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Working from home seems like a dream to people who are sitting in their offices listening to their coworker’s music blaring through their headphones or smelling another’s stinky lunch fresh out of the microwave. There are many joys that come from working from home, and that’s why it is becoming increasingly popular.
Even though it is a wonderful thing to be able to work from home when you combine that with mental health issues like anxiety or depression, you can find that there are a few trouble spots there that you need to be aware of. These will not make it impossible for you to work from home, so don’t get scared. It is just important that you understand the challenges so you can work to overcome them.
Talking to a therapist may benefit isolation and depression
People who are depressed often isolate themselves from the people around them who care most. This isolation seems like it will give them some peace, but in actuality, isolation makes a person very lonely.
Loneliness feeds the depression more. When you’re working from home, it makes it much easier to isolate from the people you care for. If you are prone to depression and working from home, take the time to have a check-in buddy or accountability partner who will keep an eye out for you.
Your accountability partner can let you know when you have spent too much time in the house and encourage you to get up, get out and do something. If that still isn’t enough, consider talking to a therapist if you don’t already. They can give you other suggestions and advice that may help you out.
Lack of boundaries between “home” time and “work” time
We know that life requires balance, and work-home balance is a big problem for many of us. In the case of our mental health, we can pour ourselves into our work to avoid our home issues, or pour ourselves in into our home life to avoid work issues. Working all of the time is completely unhealthy for us, and can distract us from the time we need to spend resting and recharging.
Those lines become even more blurred when your office is right in your house. It is really important to establish strong boundaries between office time and home time. Keep a regular schedule, and commit to your work hours. If you are done for the day at 5, stand firm in that and do not work, even when it seems like you need the extra time to get it done.
Managing your mental health means making time for self-care, a task that becomes impossible when you are constantly working. When you are home, be home; when you are at work, be at work.
Ordinary entrepreneur stresses
Many of the people we know who work from home are entrepreneurs, and they are working with nobody but themselves. That creates an extremely stressful environment where people are completely self-reliant, and tired, and overworked. This is really rotten stuff for our mental health.
To counteract it, incorporate some sort of stress management techniques into your day, whether it is a touch of meditation or a simple walk. All of these things can contribute to a less stressful environment. The last thing we want is additional stress, especially right in our homes.
Being stressed out is one thing, being stressed in your home is another thing entirely! We need to examine our relationship with our work and monitor our boundaries carefully to ensure we are not creating a toxic work environment for ourselves right in our homes.
Monitor your mental health carefully, be certain to socialize, and find an activity to help reduce your stress level. When you do that, you are well on your way to reducing the stress that working from home can bring.
Krystle Cook – the creator of Home Jobs by MOM – put her psychology degree on a shelf and dived into a pile of diapers and dishes instead. She is a wife and mother to two rambunctious boys, sweating it out in her Texas hometown. She loves cooking, DIY home projects, and family fun activities.
Life Lessons Every Child Shoud Learn
This is so true and I need to show this to my husband, He works mostly from home, we are east coast but he works with people all over the country and time zones, this makes the off time and work time lines very, very blurry.
Different time zones can make things really tough. I imagine those lines are extra blurred.
I don’t think I could work from home. I have many colleagues that do it well, but I don’t think I’m that disciplined…would likely eat, drink, watch tv, garden instead of working🌱
Haha, I bet you could do it if you tried. You just have to make sure what needs done gets done. It’s okay if you multitask.
I can relate to this on so many levels! I was working from home and freelancing once upon a time ago. It was so stressful. I finally had to get a job outside of the house and put my kid in daycare just to stay sane! Great post!
What a powerful post. I am not yet at home boss yet but I will watch out for my mental health.
After a few years of working from home, I had to put some boundaries in place, especially with my clients. I turned off my email notifications on my phone so I wouldn’t see their after-hours emails. I also stopped replying to those emails to the next business day, even if I would write the reply when I did see the email. I love the gmail feature that lets you schedule drafts.
Great post. I really enjoyed reading about stress level. Thanks for sharing this post.
Thank you! Do you work from home?
I’m a stay-at-home mom, and find that it is so important to get out for both me and my young daughters. Going to the gym by myself or taking the kids to the playground across the street always helps our mood.
I wish I could find time for a gym. I think we may invest in some equipment since we are way more likely to do it if it’s at home lol.
