Stress has been in the news as a health epidemic since the early eighties and the situation continues to worsen as an increasing number of workers report they are increasingly suffering stress in the workplace. Indeed work now provides the main environment for the development of stress in American adults. But levels of stress have also been rising for children in recent years and many people believe that this is linked to a loss of family and religious values, a lack of social support and corporate greed.
Today, stress is much more of a danger than it was a decade ago and appears to be more widespread and more invasive than before with much greater stress coming from psychological instead of physical threats.
Stress produces a rise in heart rate and increased blood flow leading to higher blood pressure. Blood sugar levels also rise to provide the body with the extra fuel which it needs to fight stress and our body is designed to push blood away from the stomach when we are under stress to provide additional strength in the legs and arms as part of what is frequently called our "fight or flight" response.
Stress contributes to anxiety and chronic depression as well as to skin and gastrointestinal problems and disrupts the work of several of our main organs. It can also cause impairment of the body's immune system that cannot fight viral disorders from the not particularly serious cold to very serious diseases such as cancer and AIDS.
Stress related to a work environment directly influences things like productivity and employee absenteeism and the business climate gradually worsens with competition these days at an all-time high. The pressure placed upon workers to produce and the continual concern about job security can result in a host of conditions including back pain, neck pain, hypertension, stroke, ulcers, diabetes and heart attacks.
Many things can produce stress including just sitting at a computer monitor for seven hours every day or more, meeting targets or having someone constantly checking up on you. Here the results are usually seen as depression and a host of physical complaints which result in lost working days.
Taking the steps to manage the stress in your life may be the nicest gift you can give yourself and your family and just a few simple alterations to your life can make a big difference to the way in which you handle stress. For instance, taking 20 minutes each day to walk will lower your stress as will talking to other people, meditation and eating a healthy diet. Take the time needed to learn several relaxation techniques because deep breathing and relaxation exercises can go a long way towards reducing your stress levels.
