The most common psychological problems among senior executives

These are the most common psychopathologies among senior executives and managers.

People under high pressure are more likely to develop certain psychological disorders.. This is the case of senior executives, managers and other positions of great responsibility.

Below we will compile the most common diagnoses that usually occur in this type of people due to the characteristics of their jobs and their lifestyle.

What are the most frequent psychopathologies among senior executives?

Executives, managers and other profiles of the highest business level are subjected to daily routines that facilitate the appearance of a series of pathologies. Let's take a look at what are the most common psychological problems in senior executives and related positions?.

1. Anxiety

It is not surprising that the first psychological pathology we encounter when talking about people who live for and for their work is anxiety. These individuals will tend to live in a constant state of alert, continuously anticipating possible situations related to their work environment and with decisions to be taken to always achieve the best results.

This over-activation, logically, is not something that the body and mind can withstand for a sustained period of time without a series of consequences. without a series of consequences, some physical, some psychological. The most common psychological symptoms of anxiety are a constant feeling of guilt, worry and overwhelm. Sometimes you may fear loss of control and even think that you may die.

Among the most common psychological problems in senior executives, anxiety causes them to be restless, irritable, have trouble concentrating and feel that they forget things. They may also experience blockages at the motor level, which feeds back the feeling of anxiety, establishing a vicious circle.

2. Depression

Depression is, together with anxiety, one of the most frequent mental disorders, so it is logical to think that it is another of the most common psychological problems in senior executives and in fact it is not uncommon for the two to appear together, since anxious-depressive symptoms are one of the symptoms that psychologists encounter most often in their consultations.

Depression is characterized by a mood of generalized sadness, feelings of guilt and unhappiness, and feelings of anxiety.Sometimes as a result of a traumatic event and other times without a clear cause, but it can perfectly fit with a stressful lifestyle that ends up exhausting the individual's mental defenses. The case of senior managers would be a profile in which this disease could emerge if the necessary precautions are not taken to avoid it.

3. Obsessive compulsive disorder

Another of the most common psychological problems in senior executives is OCD or obsessive-compulsive disorder, which is actually related to anxiety disorders but with very specific characteristics, which is why the DSM-5 diagnostic manual gives it a separate category. In this case, people develop a series of irrational obsessions that they try to placate by means of compulsive behaviors..

These obsessions or circular thoughts saturate the mind of these individuals, preventing them from focusing on other issues normally, so they develop rituals or compulsions to try to leave those thoughts behind and be able to focus on the issues that occupy them. For a person such as a manager who needs his mental capacity to the maximum, intrusive thoughts represent a big problem.

OCD is not a disease that affects as much of the population as anxiety itself, but it is common for those who have OCD to suffer from it.However, it is common for those people who are more prone to suffer from it to see it facilitated even more by a high level of stress maintained over time, which is precisely the lifestyle that a manager usually leads, which is why this is one of the most common psychological problems in senior executives.

4. Narcissistic personality disorder

The fourth psychological disorder that we would find would be the narcissistic personality disorder. In this case we are talking about a psychological alteration that affects the personality of the person that makes him/her perceive him/herself with an importance beyond the one that corresponds to him/her. makes him/her perceive him/herself with an importance beyond that which corresponds to him/her.. The individual suffering from this disorder usually believes he/she is the center of the world, with qualities that few or no one else possesses.

Not only that, but he/she needs others to make him/her see how special he/she is, so flattery is almost a requirement. This feeling, moreover, causes him to tend to consider that his rights are greater than those of his fellow man and therefore will expect better treatment than anyone else, simply because of who he is.

He will have little or no empathy and will expect his subordinates to be one hundred percent involved in the company's tasks, regardless of their personal lives, health status or other issues. Indeed, it is a profile that could fit some senior managers of some companies, so narcissistic personality disorder could not be missing as one of the most common psychological problems in senior executives.

What elements of the professional context generate these alterations?

After addressing what are the most common psychological problems in senior executives, we must know the bases that make these people have a greater tendency to suffer certain pathologies than the rest of the population. We are talking about a profile of a person who usually works many more hours a day than a typical working day, which is generally 8 hours.which is generally 8 hours.

These individuals, on the other hand, may spend 10, 12 or even 14 hours in the office. It is also common for them to travel between different locations, sometimes internationally, which implies traveling by plane, sometimes even changing time zones, with the consequent jet lag. Time is everything and they are usually rushing from one place to another to be on time for all meetings, and may have several in the same day.

In addition, this implies a very deficient sleepThis is supplemented with large doses of coffee, which only acts as a patch, because nothing works as well as a good night's sleep. It is not only the lack of sleep, but also the fact that this situation is often accompanied by a quite improvable nutrition, because sometimes, in order not to lose a single minute of work, the intake is done very quickly or sometimes it does not even take place, which is even worse.

As if that were not enough, the issues dealt with on a daily basis at the labor level are of great sensitivity, involving making decisions of enormous importance, which can mean the rise or fall of the company's stock market, profits or losses in the millions, closing essential agreements with other companies or even having in their hands the possibility of winning or losing projects that involve many jobs.

Handling all these issues on a constant basis is something that not all minds are prepared to do. Even the strongest ones can suffer a series of consequences, which are some of the most common psychological problems in senior executives and which we have previously seen in detail.

The last factor would be time off. Disconnecting from work, so important for clearing the mind after an exhausting day at work, is something that many executives struggle with.is something that many executives do not count on. Endless days at the office are followed by times at home when this person does not switch off. They use their phone or computer to answer calls or emails, review documents or try to make progress on different projects.

The same is true during vacations. These individuals never really disconnect from work, as they think that their tasks are indispensable for the company and therefore do not usually take days off and if they do it happens the same as when they get home: they are pending their laptop or smartphone, so they simply move their workstation to another place.

This factor also has an impact on their personal and family lives.They sometimes have trouble being as involved as they would like to be, so that they can enjoy more and better quality time with their children, partners, friends, etc. This could enhance the discomfort that the person already feels with the situation, as it would go from affecting only him/her to involving third parties.

In short, we are talking about people with responsibilities at the highest level, who travel constantly, sleep little, do not have healthy eating habits, who can hardly disconnect or know how to disconnect, with hardly any vacations or free time with their own family. It seems an extraordinary breeding ground to generate a whole series of pathologies that we have seen and that represent the most common psychological problems in top executives.

Bibliographical references:

• Fernández-Montalvo, J. (1998). Los trastornos psicológicos derivados del trabajo: hacia una psicopatología laboral. Clínica y Salud.
• Hernández, L., Romero, M., González de Rivera, J.L., Rodríguez-Abuín, M.J. (1997). Dimensions of occupational stress: relationships with psychopathology, stress reactivity and some organic variables. Psiquis.
• Plut, S.T. (2002). New perspectives in work psychopathology. UCES Scientific Journal.