What is job depression?

The vast majority of us currently work, but there are those who do not work in what they are passionate about, or what it would be the same not to have vacations because it is the work that motivates us every day to stay alive. In a job there are many factors, from the activity carried out, the schedule, the type of work, posture, demands, superiors, the behavior of colleagues, pressure, etc. All this, little by little, is making a dent and if we do not like work, that is when the problems begin, even affecting our mental health, our self-esteem, our personal life and those around us.

Hey! Be careful here, one thing is work and another thing is personal life and free time, job depression can also appear if work is abused, as much as we are passionate about it.

What is job depression?

The work environment puts pressure on us and that creates physical and mental stress. After that, anxiety appears, that irrational fear of not being enough, of feeling easily substitutable, of losing work, not arriving on time, asking for a vacation, having a cold … In the end, depression comes.

This situation is reached when we feel sadness, lack of motivation, decay, discouragement, disinterest, etc. If these feelings are associated with work, then it is when we can consider that we suffer from occupational depression, but we should not self-diagnose, but the correct thing is to put ourselves in the hands of a specialist and that he determines our situation and advises what steps to take next, since there are many ways, and each one depends on the situation of each one.

Occupational depression is a compendium of feelings that long and sustained over time can develop more serious problems . Depression at work is quite common, since the demands in the workplace are higher every day, but wages or conditions are not, except for small exceptions that little by little are opening their eyes to the rest of the market and of the system.

What are the causes that cause it?

It is vitally important to detect the first symptoms in time, and for this we must know the causes that can lead us to suffer from occupational depression. A depression can be something silent, that is, we do not see it coming or we do not give importance to what surrounds us, so it is key to know when we are suffering situations that can lead to a workplace depression.

• A situation, project, approach, etc. that cannot be perfected and mastered and is always rejected.
• lack of support and recognition.
• Demands beyond our possibilities.
• Lack of family and work conciliation.
• That they deny us days of rest or vacations.
• To cancel days that we already had approved in advance.
• Excessive control of our private life.
• Limit our freedom.
• Surveillance in social networks.
• Lack of promotion in the company.
• Impotence by not achieving the results that were imposed.
• Labor disputes.
• Suffer situations of workplace harassment.
• Labor conditions.
• Excessive self-demand.
• Not knowing how to say NO.
• Poor salary.

These are the symptoms of a depression at work

Knowing the causes that have led us to feel so sad and down, now is when we can unite those causes with our situation and see if it coincides or could coincide with a job depression.

• Sleep disorders and disorders.
• Fatigue.
• Productivity reduction.
• Lack of cooperation.
• Demotivation
• Behavior changes.
• Physical changes.
• Feeling of deep sadness and prolonged in time.
• Inability to make decisions.
• Disinterest.
• Discouragement.
• Lack of concentration.
• Physical and mental fatigue.
• Absenteeism
• Irritability.
• Anxiety for no apparent reason.
• Mood swings and aggressiveness .

It is not necessary to have all of them, you can have one, because depression begins for something, but as we let it go, the ball gets bigger and the problem gets more complicated. It is normal for someone with diagnosed workplace depression to have at least 3 of these symptoms that we have listed. The most common is demotivation, followed by sleep disturbances, behavior changes, and irritability.

What is to be done?

When it comes to serious mental problems such as depression, the best and most advisable thing is to detect it early and secondly ask for help immediately . Each one knows the company they work for, knows their colleagues, knows the dynamics, how they usually react to complex situations like this, etc. So before communicating our state to a superior or colleague, it is convenient to reflect, and it is best to go to a specialist to begin to heal ourselves.

Once we have the reports, go to work, explain the situation, tell how it has happened, since when, how we feel, what happens to us, give options, dialogue, etc. We don’t recommend coming in grumpy and threatening to sue or anything like that. That attitude only works against us, for whatever reason we have. If we want to leave the job, we leave it, but never enter under threat of demand.

It will be the psychologist who determines the severity of our depression and recommends us to isolate ourselves, change jobs, give us a break, take vacations or request sick leave. Each solution will be given by the causes that have led us to this situation, it is not the same to suffer workplace harassment, than to take 4 years and no matter how much we ask for a promotion, they do not give it to us.

How to prevent a job depression

There are a series of tips that we want to give to prevent depression at work. These tips are useful to everyone, even the youngest who are now starting their first internships.

• Avoid bad working conditions, whether they are low wages, bad hours, that do not let us reconcile family and work life, that they do not let us take vacations when we want, that they pay us in black, etc.
• Flee from work environments full of negativity, resentment, hatred, envy, jealousy, etc.
• Be clear that it is a job, and that we have to have a private life and free time.
• Do not mix, under any circumstances, personal and work life.
• Do not tolerate harassment.
• Sleep between 7 and 9 hours a day (without medication).
• Perform sports constantly.
• Being a sociable person and making plans that amuse us.
• Do not self-medicate.
• Promote our self-esteem and our personal worth .
• Surround ourselves with people who respect us, support us and love us.
• Control intrusive thoughts.
• Learn to say NO without feeling bad.
• Try to disconnect as much as possible in our free time.
• Look for options that help us to fulfill ourselves as a person, such as language classes, babysitting, doing crafts, photography courses, writing a book, doing theater, etc.
• Do not take sleeping pills, or drugs, or alcohol. If we see that work affects us at that level, ask for help and leave work.