Workplace Depression Busters

For those who get a little tired sometimes..

How to Defeat Office Depression

By Therese Borchard


In his classic, "The Prophet," Kahlil Gibran writes: "Always you have been told that work is a curse... But I say to you that when you work you fulfill a part of earth's furthest dream, assigned to you when that dream was born."


Unfortunately Kahlil's words don't jibe with a new Australian study that found almost one in six cases of depression among working people caused by job stress, that nearly one in five (17 percent) working women suffering from depression attribute their condition to job stress and more than one in eight (13 percent) depression attribute their condition to job stress and more than one in eight (13 percent) working men do the same. In the last decade, the number of American workers that say job stress is a major problem in their lives has doubled. In fact, the US Department of Health reported that 70 percent of physical and mental complaints at work are related to stress.

What do we do? Bring our Kleenex to work and hope we don't get caught crying, or give our notice with no other job in reach? Thankfully, we have a few steps between these two extremes. Here are 12 techniques that have helped me manage the workplace blues.
Don't Quit Yet
Let me just say this first. Chances are higher that you will feel worse if you quit than if you keep on showing up to a job that you hate. Why? If you're not working, you will have even more time to think about how much you hated your job. On top of the acute anxiety you feel when you think about how you are going to pay off your next phone, electric, and mortgage bill without the regular paycheck being deposited automatically into your bank account. And then there's the isolation of having no one to talk to during the day, because... one small detail... everyone else you know is probably working. So just sit tight until you read through, say, ten of these tips before you gladly give your notice, okay?

Learn Some Calming Techniques
You relax your shoulders in a way that relieves some of that tension and tells your body that slugging him isn't an option (right now, anyway).

Improve Your Working Conditions
But there are simple ways you can improve even the most sterile and miserable working conditions: putting a nice plant in your cubicle, hanging or framing personal photos (a recent study say that looking at pictures of loved ones reduces pain), using a 10,000 lux daylight balanced light (a lamp used for Seasonal Affective Disorder, but doesn't look any different from an average desk light). Keeping a clean desk will also help you feel less overwhelmed.

Get a Life Outside of Work
If I were to name the single most important lesson I learned when I was in a psych ward, it would be this: get a life outside of work. You see, pre-psych ward, I had invested all my self-esteem into my profession. Thus, each career flop set me back a considerable chunk. If a book bombed, so did my self-confidence.

Get Some Guidance

Take a Break



Last but not least be grateful and remember that pair of shoes you want ..I know it's hard to say but you could be unemployed..