Stress management

Free

E-newsletter

Subscribe to Housecall

Our weekly general interest
e-newsletter keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics.

• February 29, 2012 3:12 p.m.

  The retail career by going up the corporate ladder with promotions and all was not worth the extra money. you have to be willing to relocate to really get the premium jobs and i did at 28 years old Two cars in the garage braces on the kids teeth. Stress not worth it!Cancer I got non-hodgkins lymphoma. Stress?

  - Chuck

• June 1, 2011 3:44 a.m.

  yES WITHOUT DETAIL THINKING, WITHOUT PLANNING , WITHOUT CHECKING THE LEVEL OF SUSTAINING TO NEW CHALLENGES WHICH WE HAVE TO FACE AT WORK IS THE MOST INFLUENCING ASPECTS FOR INCREASED LEVEL OF STRESS, THIS STRESS LEVEL RISES MAINLY DUE TO UNEXPERIENCED BOSSES, THEIR UNKIND & RUDE BEHAVIOUR WITH JUNIORS. BUT IT CAN REDUCED BY DOING OUR WORK TIME TO TIME, NEAT & CLEAN. IT IS OBSERVED IN COMPANIES, GOVERNMENT OFFICES, COLLEGES. PPOLITICS, ALSO.

  - mANOJ

• January 28, 2011 11:34 p.m.

  was in military and got promoted to First sgt. what a nightmARE. Was good at it and was selected as 1sgt of year but the hours and 24 hours on call took its toll. Deployed to desert all was well and retired two years later. But heart attack got me, along with panic disorder. Yes to thine own self be true. 8C

  - andrew

• November 25, 2010 9:03 a.m.

  Qigong—Chinese mind/body exercises--helped me immensely in my successful battles with four bouts of supposedly terminal bone lymphoma cancer in the early nineties. I practiced standing post meditation, one of the most powerful forms of qigong--as an adjunct to chemotherapy, which is how it should always be used. Qigong kept me strong in many ways: it calmed my mind--taking me out of the fight-or-flight syndrome, which pumps adrenal hormones into the system that could interfere with healing. The deep abdominal breathing pumped my lymphatic system—a vital component of the immune system. In addition, qigong energized and strengthened my body at a time when I couldn't do Western exercise such as weight-lifting or jogging--the chemo was too fatiguing. And it empowered my will and reinforced it every day with regular practice. In other words, I contributed to the healing process, instead of just depending solely on the chemo and the doctors. Clear 14 years and still practicing! ‘Confronting Cancer with the Qigong Edge’

  - Bob

• November 18, 2010 8:40 a.m.

  I was in a technician job that I loved for 20 years. Then I was promoted into a supervisory position that I was not suited for. The stress from politics and unkind bosses became a nightmare. I felt that there was dark cloud of doom over my head. I felt that there was no way out. My stress grew to the point of having panic attacks in which I thought I was going to die. I knew that I needed psychological evaluation and spiritual support. Thank God a new technician job opened up, and I was able to return to the job I had before. It took me a year to get the courage to go in for a complete medical and psychological evaluation. Also, by the grace of God, a pastor came to my front door which resulted in receiving spiritual support and guidance from the pastor joining the church. With the help of the correct medications, cognitive therapy, and faith in God, I recovered.

  - Roger

• November 16, 2010 11:39 p.m.

  I too was promoted to a management position after being a therapist with disturbed adolescents in a residential treatment setting. At first I was very flattered but also was extremely nervous about this position as I was not trained in management. After two years of almost continual stress in trying to manage a job I didn't even like I decided to resign. I told them I wanted to go back to working with families and kids. What a relief !! I later took a job in Family Court Services as a Mediator/Child Custody Evaluator, a job reputed to be highly stressful. I loved it and found it no where near as stressful as a therapist trying to be a manager when she was clearly not set up that way !

  - Katherine

• November 16, 2010 4:52 p.m.

  in all we do must be sanity. We are seeking accountability and competence. For this we need a state of mind in a complete state of calm. we need to concentrate. we must recall what is our source of energy and it is our driving force.

  - kruno

• November 16, 2010 12:43 p.m.

  Yes, I was put in charge of the entire midwest and had to move 3 hours away. My wife did not move. I returned to an entry level job and saved what was left of my marraige.

  - Richard

• November 13, 2010 1:33 p.m.

  ...by the way, I even got a "Sustained Superior Performance Award", "Time Off Award" and a "Gem Award" in that government position, even though it was physically and mentally killing me.

  - JEAN

• November 13, 2010 1:28 p.m.

  I'm a detail person. I took a government position where you're in a lock-step promotion situation. I loved the first few years and wanted to stay right where I was. I didn't need the $$$ of each grade increase. I was finally at the top of my scale and hated it! It was too abstract. I was losing weight. My stomach hurt all the time. I was feeling guilty about not completing assignments. I finally asked to move into a lower position, with a $20K/year pay cut, to a job I love! Details! I'm happy! I'm healthy! My friends, family and co-workers could tell a difference right away, but just can't understand WHY. Oh, well.

  - JEAN

• November 11, 2010 2:17 p.m.

  This piece is timely given the broader economic picture, and illustrates some very important points. For a general, perhaps wry take on how promotions may affect us, consider googling the term "the Peter Principle," which states in essence that we tend to be promoted to the level of our incompetence. It sounds ridiculous, but there are so many examples of it all around. By focusing on an enhanced paycheck or job title that comes with a promotion or lateral move, we may be neglecting the other, less tangible psychological and social prices to be paid. Most people in this category are probably not incompetent, but instead find themselves working at the wrong place. In order to guard against being seduced by the blandishments of upward career mobility beyond our capacity, we need to be brutally honest with ourselves about our strenghts, weaknesses, and preferences. Also, it makes sense to consider the power games that sometimes go with new positions. Not everyone is temperamentally cut out to play a more aggressive career game, or to move away from using skills that may have brought them a measure of success in the first place. Playing to strengths is great advice.

  - Alan