Stress has been featured prominently in the news as a major health epidemic for some years now and this situation continues to get worse as a growing number of workers say that they are suffering increasing stress in the workplace. In fact the workplace now provides the main environment for the development of stress among adult Americans. But levels of stress have also been rising for children and teenagers in the past few years and a lot of people believe that this is linked to a loss of religious and family values, isolation, too little social support and corporate greed.
Nowadays, stress is more of a danger than it was a decade ago and looks to be more prevalent and more insidious than before with far more stress coming from psychological rather than physical threats.
Stress produces a rise in heart rate and increased flow of blood in turn creating a higher blood pressure. Levels of blood suger also increase to give the body the added fuel that it needs to combat stress and our body is programmed to move blood away from the stomach when we are under stress to provide additional strength in the legs and arms as part of what is normally referred to as our “flight or fight” response.
Stress can also contribute to chronic depression and anxiety together with gastrointestinal and skin problems and interferes with the working of a number of the body’s major organs. It also causes impairment of the immune system which in unable to fight off viral disorders from the not particularly serious cold to very serious diseases such as AIDS and cancer.
Stress in the workplace directly influences such things as absenteeism and productivity and the business climate gets progressively worse with competition these days at an all-time high. The pressure placed on employees to produce and the constant worry about job security can cause several conditions including neck pain, back pain, hypertension, stroke, ulcers, diabetes and heart attacks.
Lots of things can lead to stress including simply sitting at a computer monitor for eight hours each day or more, meeting deadlines or having somebody checking on you constantly. Here the results are frequently seen as depression and a range of physical complaints which give rise to lost working days.
Taking the necessary steps to manage the stress in your life might well be the nicest gift that you can give yourself and a few simple changes to your lifestyle can make a big difference to how you handle stress. For example, taking a mere 20 minutes each day to walk will reduce your level of stress as will talking to friends and colleagues, meditation and following a healthier diet. Take the time necessary to learn a few relaxation techniques because breathing and relaxation exercises can significantly lower your level of stress.
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