| The HSE (Health and Safety Executive)
defines stress as "the adverse reaction people have to excessive
pressure or other types of demand placed on them." The HSE has
commissioned research into stress levels in the workplace all over
the UK and have come up with the following jaw-dropping statistics:-
1. Approximately 500,000 people in the UK experience work-related
stress at a level that they believe is making them ill.
2. Five million people in the UK feel “very” or “extremely” stressed
by their work.
3. Around 12.8 million working days a year were lost to stress
and stress-related illness in 2004/5.
(Probably even higher in the U.S.).
And this is just the tip of the iceberg… this is just the
work-related stress. Add to that the stresses of family life (need
I say more?), the stress of making enough money to keep the wolf
from the door and enjoy a pleasant lifestyle, the stress of trying
to be who and what everyone wants us to be…and so on.
Some level of stress is essential to our functioning…we
just wouldn’t be motivated to actually DO anything without
it. When it’s something we want to do, we call it exciting.
When it’s something we’d rather not do, we call it
stressful! The effect on our body and mind is actually the same,
believe it or not. Adrenaline shoots round our system, heart rate
and blood pressure rise, our pupils dilate, our muscles get ready
for action…. And then Daniel Craig puts his clothes back on!!
But you get my drift….our bodies are designed by Mother
Nature to go into “Fight or Flight” mode, seeing as
that’s what kept us alive millions of years ago when that
noise in the bushes could have meant that either Bambi or Godzilla
was behind us…
So life without any kind of stress would be unutterably boring.
But our lives today have stresses that last over long periods of
time – stresses that can’t be dealt with by running
away or bashing something with a club…tempting though it
may seem when your boss/child/mother-in-law is winding you up!
And stress over a long period of time is what does us in. Your
body is not designed to deal with these hormones staying in the
system – the idea was that once Man had escaped from the
predator, the hormones subsided. Job Well Done. Man then either
slept, ate said predator or….You get the idea! (This is where
Daniel Craig reappears…)
Long-term exposure to stress hormones can cause problems inside
us. Big problems. High blood pressure, heart disease, strokes and
some forms of cancer have been linked to high levels of stress
sustained for years. Stress is one of the main causes of premature
death in the developed world. Sobering thought, isn’t it?
Well, now that you’ve read all this and got all stressed
about your stress levels, what can you do about them?
You’ll have to read the next instalment for stress-busting
ideas!
(Hint: This might just involve some Pilates).
Until next time…
All the best,
Carol
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