Stress has been widely reported in the news as a health epidemic for more than twenty five years now and the situation continues to worsen as a growing number of workers report that they are suffering increasing stress in the workplace. In fact work is now the main environment for stress in adult Americans. However levels of stress have also risen for children and teenagers in the past few years and many now link this to a loss of family and religious values, insufficient social support and also corporate greed.

Stress these days is more dangerous than it was a decade ago and looks to be more prevalent and more invasive than before with a greater degree of stress coming from psychological instead of physical threats.

Stress leads to a rise in heart rate and greater blood flow leading to higher blood pressure. Levels of blood suger also increase to provide the body with the added fuel which it needs to fight off stress and our body is programmed to push blood away from the stomach when under stress in order to provide additional strength in our legs and arms as part of what is often referred to as our “fight or flight” response.

Stress contributes to chronic depression and anxiety as well as to gastrointestinal and skin problems and disrupts the work of a number of our major organs. It can also create an impairment of the immune system so that it cannot fight viral conditions from the common and not especially serious cold to very serious conditions such as AIDS and cancer.

Stress in the workplace directly influences such things as absenteeism and productivity and the business climate gets progressively worse with competition nowadays at an all-time high. The pressure which is placed on workers to produce and the constant worry about job security can cause several conditions including neck pain, back pain, hypertension, stroke, ulcers, diabetes and heart attacks. 

Many things can produce stress including just sitting at a computer monitor for six hours every day or more, meeting targets or having somebody checking on you constantly. In these situations the results are typically seen as depression and several physical complaints which result in lost working days.

Taking the steps to manage the stress you have in your life may well be the best gift you can give yourself and just a few fairly simple changes to your lifestyle can make a huge difference to the way in which you handle stress. For example, taking 20 minutes each day to walk will lower your stress as will talking to friends and colleagues, meditation and prayer and following a healthier diet. Take the time necessary to learn several relaxation techniques because breathing and relaxation exercises can considerably reduce your level of stress.