By Zoë Krupka , La Trobe University

Many of the people who visit me in my therapy practice spend time talking about work. How much work there is, how they never seem to be able to get it all done, how many hours they spend at work, how tired they are all the time and how fearful they are about losing their jobs.

They’ve read articles telling them how they can improve their work/life balance. They’ve delegated and relegated, meditated and ruminated.

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Women in particular come in suffering the effects of overwork, losing out financially in the longer hours marathon, or perhaps more frighteningly, sacrificing their work to help manage a male partner’s crazy schedule. And yet they persist in locating the problem internally. Is there something else they can do, they wonder, to manage it all better? Maybe there’s something wrong with them; they just can’t seem to live and work at the same time. (Post continues after gallery.)

Characters we'd like to share an office with.

Carrie, Sex and the City

Bridget Jones

Emily, The Devil Wears Prada

Hannah, Girls

House of Cards

Joan, Mad Men

The cast of The Office

The Office.

We’re working longer hours than ever before, and as our employment conditions continue to worsen, they’re simply repackaged into a new version of normal in an effort to make the truly pathological state of many of our workplaces  appear acceptable.

And despite the fact that the very best evidence we have about the causes of work stress and burnout point to factors present in the workplace rather than in us, the stress reduction industry and the helping professions’ focus on individual self-care strategies is at an all-time high.

Too busy to be well

Have a look at the lifestyle section of any major newspaper and you’ll find a host of articles on how to stay well in a life that’s too busy to live in. But the facts are plainer than we’re being led to believe. Many of us simply work too much to really be well.

Nothing can alleviate the stress of overwork except working less. Like the road signs say, only sleep cures fatigue. We need to be reminded of this because tired long-haul drivers can be deluded into thinking that coffee, a can of Mother or an upbeat bit of music might help them stay awake.

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For the madly overworked, we need reminding that the only cure for working too much is to stop. It’s as simple as that. (Post continues after gallery.)

Trying to drink more water? Try this.

Lime and Strawberry.

Lemon and Lime.

Strawberry, Herb and Lemon.

Watermelon.

Lemon and Berry.

Cucumber, Strawberry and Kiwifruit.

Orange and Strawberry.

Lemon and Herb.

Peach and Raspberry.

Lemon and Herb. Strawberry and Melon.

Pineapple and Herb.

Fruit salad.

Strawberry, Lime and Orange.

Lime, Orange and Strawberry.