Stress Is The Number 1 Health Problem In America Today

Stress has been in the news as a health epidemic since the early eighties and this situation continues to worsen as an increasing number of workers say that they are suffering increasing stress in the workplace. Indeed work is now the leading environment for the development of stress in adult Americans. However levels of stress have also been rising for children in the past few years and many people now link this to a loss of religious and family values, isolation, insufficient 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 can also contribute to chronic depression and anxiety together with gastrointestinal and skin problems and interferes with the working of many of our major organs. It can also create an impairment of the immune system so that it cannot fight viral disorders from the not particularly serious cold to very serious diseases 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 may be the best gift that you can give yourself and a few fairly simple alterations to your lifestyle can make a big difference to the way in which you handle stress. For example, taking a mere 20 minutes out of your day to walk will lower your level of stress as will talking to friends, meditation and eating a healthier diet. Take the time needed to master several relaxation techniques because deep breathing and relaxation exercises can greatly reduce your level of stress.