Your job and career have the potential to increase your happiness and well-being — or make you miserable. Studies have found that staying in a job you don’t like can be worse for your mental health than having no job at all. People who stay in jobs that make them unhappy are more likely to experience stress, anger, anxiety, and burnout.
As The American Psychiatric Association points out, job stress isn’t just emotional: it can result in troubling physical symptoms like increased pulse, high blood pressure, and risk of cardiovascular disease. Chronic stress that results in burnout can trigger depression, which is linked to health issues like stroke, obesity, disordered eating, and diabetes.
If you feel stuck in your career, counseling can be a helpful tool in managing your experience or exploring changes that may improve your situation. Speaking with a therapist or career counselor is a wonderful place to start. We each have gifts, and determining what yours are, and how you can make a positive impact in the world — all while supporting yourself financially — is absolutely possible.