Some jobs are prone to mental breakdowns.

These careers drive employees nuts because they lead to more pain than gain. In most cases, they are stressful; but sometimes, they offer little pay, or fail to earn respect from the public.

The stress they generate mostly emanates from the enormous responsibilities accorded, the amount of control over a situation, or the time frames provided to accomplish a task. When you are subjected to all or any of these conditions, pressure will get to you. During such times, you may feel like you are lost in the woods.

Having the wrong job can affect a person’s emotional health and can be a contributing factor to depression. Plenty of people have expressed their dislike for various jobs, but they still show up to receive their paycheck. And this can go on year after year. These may be the jobs that people pick though they are not passionate about, and this means more tough days. Sadly, some of these professions are greatly sought after.

Examples of these occupations include those in health care, like nursing, dentistry, or physician. These positions require great sacrifice, aptitude, and academic knowledge. From the standpoint of mental health, these are the careers that are more of a grind:

15. ARTISTS

Historically, artists are known to produce creative work, which in most cases, requires great ability and high levels of precision. This group is made up of writers, musicians, painters, and entertainers. For artists, studies show that stress can improve the quality of their work, which is quite odd.

One of the things that can cause a mental breakdown when one is an artist is the fact that you have an irregular paycheck. In addition, you experience isolation, and this may cause you to be moody. Artists are also required to work during odd hours, and sometimes their lifestyles may be too demanding.

Artists go insane when their work goes unappreciated. They sometimes spend numerous hours working on a project and can lose it when their art is not given the attention it deserves.

14. LAWYERS

Before qualifying as a lawyer, you are required to attain a significant amount of education, and this is always accompanied by high educational expenses. By the time an attorney is qualified and employed, he or she will mostly have accumulated a massive debt in the form of student loans. That is not forgetting that finding a job can be tasking considering that the lawyer must find a high-paying job to offset debts.

But even after securing a dream job, attorneys still get frustrated from spending long hours working to establish themselves. Establishing yourself as a trusted lawyer may require several years because you need to win people’s trust. This can significantly affect your mental health. As a lawyer, you also have to deal with billing clients who are sometimes uncooperative.

13. ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT STAFF

Those who have administrative responsibilities are often required to handle a myriad of responsibilities to ensure an organization runs smoothly. Unfortunately, sometimes they are forced to handle situations where they have little or no control, simply because their skills are in demand. At the end of the day, they get a little recognition for their effort. This will likely make them feel worthless and can cause low moods.

People working as administrative support are vulnerable to stress because they are expected to take orders from all directions. Who wouldn’t be stressed in such a situation? And the fact that they are rarely acknowledged even makes things worse. Being at the frontline of problem-solving should come with many rewards. But sadly, that is not usually the case.

12. VETERINARIANS

This job requires that one is keen and able to administer the proper diagnoses. Veterinarians have a greater responsibility for life, just like medical doctors, and carelessness can lead to death and serious legal implications.

But that is not all. Think about the long hours vets spend euthanizing lovely pets that have spent years serving their masters. Clearly, this kind of work can affect one’s emotional well being. In some cases, they are required to help sick and suffering animals, which may dampen their feelings and can lead to emotional stress or depression.

Being a veterinarian is not all about sitting and playing with puppies. What most people do not know is that this career can lead to a burnout and can leave one contemplating suicide. Sadly, most veterinarians, like medical doctors, do not seek treatment when they have a mental illness.

11. DENTISTS

This is another profession in health care that comes with its disadvantages. Dentists have to perform their work in stressful situations, and in most cases, are always overworked when they are newbies.

They have to spend more time studying because the profession requires precision and expert knowledge. This means that by the time they are done with school, they usually have massive loans that need to be paid back. This forces them to overwork themselves and to give little attention to their physical and mental health.

Since their field is competitive, it may take a dentist many years to develop excellent skills and become competitive. Unfortunately, their field is rife with stress because they constantly have to deal with complaining patients and long working hours. The fact that patients expect them to be perfect also contributes to their stress.

10. REAL ESTATE AGENTS

The real estate industry is admirable because of its great earning potential. However, it is not always as colorful. One of the biggest challenges is establishing oneself in this highly competitive industry. A real estate agent is required to work long hours and undergo several stressful situations before he/she can start earning well.

And even after working this hard, a real estate agent is still required to negotiate and close deals. This gets more stressful, especially when there is limited time to sell a property. Things can get worse when property is devalued because in this industry the value of a property and one’s earnings are directly proportional.

Forget about the sharks who earn handsomely regardless of the market situation. That is not always the case.

9. POLICE OFFICERS

This profession is crazy.

People underestimate the amount of time required to enforce the law and the challenges that come at hand. Most police officers appear as if they are in excellent physical and mental health, but most of them endure high stress levels and are regularly forced to work overtime.

The job is uncertain because it comes with the risk of having to handle criminals who may pose a danger to one’s life. They are also less likely to get adequate sleep because they deal with plenty of ugly incidents. In some cases, police may deal with more death cases than a doctor.

Lately, the police force has received tremendous criticism and backlashing because of a few incidents involving the police and citizens. This has made the profession even more frustrating.

