Since the early eighties stress has been very much in the news as a health epidemic and this situation is continuing to worsen as an increasing number of workers report that they are increasingly suffering stress at work. Indeed the workplace now provides the leading environment for stress in American adults. However stress levels have also risen for children and teenagers in the past few years and a lot of people now link this to a loss of family and religious values, isolation, a lack of social support and also corporate greed.

Stress nowadays is far more of a danger than it was just ten years ago and seems to be more widespread and more insidious than before with much greater stress arising out of psychological instead of physical threats.

Stress causes a rise in heart rate and greater flow of blood leading in turn to higher blood pressure. Blood sugar levels also increase to give the body the additional fuel that it needs to combat stress and our body is programmed to push blood away from the stomach when we are under stress in order to provide additional strength for our arms and legs as part of what is usually referred to as our “fight or flight” response.

Stress can also contribute to anxiety and chronic depression as well as to skin and gastrointestinal problems and interferes with the work of many of our main organs. It can also create an impairment of the immune system which cannot fight viral disorders from the common and not particularly serious cold to very serious diseases such as AIDS and cancer.

Stress in the workplace directly influences things like absenteeism and productivity and the business climate gets progressively worse with competition today at an all-time high. The pressure placed upon workers to produce and the continual concern about job security can cause numerous conditions including neck pain, back pain, stroke, hypertension, ulcers, diabetes and heart attacks. 

Lots of things can lead to stress including simply sitting in front of a computer screen for six hours each day or more, meeting targets or having somebody constantly checking up on you. In this case the results are typically seen as depression and a host of physical ailments which result in lost work time.

Taking the steps needed to manage the stress in your life could well be the nicest gift you can give yourself and your family and a few simple alterations to your life can make a huge difference to how you handle stress. For instance, taking only 20 minutes each day to walk will lower your stress level as will talking to friends and colleagues, meditation and following a healthier diet. Take the time necessary to learn some relaxation techniques because breathing and relaxation exercises can considerably reduce your level of stress.