STRESS!

Ask someone to define the past three years of life in America and you might hear “recession”, or “unemployment”, possibly “housing crisis”. But one word that better sums up our recent past, and probably recent future: Stress. There is no doubt that stress is becoming a larger problem and unfortunately a common one for most people. What’s worse is while there isn’t a foreseeable end in sight; it’s affecting our population at a younger and younger age. Many teenagers are developing the same stress related symptoms which used to be found with the responsibilities associated being an adult. There aren’t many people who can claim to be immune from stress. What we need to realize are the types of stress and the effects they can have on us.

Everyone has their own causes of stress, no matter what types they are dealing with. Your body, however, responds the same to all stress. Mental stress is usually the one we think of first. According to the National Health Interview Survey, 75% of the population experience some stress at least once within two weeks. Half of those say their stress is moderate to severe.

Work tops the list of most common causes of mental stress. Increasing hours, increasing responsibility, and declining markets have added to this over the past few years.  Money, or lack of, is a close second. Recent surveys have pointed to more stress from a job someone is unhappy with than the amount of stress that comes with no job. Obviously someone with a family to support may not have the option of the two.

Families bring a high percentage of stress as well. Divorce has become common place in America, and the declining economy has forced families to rely more heavily on each other than they have in the recent past.

Worries about health rounds out the top for causes for mental stress, which can be tied into family and money stress as well. Health care is getting more and more complicated and the costs associated with it. While we make leaps and bounds into treatments for various health problems, we add to the stress of it, possibly making your health worse!

Physical stress hits everyone as well. Anything from sickness, poor nutrition, fatigue or a broken bone all cause physical stress. Even that nagging back pain that you have learned to “deal with” adds to physical stress.

Chemical stress is becoming more prevalent. While 50 years ago, chemical stress may have affected only a small percent of the population, now it’s hard not to be affected. Chemicals in your food, insecticides, air pollution, and legal/illegal drugs add stress to your body. All those things that you ingest or breathe in have to be dealt with at some point, and there are usually effects of that felt through every bodily system.

What are the effects of stress? We know stress is bad, and we don’t feel well when we are stressed out, but are there long term problems, or are we just being wimpy?

Stress definitely affects your health. As I mentioned before, your body reacts to all these in a similar fashion. Hormones are released to help you deal with immediate stress. This is the “fight or flight” reaction. Increased heart rate, alertness, energy all are survival necessities. But long term stress causes chronic problems with these hormones.  Cortisone is the most common stress hormone, and causes weight gain, increased pain sensitivity, and loss of sleep. Sound familiar?  Heart disease, high blood pressure, strokes are also associated with chronic stress, as well as a weakened immune system, which leads to increased sickness and infections. Your immune system also keeps cancer cells in check, so there is good reason to think that chronic stress can increase your chances of cancer.  Obesity can occur with chronic stress, not just from comfort food, but the increased cortisone causing you to pack on pounds.

Social affects show in both family and friends. Someone who carries high levels of stress may have problems relating to friends, or may add to the stress that occurs in families. Children are affected by parents who carry a high level of stress, and some believe this leads the children to poor stress management. Many addictive behaviors are reinforced by high levels of stress, such as alcohol abuse, cigarette smoking, and legal and illegal drug use.

Should your work place be concerned about your stress levels, or is this a personal problem? According to the American Institute of Stress, 25% of workers admit to taking “mental health days”. This means loss of work for those companies they work for. An estimated $300 billion per year is lost to stress related illness or lost work in America’s economy every year. While business struggles to stay competitive in the world market, one can only wonder if they worked on lowering the stress if production would improve! The costs for health care for companies go up as well. Workers report an increase of 46% in health care costs per year, or $600 more, due to high stress. This raises not only your cost, but the cost of insurance coverage for the company.

We know that stress is everywhere, and it’s not good for us, our friends and family, and our job. So what do we do about it? To start, take care of yourself. Exercise is a great stress reliever and combats several side effects of stress.  Take time to decompress, do something to take your mind off work before you go to bed, or go home to your family. Eat right, with all the stresses involved in daily life don’t add to it by eating junk food and taking chemical infused drugs that add to your bodies work load. Adjustments and a healthy diet can help keep your immune system working better and relieve the physical stress from pain and inflammation.

When stress seems to be winning, don’t be afraid to ask for help. Talking with a friend or professional can help with the mental stress and possibly find solutions in life to reduce some of the stress. Stress isn’t going away, so learning to manage it is the best life solution.