8. SALESPEOPLE

Sales people are employed on commission, and this makes their lives stressful. They have to endure stress because they are always unsure about their next paycheck. Salespeople are also required to spend a significant amount of their time traveling and interacting with strangers as they try to market products and services. This work is extremely stressful, and it involves spending time away from family.

A salesperson is expected to meet the target, and this means cold calling strangers, who at times may be rude. Things get worse when the economy faces difficulty because this means it is going to be difficult to make sales. This is because the job entirely relies on the public’s spending.

This profession requires that you have excellent social skills. Otherwise, you are doomed.

7. ACCOUNTANTS AND FINANCIAL ADVISERS

Those who work as accountants and financial advisors face stressful situations regularly. Their primary cause of unhappiness is because they have to handle other people’s finances, which comes with great responsibility. In addition, this field greatly relies on the rise and fall of prices in the stock market. A single shift in the market may lead to significant loss and great amounts of stress. In other cases, accountants or financial advisors may have to deal with rude clients who make them feel unappreciated and worthless.

Being responsible for someone’s fortune should certainly be stressful because you have to take the blame when something goes wrong. Accountants are mainly known to work long hours, and that can have a detrimental effect on their emotional health. They work for long because a single mistake can have adverse effects.

6. NURSES

Tending to the sick is no easy task. Nurses have to deal with plenty of stress that is mostly caused by the suffering and emotions around them. Seeing another human suffer can be heartbreaking and can make one lose meaning in life. Nurses have to endure enormous amounts of stress that are mostly caused by the deteriorating health conditions and even death of those they care for.

Nurses get to witness firsthand what most people only hear about or see on the TV. They change nappies, feed the old, bathe, and perform therapy to all manner of patients. The fact that you have to deal with someone’s death – after making connections – means the profession is not for the faint-hearted. It is also stressful to have plenty of sick people around.

5. MAINTENANCE AND GROUNDS WORKERS

These people are only contacted when their services are in demand. For this reason, it ‘s hard to establish a work-life balance because they have to work at odd hours. These men and women are forced to work night shifts and their pay scale changes without notice.

It is unfulfilling to have to be called only when something is not right. I mean, how are you going to be proud when you miss work on some days and receive a phone call after two months? And that is regardless of the fact that you sometimes clean people’s messes.

These workers are often isolated and mostly work in hard conditions. They are paid low wages even though sometimes they have to work in bad weather.

4. FOOD SERVICE STAFF

Before we even go into other details, we all know that the staff at eateries and restaurants receive low wages despite the fact that they have to remain on their feet for long hours. They are required to take comments and instructions from the clients, who in some cases may be rude and uncouth. Rude customers make this profession more challenging, and in most cases, cause an employee to feel unmotivated. How can you enjoy having tons of people telling you what to do daily?

Let’s not forget the unsympathetic bosses who treat their employees like trash. These folks fail to appreciate their employees and, in some cases, force them to quit. Do you want a job where a bigger portion of your pay comes from tips?

3. TEACHERS

Many experts agree that teaching is rewarding though it is stressful. Teachers have to spend long hours lecturing classes and dealing with rowdy students, or students who have a learning disability. When there is so much work, a teacher is forced to carry work home because the next day’s schedule needs to be cleared.

In this profession, the teacher is ‘god’ and is expected to meet the students’ expectations. The teacher needs to be updated with all the relevant information, and when it’s time to meet the parents, a teacher is expected to explain a student’s poor performance.

Teachers receive pressure from schools, parents, and kids, and all these groups have different needs that have to be met. This can make it difficult to accomplish anything and can be a threat to the teacher’s emotional health.

2. SOCIAL WORKERS

Social workers deal with people experiencing crisis. Their work may involve helping refugees, orphaned children, and the homeless. Other times, they have to fight for the rights of a bigger population, and this mainly involves organizing demonstrations and strikes.

Social workers have to sacrifice a lot to help those who need assistance. Therefore, when they perform their work for a long time, they may experience a burnout and stress may check in. Dealing with families and people on the brink of crisis requires hard work and dedication, and makes the job demanding.

This kind of work requires emotional fortitude and can be challenging to one’s mental health. The burnouts are usually caused by fatigue or suffering from compassion. Also, seeing that you have put in too much work and your efforts have not borne fruit can be frustrating.

1. MEDICAL DOCTORS

Medical doctors are notorious for committing suicide, and this is mainly due to the nature of their job. Many factors are believed to cause stress in a physician’s life, and some of them include demanding patients, long working hours, continued schooling, and malpractice lawsuits.

Unfortunately, doctors who have mental illness rarely seek treatment for a number of reasons, and one of them is because they do not want to admit they need help. Imagine having to deal with deaths almost daily, and having to work long hours because patients need you.

Worse, this profession requires that you study for a longer time before you are given the relevant credentials. This, like the other professions in health care, comes at a price. It mostly leads to massive student loans and makes the career stressful.

Sources: Health.com, everydayhealth.com, mentalhealthdaily.com, cbsnews.com, cnn.com