Stress Is The United State's Number 1 Health Problem

Stress has been widely reported in the news as a health epidemic for more than twenty five years now and this situation continues to get worse as an increasing number of workers report that they are increasingly suffering stress at work. Indeed work now provides the main environment for stress among American adults. However levels of stress have also risen for children and teenagers in recent years and many people believe that this is linked to a loss of religious and family values, isolation, a lack of social support and also corporate greed.

Nowadays, stress is more dangerous than it was only ten years ago and seems to be more widespread and more insidious than before with a greater degree of stress coming from psychological rather than physical threats.

Stress causes a rise in heart rate and greater blood flow in turn creating a higher blood pressure. Levels of blood sugar also rise to give the body the extra fuel which it requires to combat stress and the 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 usually called our "fight or flight" response.

Stress also leads to chronic depression and anxiety as well as to gastrointestinal and skin problems and disrupts the working of a number of our main organs. It can also cause impairment of the immune system that in unable to fight off viral disorders from the common and not especially serious cold to serious diseases such as cancer and AIDS.

Stress related to a work environment directly influences such things as productivity and absenteeism and the business climate increasingly worsens with competition today at an all-time high. The pressure placed on employees to produce and the continual worry about job security can lead to numerous conditions including back pain, neck pain, stroke, hypertension, ulcers, diabetes and heart attacks.

Stress comes from many different quarters including simply sitting in front of a computer screen for seven hours every day or more, meeting deadlines or having someone continually watching you. In this case the results are typically seen as depression and a range of physical complaints which give rise to lost work time.

Taking the necessary steps to manage the stress in your life might well be the best gift you can give yourself and a few fairly simple alterations to your lifestyle can make a huge difference to the way in which you handle stress. For instance, taking only 20 minutes out of your day to walk will lower your stress level as will talking to friends and colleagues, prayer and meditation and eating a healthier diet. Take the time to learn several methods of relaxation because deep breathing and relaxation exercises can significantly lower your stress levels.

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