Talking about Stress and Depression

Karen is a radio show host. Today, she is talking to a behavioural psychologist, Dr Harriet Smith, about stress and depression...

Karen: Dr Smith, most of us experience stress in the workplace. What increases our stress level?

Dr Smith: Well, work-related stress has many different causes, but I can say that some professions are clearly more stressful than others.

Karen: Can you give us some examples?

Dr Smith: Well, any jobs which have an excessive workload and a lack of control and support – these are major contributors to increased stress levels. For example, hospitality workers and middle-level managers.

Karen: And how can we protect ourselves from stress in the workplace?

Dr Smith: Well, we can cope with stress better by strengthening our emotional intelligence. And the first step is identifying the triggers. Triggers cause ‘emotional hijacks’.

Karen: What should we do when we are in the middle of an ‘emotional hijack’?

Dr Smith: My advice is to walk away from a tense situation by going for a walk, going to get a drink, or taking a minute to calm down.

Karen: I understand from today’s conversation that I should invite you to talk on my programme more often! Would you like to be our guest again?

Dr Smith: It would be my pleasure!