What is Karoshi and Which Stones Can Help?

Karoshi is a Japanese term for “death from overwork”. In 2015 police statistics in Japan indicate that 2,159 suicides were recorded as problems related to work. This does not include deaths from heart attack, stroke or other deaths or illness related to stress from overwork.

How big a problem is it? A national survey in Japan showed that 20% of the country’s workforce are at risk of karoshi because they work more that 80 hours overtime every month. Over 10% of corporation employees put in over 100 hours of overtime per month. The overtime is often unpaid and is expected, by senior management, to guarantee job security and promotion.

American, Australian, British and European workers are generally not under such intense pressure but many still suffer from symptoms related to job related stress, whether it be the number of hours worked, pressure from managers or simply that they do not like the work they are doing.

What to do about it? The obvious would be to work less hours and have more days off or change jobs. If none of these options are available the next best thing is to try and minimize stress at the workplace. Going for a brief walk at lunch time, getting up and moving around the office and brief meditations at your desk can all help. If none of these are practical you might look into the healing power and energy balancing characteristics of crystals and minerals.

I know to a lot of people this is considered “airy fairy” and “New Age” mumbo jumbo but what do you have to lose? The worst that could happen is that you would have a beautiful crystal or mineral that could adorn your desk while radiating positive energy to you and those around you. Small time periods of holding the crystal and clearing the mind can help in resolving confusion and stress. Even having the stone close to you can help. As the stress eases start adding positive thoughts and soon the workplace and future begin to look brighter.

Crystals and Minerals I Would Recommend

Lapis Lazuli is known for it’s soothing and calming effect. Just looking at the deep blue color can instantly reduce you stress level. It also is a stone of communication. This could be helpful if you need to communicate with your boss, co-workers or partners that you are in overwhelm and need some time.

Smoky quartz is a wonderful grounding and protective stone. Many times, when we are working too much, we get “heady.”We spend so much time in our go-modes that we lose our connection to our bodies. This can be dangerous as we stop listening to the subtle clues our bodies give us when it is suffering. Being grounded helps maintain that connection to our bodies as well as to the earth (and her magnetic force.) Putting your bare feet on the ground daily can really help, as can smoky quartz, black tourmaline and hematite.

Clear quartz, or a quartz crystal, can help energize and balance all of your chakras or energy centers. When these centers are in harmony, our physical body can handle stress better. We can pull from the infinite source of energy from the universe, or the divine, instead of draining our personal energy centers in an attempt to keep harmony within the body.

Rose quartz helps us get in our hearts. When we spend time in our hearts instead of our heads, we start getting in touch with our higher self. From this place we get to choose if what we are doing is in our best interest or not. When we have unconditional love and compassion for ourselves, we make choices based on what is to our highest good.

By Neville Ryan

EarthGallery.com