I know my title sounds sexist. Like men are the only ones working. HELLO??!!! Job stress triggers depression in women, too! BUT research suggests that job stress is often the primary trigger for depression in men, whereas relationship stress (you know, F-E-E-L-I-N-G-S) is Bad Boy Number One in the female brain. Men, more often than women, use their salary as a measuring stick for how much they are worth. If their compensation drops, so does their self-esteem and feelings of self-respect. Here's what MayoClinic.com has to say on this matter:
Everyone is susceptible to depression in the wake of a major life stress, such as the end of an important relationship, the death of a loved one, moving or financial problems.
Some research suggests that for men, job-related stress may also play an important role in male depression. Some job characteristics that may be associated with male depression include:
* Lack of control over your responsibilities
* Unreasonable demands for performance
* Conflicts with supervisors or co-workers
* Lack of job security
* Night-shift work
* Excessive overtime
* More time than you'd like spent away from home
* Wages that don't reflect the level of responsibility
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Here's the really sad part, Therese:
From "lack of control" to "low wages," those are EXACTLY the things you are forced to accept as your resume gets more and more checkered from interruptions due to depressive episodes -- making it more likely your resume will become even more checkered and you will have further depressive episodes.
What a freakin' Catch-22 ... :-(
I can definately relate to this article. Depression stopped my professional life cold in its tracks, and now I am working in a job I hate that I am horribly overeducated/overqualified for just to pay the bills.
I can attest to *Lack of Job Security* being a trigger for male depression. We had just been hit with a series of cut backs ("no really, 36 hours a week is full time") and then the economy decided to implode over the last few days. My stomach churns just writing this. My anxiety kicks in and I start worrying again. The worst part of all is that in this economy there just aren't any jobs available. Or if there are jobs, you are lost in a huge crowd of other applicants all trying to land the same position.
Although it probably falls under * Lack of control over your responsibilities, I'd add Work that is interesting or challenging to the list. After depression knocked me down, I know that one thing I have really missed is interesting work where I truly felt I was making a difference.
The connection between work stress and depression is undeniable, and it can start a cycle that feeds on itself. As job stress begins to overwhelm, job performance may suffer, which leads to guilt, which adds more stress, which may amplify depression, and on and on etc.
A man is what he does, "John, he's a lawyer, Bill, yeah I know him, he sells insurance". Other factors may initiate the depression, but once started, it WILL spread into a man's work life, and the cycle begins.
I know EXACTLY what the experts mean! As I write this, my husband (of 37 years) is IN a Dr.'s office right now. He has lost BOTH of his parent's in the past 13 months, and now (within just a few months WITHOUT his knowledge) a conflicting manager of another entirely different division has made it his priority to send headquarters 'lack of team work' reports that border line lies, resulting in a 5 day suspension. There is impending 'doom' looming in the disguise of 'doesn't fit in' that was collaborated to veil an age issue. My accountant husband turned 60, in June, and fears his retirement, our house, and our belongings are lost by sheer retaliation of an over dominate self-centered man that wants to 'win' by destroying another man's life. Can anyone answer, how personable is an accountant who crunches numbers all day, supposed to be?
I feel it too. I'm having problems with a couple of co-workers. I'm in management and sometimes feel I don't get enough support from "upstairs" and that weighs me down. My chest hurts, my attitude goes south and I wind up being aloof at home. Geez...it's hard to know what to do.
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