Stress has been in the news as a health epidemic since the early eighties and this situation continues to worsen as an increasing number of workers say that they are suffering increasing stress in the workplace.
Indeed work is now the leading environment for the development of stress in adult Americans.
However levels of stress have also been rising for children in the past few years and many people now link this to a loss of religious and family values, isolation, insufficient social support and simple corporate greed.
Nowadays, stress is far more of a danger than it was just ten years ago and looks to be more extensive and more invasive than ever with a lot more stress coming from psychological instead of physical threats.
Stress causes a rise in heart rate and greater blood flow leading to higher blood pressure. Levels of blood sugar also increase to give the body the extra fuel which it needs to fight stress, and the body is designed to push blood away from the stomach when we are stressed in order to provide extra strength for the legs and arms as part of what is often called our "flight or fight" response.
Stress contributes to anxiety and chronic depression together with skin and gastrointestinal problems, and interferes with the workings of a lot of the body's major organs. It can also create an impairment of the immune system, which cannot shake off viral disorders from the not particularly serious cold to very serious diseases such as AIDS and cancer.
Stress in the workplace directly influences such things as employee absenteeism and productivity and the business climate progressively worsens with competition today at an all-time high. The pressure placed upon employees to produce and the continual concern about job security can produce a number of conditions including neck pain, back pain, stroke, hypertension, diabetes, ulcers and heart attacks.
All sorts of things can create stress including just sitting in front of a computer for six hours every day or more, meeting deadlines or having somebody continually monitoring you. In this case the results are frequently seen as depression and a range of physical ailments which give rise to lost work time.
Taking the steps to manage the stress in your life may well be the nicest gift you can give yourself and just a few quite simple alterations to your lifestyle can make a big difference to how you handle stress. For instance, taking just 20 minutes out of your day to walk will lower your level of stress as will talking to other people, prayer and meditation and following a healthy diet. Take the time necessary to master a few relaxation techniques because deep breathing and relaxation exercises can do a great deal to reduce your level of stress.
Mr. Bananahealth-and-fitness-buzz.blogspot
Comments (12)
I buy that.
Don't forget the effect it has on memory and learning!
It sounds so fluffy/lame, but reducing stress really can make you healthier. Good post!
Where's the question?
@just_the_average_jane@xanga - You actually remember best in the same psychological state you were in when you learned something. If you learn something when you're stressed, you're less likely to remember it if you try to recall the information when you're relaxed. Same goes for any other psychological state.
I just learned this in psychology, so I had to spout it. College is turning me into a monster.
@AllMyNamesAreTaken@xanga - If you're in psych, you should also remember the negative effects that chronic stress has on memory, due to prolonged/heightened cortisol levels that damage the hippocampus.
PSYC TRIVIA SHOWDOWN, muhahaha!
I totally know what you mean about the urge to spout random facts, I do it too. lol.
well written and informative. let people know theres more out there than just obesity thats a concern, theres also emotional and mental. i've always been a big believer that emotional and mental health is more important than physical although physical can sometimes lead to emotional and mental and vice versa. human beings are confusing.
@d0llh0use@xanga -
Very well put. Children growing up these days are under much greater pressure than their parents wit TV sending out false messages. With all of this there still remains the food we eat which is analagous to feeding your car the wrong fuel or pouring sugar in your tank. Irradiation of our food is our greatest culprit. Here's an article I wrote on the subject:
Our government here in the U.S. and most other nations of the world have been irradiating some of our foods increasingly from simple bacon since the mid 1950's. They say it saves the aggravation of food manufacturers lawsuits from the lessening of process contamination, but does it really work?
Is Food Irradiation Starving Us?
Is Food Irradiation Starving Us? MS
For a few decades now, the U.S. has been advocating and implementing irradiation of some of our foods, mainly ground beef, chicken and as of late, many of our fruits and vegetables. During much of this time period, public reaction has been predominantly against it and many consumer advocates hope to eventually topple our governments efforts.
Should We Irradiate Our Foods
Should We Irradiate Our Foods?
This is so very true. We're so busy making money and being competitive that we forget that we have other needs too. We're too busy deprioritizing ourselves to turn the company's wheels faster.
and yes, we kids have our stress too
although most adults over look that as in
"oh yeah they just have their homework,
their computer, what else they have, they dont
have to worry about paying bills, keeping their job etc etc."
true. but ay maybe at our age we couldnt handle
such high expectations from our parents or ..
keeping up with the class because you dont want to see
like you're dragging the class down, whatever.
i struggle with this too
College stresses me out.
O_O
I'll probably get bashed for this, but people these days, including myself, are just so used to instant gratification. Our lives are a lot easier than in the past.
Being a 19 year old army wife and a mother of a preemie I get stressed out alot....