, you find yourself constantly overworked and stressed out. You don’t have time to spend with your family, as you’re always either at work or thinking about work and you are never able to switch off. You might be forced to fill in for absent colleagues and so you end up working many more hours than is healthy for you, which affects your ability to get a decent night’s sleep and to take steps to remain in good health, such as exercising and eating healthily.
When you’re overworked you can feel isolated, as you don’t have time for anyone else and work is always somewhere in your thoughts. You don’t have anyone you can really talk to about how anxious and overwhelmed you’re feeling and, sometimes, things can get on top of you so that one day you just snap. It may reach a stage where you can’t even get out of bed because you can’t deal with the day ahead, as depression descends upon you. To avoid this situation arising you therefore have to find some balance in your life.
