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Survey shows
Americans living with
‘extreme’ stress
(December
2007 Issue)
By Pamela Berard
It's a bit of a psychological paradox. How do you help a stressed
out person calm down?
A new study confirms that Americans are indeed stressed out - fully
one-third are living with "extreme" stress and nearly half (48 percent)
say their stress has increased in the past five years, according
to a national survey released by the American Psychological Association
(APA). The Stress in America survey of 1,848 adults aged 18 and
over is part of APA's Mind/Body Health Public Education Campaign.
According to the survey, money and work are the leading causes
of stress for three-quarters of Americans, while 51 percent say
rent or mortgage costs are a source.
The survey indicates that stress is having a negative impact on
quality of life: about one-third of respondents say they have difficulty
managing work and family responsibilities and 54 percent said stress
causes them to fight with people in their lives.
Ann Webster, Ph.D., a staff psychologist for the Benson-Henry Institute
for Mind Body Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, says the
results are not at all surprising in this electronic age.
"I think everybody is multi-tasking and everybody is attached to
an iPod or cell phone or BlackBerry," she says. "They are home emailing
at night. It's just like an assault. Everything is just coming at
us all the time."
Webster suggests setting limits. For example, she reads emails
only once per day.
She said Americans are also working longer hours. "People are paying
such a price," she says, noting that stress results in lack of sleep,
exercise and relaxation. "People are eating on the run, which is
one of the worst things. I really think we have to sit back and
assess some of our health habits."
In the APA survey, 77 percent of respondents said stress caused
physical symptoms (including fatigue, headache or upset stomach)
and 73 percent reported psychological symptoms (including nervousness
or irritability) in the past month. Almost half said stress keeps
them up at night.
Peter C. Patch, Psy.D., BCBA, executive director, Northeast Behavioral
Associates, with offices in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, says
living in a time of war and through a difficult economy is contributing
to the stress factor. He says adults are facing increasing pressures
including the rising number of children diagnosed with mental health
disorders and aging parents facing retirement, as the Baby Boom
generation begins to retire.
"Both of those generations are inadvertently causing more stress
than in the past," he says. "There are pressures on both ends. The
pressures for the people in the middle are enormous."
A behavioral analyst, Patch says part of the battle for stressed
out adults is finding the motivation and marshalling the resources
to focus on their well-being.
"I try to keep people focused on the priorities of their wellness,"
Patch says. "They really have to take care of themselves in order
to take care of the people who are depending on them."
In the APA survey, only 35 percent report that they would change
their behavior if diagnosed with a chronic condition. Motivators
included a desire to feel better (60 percent) and the desire to
reduce amount of stress (45 percent).
"Human beings are creatures of habit and changing one's behavior
is uncomfortable and takes a lot of effort," Patch says. He suggests
starting with small steps. "If the job is too big, people tend not
to attempt it."
Webster helps teach the "Relaxation Response," which she describes
as a state of quiet for the mind and body. "We ask people to practice
a relaxation exercise once a day, for 15 minutes," quieting down
the sympathetic nervous system and the noise in their mind.
Even if you are busy, "You could still practice relaxation and
still do the same amount of things that you do, but you approach
these things with a different attitude," she says. "You are more
mindful and present of what you do. You stay in the now. Not all
of the things that you do are number one priorities. They can't
all be. So you learn to prioritize."
In addition to prioritizing, Webster tells people to do something
good for themselves every day. "If you are just working, you are
not doing anything new and good." It might be treating yourself
to a good meal when you sit down and eat or reacquainting with a
friend, getting a massage, taking a walk in nature or just something
as simple as getting a good night's sleep.
"Unfortunately, it often takes a serious illness to get people
to change," Webster says. "I have had men in my cancer group break
down into tears because they now realize they were so busy they
didn't spend time with their children growing up and now it's too
late. Why do we wait to get a life-threatening illness?"
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