Stress Making You Sick? Sickness Making You Stressed?
Let’s face it, we’re all stressed to some degree. In a new NPR/Robert Wood Johnson Foundation/Harvard School of Public Health poll of U.S. adults, one in four said they experienced a great deal of stress in the previous month. Almost half reported that they had a major stressful event or experience in the past year.
That’s about 115 million people. Yet medical experts say that number is probably way too low, since most of the time we aren’t even aware of how stressed we are. As NPR reports, "hidden" stress can reduce our capacity to juggle all the big and little problems life sends our way. No wonder the World Health Organization (WHO) has called stress the health epidemic of the 21st century.
All of this stress is also making us sick: 74 percent of respondents said their health was affected by stress, while 43 percent said that a health concern is a leading cause of stress. And it’s a vicious cycle-- 80 percent of people in poor health reported that their health problems increased their stress levels.
Not all stress is bad, of course. Deadline pressure at work can make us more focused and productive. But prolonged, chronic pressures can tip over into what is often called “toxic stress.” It leaves you feeling fatigued, irritable, unable to concentrate. It can lead to overeating, smoking, drinking, and other bad habits in a misbegotten attempt to calm yourself. Stress increases the risk of heart disease, depression, and headaches. Studies suggest that cardiac patients with so-called “Type D” personalities — characterized by chronic stress— face higher risks of bad outcomes. The ill effects of stress are costing American businesses an estimated $300 billion per year, according to WHO.
Many of those feeling the most stressed are trapped in cycles that can be extremely unhealthy, perpetuating the cycle. Our poll took a close look at the 26 percent of people who are so stressed out they can’t sleep or concentrate. For this cohort, the same factors kept coming up: Poor health (either they or someone in their family was very sick, or they were overwhelmed by the death of a loved one); incomes below $20,000; hazardous jobs; single parents; and parents with teenage children.
It’s no wonder that two-thirds of those who said they dealt with a lot of stress in the prior month feel like they don’t have great control over their lives. You need read only a sampling of the more than 6,000 responses to NPR’s request for people’s stress-related stories to see this statistic in action. This is clearly an area where health care providers, communities, and employers can help. Nevertheless, stressed-out Americans pretty much have to deal with this major health risk on their own. In our survey, 82 percent said no health professional had talked to them about the need to reduce stress for the sake of their health, despite all the stress-related illness out there.
If you need help dealing with the stress in your life, here are some online resources that may prove helpful. And please share your stories, and any advice or resources you may have, in the comments. I think it’s time we all take a deep breath and help each other lead calmer, more relaxed lives.
- Coping With Stress at Work, from the American Psychological Association
- WebMD Resources on Managing Job Stress
- American Heart Association: To Stress or Not to Stress
- Stress Resource Center: Harvard Health Publications
- CDC Advice on Coping with Stress, Including Tips for Parents
Help for Caregivers
- AARP Caregiving Resource Center
- The Caregiver Action Network
- Caregiver Stress: Tips for Taking Care of Yourself, Mayo Clinic
- Caregiver Health and Wellness: American Academy of Family Physicians
Photo Credit: “Stress Relief” by sun dazed, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
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Change Management and Leadership Development
10 年Toxic Stress, constant 'fight or flight" mode of being sick of being sick and tired of the pursuit to fit into a cookie cutter mold that simply does not work out so well. Through years of chronic illness, poverty, medical journey towards health finally obtained a job thinking I'd be able to inspire and help others to heal. Instead it drained me to the point of realizing that no job for any amount of pay is worth being a volunteer in humanity. People helping people is the business of the heart...Without hearts connected and compassionate for others- there is no money in the world that could suffice what it means to put others first. However, balance is everything, learning to look up is learning to look within and then do something about it ! Out of work, with disabilities for over a year now, does not define nor does it dictate any contributions to the world from precisely where it is that any of us are in the here and the now. For nothing is in vain when we lift up others, encourage, support and unite...Together we can do it!
Dispensible Functionary ????????
10 年Heather: Same thing happened to a biz development rep at one of my former employers. She's a great gal (SMART, funny and charismatic) and her clients LOVED her, But she was constantly under extreme pressure to produce more and more and more, despite the lack of a comprehensive marketing plan, management guidance and sales support, She finally had had enough and left us. I've talked to her since and she's still negatively affected by her employment induce trauma. Doing better now and moving on, but dealing with lingering effects nonetheless. I wish her and you all the best! Tom
The first time I was in, what a therapist later described as, "the golden handcuffs", I went through bouts of depression and anxiety, etc. I refused to leave my job because I had better benefits at 23 than most people would get their entire life, no degree at the time, but pay as though I had one, Hawaii vacations every year, and I knew that if I could put up with it, I could be set for life. Apparently life had other plans for me when I couldn't even drive into the parking lot without having panic attacks. I felt ridiculous at the thought that just a silly job could do that to me, but the work made me stress and the stress made me sick and being sick added more stress. I was finally forced to leave my job when my short term disability for my anxiety and panic attacks was denied. All the stress and damage done to my young mind and body, for nothing to show for it.
Dispensible Functionary ????????
10 年I am exiting the same situation (thankfully, sans the stroke) that Jason describes, My goal is to now find a position that allows me to make a difference in the lives of others, and in doing so, mine as well.
People Operations Strategy at Google
10 年I had a job that I hated and my personality began to change. I stay too long because of the pay (I made a LOT). Everyone kept telling me the stress was appropriate for the amount of money I was making, but eventually it caught up with me. My health started to deteriorate under the tremendous stress and I ended up in the hospital for a stroke and nearly died. I will never let that type of job, level of stress, or lifestyle get to me like that again and I'm happy I'm alive. Priorities shifted, forever.