Stress: The Biggest Modern Health Problem

 
 
Once upon a time, ‘stress’ was something suffered by high-flying, workaholic traders on the New York Stock Exchange, chefs, and steel bridges in high winds. Now, stress is one of the biggest health problems we face and never a day goes by without someone we know saying they are ‘stressed’.
 
 
 
Around 12 million adults in the UK go to see their GP each year suffering from mental health problems, and most of these have anxiety and depression, often related to stress.
 
According to the Mental Health Foundation, 59% of British adults said their life is more stressful than it was five years ago, and a recent NHS Information Centre survey revealed that hospital admissions for stress have risen by seven per cent in just 12 months.
 
You get the picture. Stress is everywhere.
 
There’s no point talking about stress without knowing what it actually means. Stress is often defined as the way you feel when you’re under abnormal pressure, both physical and mental.
 
Stress is very hard to measure, as it’s so subjective – one person might say they feel more stressed than someone else. Overall, when we say we’re ‘stressed’, it’s because our bodies or minds are not coping with the pressures we are under and something has to give.
 
Stress is often caused by change, such as moving house, a new job, divorce and so on, when your body and mind are trying to adjust to things they are not used to, and don’t know how to handle.
 
The daily chores, demands and pressures most of us are under these days to keep a family running, stay on top of our jobs, pay the bills and deal with the everyday squabbles and responsibilities of family life can become completely unmanageable in today’s fast-paced, ever-changing, relentlessly SWITCHED ON world.
 
The best thing to do about stress is reduce it before it becomes a real problem. And the best way to do this is to identify the areas of your life that are putting too high demands on you, that stretch you beyond what you’re able to deal with healthily, and try to reduce these.
 
For me, one of the biggest improvements in my quality of life was getting a cleaner. Once a week, someone comes and makes my house clean, and looking lovely. The relief I feel just knowing this job is taken off my overworked hands is immense.
 
For others the help might be a dog walker, or sitters to collect the children from school a couple of days a week, or do the garden once a month. The cost of this has to be weighed up against the cost to you in health terms of being under unmanageable stress.
 
You can’t take the money to the grave with you. But you’ll be hitting that grave a lot sooner if you live your life so stressed than you become ill. Do the calculation, and see if you can reduce your stress levels this year. It could just be the best decision you’ve ever made.