I do not currently work. But in one of my former jobs I will say that stress was really there. The boss lent to the stress. The stress was pretty cyclical. I would take walks and appreciate the time away from the job on the weekend.
I’m sorry to hear your job was really stressful and that your boss was of no help. That always sucks!
I am currently not working but I remember how stressful work environments and operations can be. I would cry on my way home from work quite often.
That sounds awful. Where did you work?
It was awful. I worked at Medco Health. They have since been taken over by Express Scripts. It is a pharmaceutical benefit management company. We handled mail service prescription s and administered members’ prescription benefits.
I’m so sorry you had a bad experience there, Cathy. My husband deals with prescriptions (sort of) – more the company does. He’s a programmer, though so it’s not directly.
I did my job from home for awhile & actually found it harder to stay focused than when I went to a workplace. Between friends, neighbors & pets interrupting me I just couldn’t stay as focused.
I don’t really have that issue unless it’s the summer. It’s very hard to work with the kids at home wanting entertainment.
Stress can affect me at work. I try to take a time out if I feel myself getting overwhelmed.
That can be tough. Where do you work?
Everyone assumes working from home is easy & stress free! But isolation, depression, time management issues are very real problems for most…
Yes, it can be quite lonely. Although I have to admit I do like the peace. However, I have a dog and 4 cats following me around lol.
I don’t get stressed at work. Our company is pretty laid back and it is a very small company. We are pretty well family there.
Sounds like a great work environment. Where do you work?
Definitely, in a self controlled environment people tend to be more hard on themselves. I like to be aware of such stress, and learn to cope and be friends with it.
Yes, we can be very hard on ourselves. I know I can be. There’s so much weight on our shoulders sometimes.
This is a great post! Stress can definitely get in the way at times when we don’t want it to. It affects me sometimes too
What stresses you out the most?
You bet stress at work has had an impact on my life. I’m a retired Operating Room Nurse that’s seen and been a part of some incredibly wonderful and incredibly horrifying situations.
Being a nurse especially in an operating room has to be really stressful. Probably more stressful than most jobs because it’s life and death.
I do know. As a single, working parent you’re always rushed but working at home can be even more stressful sometimes, trying to keep work separate from home. I worked from home with 2 kids since 2003. I would do it all again. 🙂
It can be stressful but I would totally prefer working at home with my kids than running to an office.
Stress absolutely affects me at work. I have peripheral vertigo, and stress is a trigger. I always find myself needing my meds at work.
Having vertigo sounds awful. My aunt suffers from that sometimes.
Stress affects me in all areas of my life. I have a hard time sleeping. I hate when I take it out on my loved ones though, when they tell me I stop
I’m sorry to hear that. I hate stress too! What help you sleep better?
I try to work a side hustle from home & I get super stressed! It’s either my house falls apart but my side hustle gets worked, or I get no work done & the house is kept up. All with a 13 month old too!
I totally feel ya! Balancing is HARD. What’s your side hustle?
I’m an online health & fitness coach. 🙂
Sounds awesome! How did you get into that?
I did it initially for my own accountability, but it’s been absolutely amazing to be able to join others on their journeys & cheer them along.
I bet they love having a great cheerleader in their corner!
I am a stay at home parent/ homeschooling mom so, I don’t get paid to work. I can definitely see how working from home could be stressful. Loneliness does creep in at time. I think not having to wear particular work attire or having to rush out the door in the morning could be nice though.
Not having to get ready for work in the morning is one of the reasons I love working from home. You could start a mommy/homeschooling blog. A lot of moms do that to make extra money while they stay home with their kiddos.
I am retired now but I never let stress at work get me down. I would come home and either work on crafts or read a book for about a hour. Then it would be all gone and I could go on with life.
It’s good you could let go of your stress so easily. Some people just hang on it.
I am a nurse so I do tend to get stressed at work. When I do I take some time to just breathe.
I can imagine being a nurse is really stressful. I’m glad you can deal with it in a healthy way.
When I’m stressed it affects me in every area of my life.
I know – me too. It’s like a waterfall, it trickles down into everything.
Stress does affect me at work. I don’t concentrate as well when I’m feeling stressed out.
I totally agree with that. I def don’t concentrate as well when I am stressed either.
I no longer work out of the home, but there was time that stress ruled me. With counseling and medication I have been living a more relaxed life.
I feel ya. I think it’s probably time I start working on my anxiety issue again.
