Stress has been widely reported in the news as a health epidemic for more than twenty five years now and the situation is continuing to worsen as an increasing number of workers report that they are increasingly suffering stress in the workplace. Indeed the workplace now provides the leading environment for the development of stress among American adults. However stress levels have also been rising for children and teenagers in recent years and a lot of people now link this to a loss of religious and family values, a lack of 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 invasive than ever with far more stress coming from psychological rather than physical threats.
Stress causes a raised heart rate and greater blood flow in turn producing higher blood pressure. Levels of blood suger also increase to give the body the additional fuel it requires to fight off stress and our body is programmed to move blood away from the stomach when under stress in order to provide additional strength in the legs and arms as part of what is normally called our “flight or fight” response.
Stress contributes to chronic depression and anxiety together with gastrointestinal and skin problems and disrupts the working of many of the body’s main organs. It can also create an impairment of the immune system that in unable to fight off viral disorders from the common and not particularly serious cold to serious diseases such as AIDS and cancer.
Stress in the workplace directly influences things like employee absenteeism and productivity and the business climate increasingly worsens with competition nowadays at an all-time high. The pressure which is placed on employees to produce and the continual concern about job security can result in several conditions including back pain, neck pain, hypertension, stroke, diabetes, ulcers and heart attacks.Â
Stress comes from many different quarters including simply sitting in front of a computer screen for seven hours each day or more, meeting quotas or having someone checking on you constantly. In these situations the results are generally seen as depression and several physical ailments which result in lost work time.
Taking the steps needed to manage the stress you have in your life may be the nicest gift you can give yourself and your family and a few fairly simple alterations to your life can make a huge difference to how you handle stress. For example, taking just 20 minutes out of your day to walk will reduce your stress as will talking to friends, meditation and eating a healthy diet. Take the time necessary to learn a few relaxation techniques because deep breathing and relaxation exercises can considerably reduce your stress levels.
