By Sam Bennison

To Your Health

Overworked and Underpaid? You might be putting your health at risk

Aug 27, 2024 | 6:00 AM

PRINCE GEORGE— A new 18 year study out of the Journal of the American Heart Association shows that working in a high stress enviroment can lead to increased risk of heart disease. The findings in the paper, “Psychosocial Stressors at Work and Atrial Fibrillation Incidence: An 18‐Year Prospective Study”, do not come as a surprise to cardiac electrophysiologist, Jason Andrade.

“There’s lots of studies that have been done across various cardiac conditions that have linked bad cardiovascular outcomes to increased stress, whether that’s physical stress or whether that’s emotional stress,” says Dr. Andrade. “both result in an adrenaline type response on the body that puts the heart under strain. And so that can lead to increased rates of arrhythmias or increased rates of heart attacks.”

As for how to reduce that stress Tricia Wright, a registered clinical counsellor at Arnica Counselling, says it’s important to set boundaries.

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“Do you have enough personal boundaries, to say to yourself, work needs to stop, I need to stop checking emails,” asks Wright. “At a certain time in the day, work is over.”

However, that can be easier said than done.

“You might encounter some discomfort by shutting off your phone,” adds Wright. “A lot of us do. It feels like you have to always be tethered to it. I mean, there’s an addictive quality to phones and being always attached to our work. And so, acknowledging that there might be a feeling of like withdrawal from it and some discomfort, but that by continually working through it you might improve.”

Wright adds that it’s important to remember to have fun either on the job or off the job as that can greatly relieve stress.

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Email: sam.bennison@pattisonmedia.com