Least Stressful Jobs

Unless you have one of the least stressful jobs available, employment has the potential to cause a great deal of stress and anxiety in your life.

A number of job-related factors can generate a great deal of stress in your life. A poor relationship with your boss, long-term stress without many opportunities for rest, or lack of recognition are only a few factors that can contribute significantly to your overall stress level.

Stress is one of the most dangerous health threats facing both your body as well as your psychological well-being. This threat can initiate the body's natural automatic process known as the "fight-or-flight" response. This response is a deeply ingrained reaction that helped our ancestors to survive in a dangerous world. Today, while dangerous situations may not be life threatening, in many cases your body reacts in much the same way. If the stress response takes place too often, it can have a detrimental effect on your body.

Symptoms of Stress Overload include:

• Memory problems
• Poor concentration
• Anxious and racing thoughts
• Unexplainable fear
• Moody and agitated
• Tense and unable to relax
• Depression
• Headaches or backaches
• Skin problems
• Chest pain and/or racing heartbeat
• Lack of appetite

While not all jobs are for everyone, there are several jobs where [b]most[/b] of the people who do them report the lowest levels of stress. According to an October 2004 article on EhealthMD, the Jobs Rated Almanac lists the five least stressful jobs as:

1. Medical records technician
2. Janitor
3. Forklift operator
4. Musical instrument repairer
5. Florist

Even though the majority of workers in these careers may report experiencing the lowest levels of stress, these may still be career paths that aren't right for you. In fact another factor in what generates higher levels of stress in a job is when you are in a career that doesn't match your personality.

This means that the best chance you have of finding a job that offers the lowest levels of stress for you is to identify a career path that deals with an activity that you actually enjoy doing.

Another list of jobs from the Jobs Rated Almanac, listed as the "Best Jobs", uses more comprehensive criteria such as income, environment, stress, physical demands and security. The top five best jobs listed included:

1. Biologist
2. Actuary
3. Financial planner
4. Computer-systems analyst
5. Accountant

Even if you do have a low-stress job that matches your personality type, there are times when stress can still take place on the job. Sometimes this stress is short term, and other times it can stretch out for months or years. Working with a new boss or colleague that you don't like, conflict in the workplace, or a variety of other factors can lead to increased stress and anxiety at work. If changing jobs is not an easy solution, there are many techniques you can use to deal with stress so that it doesn't harm your health.

According to a study at Atlanta's Morehouse School of Medicine, researcher Tesfaye Belay, Ph.D determined that stress can make you physically sick by increasing stress hormones in the body which promote bacteria growth.

Stress hormones can affect every system within your body, causing a wide variety of physical ailments such as headache, depression, or ulcers just to name a few.

Long=term effects of stress are even more damaging. Research traces serious fatal illnesses such as heart disease and cancer to the long-term damaging affects of stress hormones.

While reducing stress levels sounds simple, for anyone going through it, reducing stress can be quite difficult at times.

However, following a few simple steps you can significantly reduce stress in your life.

• Identify and deal with the stressor: Directly facing what is causing most of the stress in your life, head on, is the most effective approach. For example, if there is an ongoing conflict between you and your boss, make a concerted effort to make an appointment with your boss. Rationally talk things through and try to come to a compromise or agreement before you walk out of the office. Often the relief you will feel from the resolution will reduce your stress level dramatically.
• Organize: When it comes to stress, environment is everything. Take the time to reduce clutter. Throw out old paperwork that are taking up desk space and serve no useful purpose. Place a plant or a soft lamp on your desk. Read up on Feng Shui and apply it to your office space.
• Relax: While it's easier said than done, relaxing is crucial to reducing and even reversing the long term effects of stress on your body. The most effective technique to relax is through meditation, or focused breathing. Practicing meditation for at least 30 minutes a day will have a tremendous impact on your overall sense of well-being.
• Exercise: In combination with focused breathing, which brings your mind back to your body, exercise serves much the same purpose. While the physical effects of exercise are certainly beneficial, the psychological effects that come from focusing your mind on your body provides a feeling of being "centered" that will last far after your workout is over.

Whether or not you are currently employed in one of the low stress jobs, stress can affect anyone. Knowing how to recognize the symptoms of stress, and following the techniques to reduce and reverse it, will not only improve your short term symptoms, but it will also lengthen your life and bring calm and tranquility back into your mind.

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