Stress (eBook)

1 Why worry about stress?

Stress, it seems, is everywhere! In fact, in my job, if there is one thing that ordinary people ask me about more than any other – people of all ages, from all walks of life, people working, people bringing up children, people with worries for themselves and people who are worried about others – it’s stress! It doesn’t take long if you are reading the daily papers, scanning the news channels or reading reports on the internet to find something referring to stress – something that has triggered stress, the impact stress has on a situation or on certain people, the medical or psychological impact of stress… Stress has become something that almost everyone seems to be concerned about, yet, at the same time, something that we all feel we are at the mercy of. If you get a group of friends together to chat about how their life is going, it won’t be long before stress comes up. Stress is a key issue in the workplace, where managers are expected to think about how the jobs they give people impact on them in terms of stress. It is discussed at schools, where teachers now often find they need to introduce programmes designed to help pupils cope with stress, as well as teaching them the usual subjects. Even very young children are not immune, with recent findings that even pre-school children can be affected by stress, leading some nursery schools to introduce yoga and relaxation classes for toddlers. As one mum said to me recently, ‘How stressed can you be by four years old?’

So, just how big an issue is ‘stress’?

Are media reports highlighting a genuine problem, or are we just making too big a deal out of something that decades ago people would just have got on with? Are stress levels really rising, and how should we be responding to the apparent tidal wave of related problems? Concerns over rising stress levels in the UK have even led to warnings from politicians of a ‘epidemic of mental distress’. Should we be concerned?

There is certainly plenty of evidence showing apparent problems linked to or caused by stress. Research shows that one in three adults feels stressed every day, with younger adults feeling the pressure most – around half of people in their early twenties say that they feel under pressure most days. Stress has been linked to all kinds of physical problems including heart disease, problems with skin conditions such as eczema, and sleep problems. One study even found that women working in stressful jobs were more likely to start the menopause earlier than their more chilled-out colleagues.

Stress has also been linked to problems with mental health and emotional illnesses such as anxiety and depression. One study looking at a group of people in their early thirties found that work stress was related to the start of problems with depression and anxiety in 45 per cent of cases. The people studied worked in a wide variety of professions, but all reported stresses such as long hours, lack of control over their work and tight deadlines. About one person in four develops a new problem with anxiety or depression in any given year, but it seems the risk is doubled if you work in a high-pressure job.

Stress in the workplace is one of the big issues that we see discussed in the press. The reason for this is clear. Government statistics in the UK say that around one in five workers say they feel extremely stressed while at work, with about 14 per cent saying that they feel their work stress is making them ill. This equates to around 5 million people who are unwell as a result of work stress. Work-related stress accounted for an estimated 13.5 million lost working days in Britain in one year alone (2007–2008). The same trend is seen in other countries. In Australia stress costs more to the economy than any other illness, and figures from the US suggest that around $300 billion ($7,500 per employee) is spent every year on stress-related issues. This cost comes from compensation claims, absenteeism and lost productivity, because even when people are at work, stress can seriously affect the work that they do – or don’t do. The term ‘presenteeism’ describes those who are at work but are not working effectively because of stress. We’ve all had days like that, where you feel as if you have run around all day like a headless chicken but actually accomplished next to nothing! One study reports that on average, Australian adults lose six working days every year through presenteeism. Meanwhile, workers across the world are working longer hours and feeling under more pressure than in previous decades. A report looking at workers from thirty different countries found that one fifth of those workers report feeling very high levels of stress.

The impact of this stress is not something to take lightly. One study following a group of civil servants over a period of 12 years found those who reported that their job was stressful were 70 per cent more likely to develop heart disease than those who were stress-free. In fact, three quarters of executives admit that their stress adversely affects not just their work performance but also their home life and relationships. 65 per cent of Americans admit they lose sleep every night due to stress, and depression linked to stress is predicted to be the number one occupational illness of the twenty-first century. These are statistics and reports that are really worrying if you take the time to think about them, especially as many of us, if we’re honest, live lives where stress is a daily reality, not just at work but throughout our lives as we juggle many different responsibilities. For example, mothers seem to be at particular risk, especially those who balance work with looking after young children. Research reports that globally one in four mothers who work full-time as well as look after children report feeling stressed every day.

Young people and stress

It isn’t just adults who are struggling with stress. Stress seems to be an issue right from the start of childhood. Some experts claim that growing up in the UK places far too much pressure on children – pressure that is suggested to be behind the growing numbers of emotional and mental health problems such as eating disorders, self harm, serious depression and even suicidal behaviour among increasingly young children and teens. Those working within schools report clearly the impact that testing and exams can have on even very young children (the first formal tests – SATS – starting at just seven years old). Problems with exam stress in school children have led to special campaigns from charities such as ChildLine, and many bodies are concerned about the effect that exam worries have on young children. Although government ministers in the UK have been quick to point out that SATS at this age are not formal exams, many teachers and parents are concerned about the obvious anxiety and stress that they produce in children, particularly those who are vulnerable or who may be ‘coached’ or pushed by anxious parents or teachers concerned about league tables.

Of course, it isn’t just exams that cause young people stress. Current culture means that teenagers in particular report feeling under pressure from many different perspectives, including romantic relationships and sex, issues such as drinking alcohol and taking drugs, family pressure and family breakdown, health worries and concerns over their future. Growing up seems to have become a barrage of one stress after another, and it seems that many young people are struggling to cope. Helping children to understand stress and the impact it has on us is becoming a vital part of parenting today, but with many parents themselves struggling under the weight of stress, few feel equipped to help teach their children how to cope. In fact, research suggests that if parents are themselves stressed, it has a direct impact on children who may be more prone to infections and illness as well as struggling to know how to cope with stress and anxiety themselves.

Non-work sources of stress

Meanwhile, for the adults, it isn’t just work that is stressing us out. One study found that more than half of us admit that we are kept awake at night by worries about health risks and financial problems or concerns about world events such as climate change and terrorism. All this stress means that only 3 per cent of adults get the recommended amount of sleep. Changes to lifestyle, with us all tending to do less exercise and eat less healthily, have also had an impact on the way that stress affects us. Many adults admit that they feel they are simply not operating at their best because of the effect that stress has on them day to day. Stress seems to make us struggle with planning and organization, affect simple things such as memory and communication, and generally make our lives more difficult. In fact, among the various reports of how stress affects our health are some that seem to suggest it really does have an impact on how well our brains work, with research indicating that severe stress can even cause cells to die within the brain, affecting functions such as learning and memory.

All in all, reports about stress are enough to make you want to retire to a desert island in search of the ultimate stress-free ideal. Indeed, many people do that every year as they jet off on their holidays in search of a stress-free pocket of time in the middle of their stress-filled lives – though they might do well to read the research that places holidays among the most stressful experiences we can have in...