Not surprising. The Hubs prefers going to his office. He says the kids and me are added stress!!!
Haha, I can totally get that. Extra people bugging you does add stress, but I rather not go anywhere lol.
I find working at home much less stressful. Dealing with people at work is much more stressful
I think I will have to agree with you. I much rather deal with home issues than workplace issues.
I actually had a mentor in my college internship (I’ve always worked in corrections/law enforcement) who gave me great advice. “When you walk in those steel doors(at the jail), leave your family in your car. And when you walk out of here, leave all the prisoners in here.” It has really helped me not be stressed in my employment.
Yes! Keep work at work and home at home 🙂
Indeed, stress has a huge affect on my life; even as a homemaker. I suffer from PTSD; so much so that I have seizures. Fortunately, I have developed a closer relationship with The Lord, and He has relieved me of much of my burden and I haven’t had a seizure in nearly 10 months.
I’m so happy to hear you are doing better!
Work is stressful standing on my feet 8 or more hours is very tiring
I bet! I remember the days when I did that. Good shoes help.
It’s very important to separate home life and work life. Meditation is helpful.
Yes, it is! I’m glad you find meditation useful 🙂
Working from home doesn’t cause me much stress. If I had to name something, it would be the lack of social interaction.
I think the hardest time of year to work at home is during the summer when the kids are on break.
I am now retired and yes, when I was working I was affected by stress. I was an ongoing thing.
I’m happy you are leading a much less stressful life now!
I miss my nursing career (now retired due to seizure disorder). The wonderful times far out weight the troublesome.
I bet you helped so many people. Thank you!
As someone who has worked from home for over a decade, discipline is probably the best way to manage stress — but this is also the hardest thing to achieve.
I have relied on a todo list to help me through the day and get things done in a (somewhat) timely fashion. Does it always work? Nope. Has it helped me tremendously nevertheless? Yup, sure has.
Find whatever works for you — whether you try the Pomodoro technique, a simple todo list, or simply hitting the gym before your workday. It won’t suddenly make you perfect, but it will surely help with overall stress levels and make you a bit more disciplined.
Thanks for the short and sweet article; I now have another blog to read 🙂
Elvis
Yes, do what works for you. Everyone is different and needs different motivation.
Love this post! I also have the work option to telecommute full time. However, after trying it for several months, I thought I would go crazy. I missed the social interaction with my colleagues. Also, it was overwhelming to think I could never really leave work as hours and hours of deadlines were just feet away.
In the end, I was able to find the perfect solution for myself. I now work in the office three days a week and work from home two days! For me, it really is a perfect fit and the best of both worlds.
That seems to be common for social butterflies – missing human interaction. I’m so introverted that I’m more comfortable working at home. It gives me less anxiety. That is a great balance! My husband used to do that and he really liked it. Now he just has the option to work at home when he needs to which is nice too.
I NEVER WOULD HAVE THOUGHT WORKING FROM HOME COULD BE STRESSFULL. STRESS CERTAINLY AFFECTS ME AT WORK, AND ALL OF MY CO-WORKERS AS WELL. WE ARE ALWAYS UNDER PRESSURE.
I think stress can affect anyone anywhere. It’s good at that!
I do not work outside of the home but do understand having stress. I have anxiety and the smallest things can stress me out and it can be very annoying. God if I did work I would probably be a total mess. lol
I feel ya Kathy! Anxiety gets me too but working at home actually helps that for me.
Working from home would be amazing! I work in a retail store and some weeks I DON’T EVEN GET A DAY OFF.
I remember those days Sarah. Working at home is great but just like any job can get stressful at times.
This tip “Talking to a therapist may benefit isolation and depression” is a good one for working from home – as more often than not we are isolated due to working from home. I run an in-home daycare and some days I am desperate for adult conversation but I try not to jump on the parents when they walk in the door.
Mishelle
Haha, talking to kids all day can get to you after a while. I suppose it’s better than being alone, though, depending on their age.
This information about possible negative effects on mental health from working at home is very helpful. Thanks for sharing!
I have worked both at home and outside of the home. I found it to be more stressful at home!! When we’re having a bad, stressful day at work(outside of the home) we can leave that space and destress. Working at home- well, we are already at the place we’re suppose to be able to calm down. There’s just no boundries from work life and home life!
The lack of boundaries can make it very hard to decompress. It’s always there staring at you.