Stress Is America’s Number 1 Health Problem
Stress has been featured prominently in the news as a major health epidemic for some years now and this situation continues to worsen as an increasing number of workers report they are increasingly suffering stress in the workplace. In fact work now constitutes the leading environment for the development of stress among adult Americans. But stress levels have also been rising for children and teenagers in recent years and a lot of people now link this to a loss of family and religious values, a lack of social support and simple corporate greed.
Nowadays, stress is far more of a danger than it was just ten years ago and looks to be more extensive and more invasive than ever with a lot more stress coming from psychological instead of physical threats.
Stress causes a rise in heart rate and greater blood flow leading to higher blood pressure. Levels of blood sugar also increase to give the body the extra fuel which it needs to fight stress and the body is designed to push blood away from the stomach when we are stressed in order to provide extra strength for the legs and arms as part of what is often called our “flight or fight” response.
Stress also leads to anxiety and chronic depression as well as to skin and gastrointestinal problems and disrupts the working of a number of our main organs. It also causes impairment of the body’s immune system so that it in unable to fight off viral disorders from the not especially serious cold to very serious conditions like cancer and AIDS.
Stress in the workplace directly influences such things as employee absenteeism and productivity and the business climate progressively worsens with competition today at an all-time high. The pressure placed upon employees to produce and the continual concern about job security can produce a number of conditions including neck pain, back pain, stroke, hypertension, diabetes, ulcers and heart attacks.
Many different things can cause stress including simply sitting in front of a computer for six hours every day or more, meeting deadlines or having somebody continually watching you. Here the results are frequently seen as depression and a number of physical complaints which result in lost work time.
Taking the necessary steps to manage the stress you have in your life could well be the best gift that you can give yourself and a few fairly simple alterations to your lifestyle can make a huge difference to the way in which you handle stress. For instance, taking a mere 20 minutes out of your day to walk will reduce your stress as will talking to friends and colleagues, prayer and meditation and following a healthy diet. Take the time to learn some relaxation techniques because breathing and relaxation exercises can considerably reduce your stress levels.