Since the early eighties stress has been very much in the news as a health epidemic and the situation is continuing to get worse as a growing number of workers report they are increasingly suffering stress at work. Indeed work now constitutes the main environment for stress in adult Americans. But levels of stress have also been rising for children and teenagers in recent 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 simple corporate greed.

Nowadays, stress is more dangerous than it was a decade ago and seems to be more extensive and more insidious than ever with a greater degree of stress arising out of psychological rather than physical threats.

Stress contributes to a rise in heart rate and increased 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 the body is designed to move 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 typically referred to as our “flight or fight” response.

Stress contributes to chronic depression and anxiety as well as to skin and gastrointestinal problems and interferes with the work of several of our major organs. It can also cause impairment of the immune system so that it cannot shake off viral conditions from the not especially serious cold to serious diseases such as AIDS and cancer.

Stress in the workplace directly influences such things as employee absenteeism and productivity and the business climate gradually worsens with competition today at an all-time high. The pressure that is placed upon workers to produce and the constant worry about job security can produce a host of conditions including neck pain, back pain, stroke, hypertension, diabetes, ulcers and heart attacks. 

Lots of things can lead to stress including simply sitting in front of a computer for seven hours every day or more, meeting quotas or having somebody continually watching you. Here the results are usually seen as depression and a number of physical complaints which result in lost work time.

Taking the necessary steps to manage the stress in your life may well be the nicest gift that you can give yourself and your family and a few fairly simple alterations to your life can make a big difference to how you handle stress. For instance, taking only 20 minutes out of your day to walk will lower your stress level as will talking to other people, prayer and meditation and eating a healthier diet. Take the time to master several methods of relaxation because deep breathing and relaxation exercises can considerably reduce your stress levels.

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