How to Get Time Off Work for Stress and Anxiety?

Are you really stressed?

Stress is a term used to describe the feeling of being overwhelmed and swamped in varying intensities and contexts. Not all of them can be considered for work stress leave. To avail of the leave, you need to consult a mental health professional and they need to certify that you are stressed enough to take time off from work.

With this in mind, let’s try to understand how work anxiety manifests.

When you work in a high-pressure job, it may involve a demanding boss, too much workload, not enough employees to share it, hard deadlines, high levels of competition, and suchlike. It is natural for you to feel physically and emotionally drained. Your situation outside the office may also contribute to this feeling in a big way. Anxiety and mental health don’t mix well. 

Working under such harsh and impossible conditions can leave an indelible mark on your psyche, besides the physical toll. Burnout is a natural outcome of intolerable levels of work anxiety. 

You may be too preoccupied with making things work and dealing with your frustrations and anger that you barely acknowledge how you feel other than think of it as bad and undesirable – something you want to escape from.

If you think you are stressed enough to qualify for work stress leave and want to avail it, you have to consult a healthcare provider for certification and approach the HR team at your workplace.

When you go to a mental health professional for evaluation, you need to be prepared to detail your symptoms and show them how it is affecting your everyday life. Self-evaluation can help you here. 

It would be a good idea to note down the points as you go through the checklist and analyze your emotions. 

Here are some pointers for self-evaluation.

Physical symptoms

Even though stress, depression, and anxiety impact the mind, they also manifest as physical signs within a short time. The symptoms include:

• Sleeplessness, nightmares, sleep apnea, and other sleep disorders
• Migraine or frequent headaches
• Tightness in muscles accompanied by pain
• Tension and chest pain
• Gastrointestinal problems
• Acidity, heartburn, and nausea

Most of the symptoms are general in nature and are often ignored. This can worsen the situation. If allowed to continue, they may have serious repercussions. 

Emotional symptoms

When under the influence of stress, anxiety, and depression, are you feeling …

• Restless and irritated
• Anxious and nervous
• Angry and sore
• Miserable and teary
• Distracted by stressful thoughts
• A distant feeling of fear
• Unable to focus on any task
• Inattentive and not motivated 

The presence of one or more of the emotional symptoms can harm your performance and bring down your productivity levels. These symptoms will also prevent you from taking steps or engaging in activities to alleviate stress. 

When you are feeling miserable, angry, or sad, you will be uninterested in the company of others and want to be left alone. This will prevent you from approaching your family or friends for help and support.

Eating disorders

Is your eating pattern getting affected by work anxiety, stress, and depression? Such as:

• Binge eating
• Stress eating
• Not hungry or unable to eat
• Boozing
• Smoking 

As your interest in nutritious foods decreases and you take to unhealthy foods and addictive habits, your quality of life takes a hit. This can lead to depression and can even make you suicidal.

One of the main aftereffects of stress is the drop in energy levels. The reason may be loss of appetite or insomnia or any of the others. As your energy level drops, you will feel lethargic, unwilling to motivate yourself to be more physically active. 

You may be unable to maintain your focus, leading to minor and major mistakes. As you slip into a more and more depressed state of mind, you will be less inclined to pursue your regular activities, making you feel more desperate, dreadful, and depressed.