Being Self-Employed Brings You a Whole New Level of Stress Management

By Kate Smalley
Posted Friday, December 17, 2004

Being self-employed, or freelancing is a truly unique environment in which to work. Basically, you wake up every morning and “reinvent the wheel.” That means that you begin every day knowing that you’ll be required to provide your customers with something they feel that they can’t live without. That’s not an easy thing for your stress level to handle.

Being self-employed is synonymous with long hours, and working through those days that you really should have taken off. It means that your stomach is repeatedly in knots and the adrenaline just doesn’t flow anymore.

If this describes you, you’re not alone.

Working for oneself from home, in front of the computer on weekdays and weekends is becoming evermore popular thanks to the internet and the World Wide Web. However, with this ever growing popularity of independence, comes the increasing build of stress.

Symptoms of high stress in those who are self-employed include:

* The inability to concentrate
* The general feeling of being uptight
* Biting everyone’s head off
* Aching shoulders and neck
* A constant headache
* Indecisiveness
* Fatigue
* Insomnia

Of course, these are only a sample of the symptoms, but they are among the most common. If left unmanaged, stress can even develop further into more dangerous health conditions.

For people who are self-employed, proper stress management becomes critical to living a healthy, rewarding life. Stress management itself is a matter of recognizing your individual stresses, finding the cause, and taking responsibility for these stresses, making changes where they are necessary.

This can be as simple as taking an aroma therapeutic bubble bath at night, yoga, or something more structured, such as consulting a stress management therapist.

If you are self-employed, and you wish to make certain that your stress level is managed effectively, you may wish to consult your doctor, who can advise you with regards to the techniques and strategies that will work best for you.

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