Published Articles for Alamogordo Daily News

“JOB STRESS”

Written By Susan Poore, RN, CNC, CPLC ~ Balanced Health 101

For the Alamogordo Daily News Health Happenings

   Stress is a part of life. They say that it’s not want you do in life, as much as how you react to things that happen around you.   Most of us need to hold a job our entire adult life and want to be able to handle the issues that “job stress” brings on.

   Work is changing for all Americans across the country with layoffs, down sizing and budget cuts. Job stress has affected larger and small companies than ever in before and poses a health risk to many workers in a variety of settings. With our unstable economy, many of us are either not taking an early retirement or having to return to work just to pay our bills. So the stress that younger workers usually experienced is being felt by the older generation for a longer period of time.

   When workers start to report that their jobs are “very stressful or extremely stressful” or that “they often become burned out by their work” you have to worry what it is doing for their overall health. Stress combined with poor dietary habits that usually accompany it can cause inflammation within our bodies. Inflammation can and does cause many of the health difficulties we experience today.

   Many workers view their jobs as the # 1 stressor in their lives. Problems at work are more strongly associated with health complaints than any other life stressor – even more than financial or family problems. Job stress can lead to poor health habits, illness and potential injury! Many times this happens when the requirements of the job do not match the employee’s capabilities, resources or needs.   Job dissatisfaction, absenteeism and poor morale can be the start of job stress being directly embedded into their company environment.

   Some of the health risks that is related to job stress are mood and sleep disturbances, difficulty concentrating, upset stomach, headaches, back and neck problems, relationship issues, depression, along with a host of medical diagnosis directly related to the stress that the person is under. Inflammation is the number one cause of many of our current medical problems. Stress just adds to this!

   Healthy organizations care about their employees and look at ways to improve their working environment.   When management incorporates positive actions that are consistent with their organizational value, the rate of injuries improve, workers become more productive and they experience lower turnovers.

   There are benefits offered in many businesses and organizations, however, stress management training should be given top priority.   Stress reduction should be as important to them as the “bottom line”. If you need help developing a program, get help.   The training program should include managers and employees alike. No one is immune to stress.   Remember, when the top management commits and supports the program, it works!

“Job Stress Training & Prevention” should be seen as a

continuous process within a successful organization!

Susan Poore is a registered nurse, certified nutritional and stress management consultant, and certified professional life coach at Balanced Health 101 in Alamogordo. This column is provided as a service of the Otero County Community Health Council and the Alamogordo Daily News as a way to provide the latest in health and wellness information, services and events. Column are submitted by Health Council partners, but do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Otero County Community Health Council

Lifestyle Choices, Prevention and Accountability

Written for the Alamogordo Daily News
By Susan M. Poore, RN, CNC, CPLC

Posted: 11/01/2009 12:00:00 AM MDT

With all the news surrounding our country's health care crisis, it makes people sit back and think about how we arrived at this desperate situation. Because of tremendous cost and availability, many Americans are without health insurance.

Let's look at what insurance means. Insurance means "to transfer the risk" and health insurance means "insurance against expenses incurred though illness of the insured." Even though there are unfortunate diseases and disorders by which many Americans are afflicted, insurance costs have skyrocketed to also pay for many individuals who have poor lifestyle choices. Those choices have resulted in diseases that are extremely expensive and could have largely been prevented. While others are trying to solve this dilemma, we need to take our health and responsibility into our own hands.

How do we do this? We have available to us many more health statistics now than the decades before us. We know what smoking, obesity, uncontrolled stress and an unhealthy lifestyle can do to our bodies. We also know what a healthy lifestyle, along with stress reduction, can do to boost our immune system and prevent disease.

What makes a person become tired of their lifestyle and get help? Actually, there are a variety of reasons. I've had patients who, when faced with a serious health issue, wish they could take back all the harm they have done to their bodies. Others have experienced a life-changing event that caused them to look at themselves and want to make positive changes. Still, other people are just tired of being tired and do something about it. No matter what, something makes them move forward in a positive direction.

Coming to terms with our own health accountability is vital, whether we do or don't have insurance. Insurance helps pay for something when it goes wrong. Why wait? Even if the issue is resolved, there will still be co-payments, loss of wages when ill and balances owed. Can we afford this? Prevention can be your weapon. That is why I am an advocate for having health insurance assist us in paying for preventative education and testing. The costs of prevention can far outweigh the cost of disease.

People need to ask themselves the following questions:

Am I making good lifestyle choices? Am I meeting my own body's needs nutritionally and do I have a good stress reduction plan in place? Have I developed my own "preventative" health care plan with smart choices and accountability? If not, get help. There are many resources that can help you be the best you can be!!!!

Susan Poore is a registered nurse, certified nutritional and stress management consultant, and certified professional life coach at Balanced Health 101 in Alamogordo. This column is provided as a service of the Otero County Community Health Council and the Alamogordo Daily News as a way to provide the latest in health and wellness information, services and events. Column are submitted by Health Council partners, but do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Otero County Community Health Council.