Stress Is America's Top Health Problem Today

Since the early eighties stress has been very much in the news as a health epidemic and this situation is continuing to worsen as a growing number of workers say that they are suffering increasing stress at work. Indeed work is now the leading environment for the development of stress in adult Americans. But stress levels have also been rising for children and teenagers in the past few years and many people now link this to a loss of family and religious values, isolation, a lack of social support and corporate greed.

Stress these days is far more dangerous than it was a decade ago and looks to be more widespread and more invasive than ever with much more stress coming from psychological instead of 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 provide the body with the added fuel that it needs to fight stress and the body is designed to push blood away from the stomach when under stress in order to provide additional strength in the legs and arms as part of what is usually called our "flight or fight" response.

Stress also produces chronic depression and anxiety as well as to 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 shake off viral conditions from the common and not especially serious cold to serious conditions like AIDS and cancer.

Stress related to a work environment directly influences things like absenteeism and productivity and the business climate progressively worsens with competition nowadays at an all-time high. The pressure which is placed upon employees to produce and the continual concern about job security can lead to numerous conditions including neck pain, back pain, stroke, hypertension, diabetes, ulcers and heart attacks.

Many things can produce stress including just sitting in front of a computer screen for seven hours every day or more, meeting deadlines or having somebody checking on you constantly. In these situations the results are usually seen as depression and several physical ailments which give rise to lost working hours.

Taking the necessary steps to manage the stress in your life might be the nicest gift that you can give yourself and just a few simple alterations to your life can make a huge difference to the way in which you handle stress. For example, taking 20 minutes out of your day to walk will reduce your level of stress as will talking to friends, meditation and prayer and following a healthy diet. Take the time needed to master several methods of relaxation because breathing and relaxation exercises can do a great deal to reduce your stress levels.

By: Donald Saunders

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In spite of the fact that stress is a major health problem for many millions of people today there are numerous ways to relieve stress available and the secret is to find what works best for you.