S-T-R-E-S-S

By Dr. William Seder

In honor of June being National Stress Awareness month, let's discuss an underrated dilemma affecting everyone: STRESS!

Life is full of pressure, frustration and stress. Worrying about job security, being overworked, driving in rush-hour traffic, arguing with your spouse, even dealing with medical bills- all these create stress.

With too little stress, life can be dull and boring. While, on the other hand, too much stress from everyday life can severely affect our health. A recent survey conducted by the American Psychology Society reported that more than half of all Americans are concerned about the stress in their everyday lives. Most people are feeling overscheduled, overextended and overstressed.

By far, the most commonly reported source of stress in people's lives is workplace stress. According to Gallop, 80 percent of employees suffer from job stress, with nearly 40 percent reporting that they need help in managing their stress. According to a Princeton Survey Research study, three-quarters of employees believe that there is more on-the-job stress than a generation ago. Many studies suggest that stress is a contributing factor in the development of chronic and degenerative conditions, such as heart disease and diabetes. High stress levels at work also lead to job burnout, reduction in productivity, poor health, job dissatisfaction, absenteeism and increased turnover.

If stressful situations pile up one after another, your body has no chance to recover. The long-term continuous activation of the stress response system can disrupt almost all of your body’s processes. 

Here are the ways different systems of your body respond to stress:

Digestive System: Stomachache or diarrhea is very common when you are stressed out. Stress hormones slow the release of stomach acid and the emptying of the stomach. The same hormones also stimulate the colon, which speeds the passage of its contents.

Immune System: Chronic stress tends to dampen your immune system, making you more susceptible to colds and other infections. Typically, your immune system responds to infection by releasing several substances that cause inflammation. Chronic systemic inflammation contributes to the development of many degenerative diseases.

Nervous System: Stress has been linked to depression, anxiety, panic attacks, and dementia. Over time, the chronic release of cortisol can cause damage to several structures in the brain.  Excessive amounts of cortisol can also cause sleep disturbances and a loss of sex drive.

Cardiovascular System: Stress causes an increase in both heart rate and blood pressure, as well as increasing the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

Each person may react to a specific stressor differently. Some people are naturally laid-back about almost everything, while others react strongly at the slightest hint of stress. 

If you have or have had any of the following, it may be a sign that you are suffering from stress:          

• Headaches
• Sleep Disturbances
• Fatigue 
• Anxiety
• Stiff Neck
• Back Pain 
• Weight Loss or Gain
• Relationship Problems    
• Sinus and Allergy Problems
• Shortness of Breath   
• Mood Swings   
• Digestive Problems

Job stress costs American businesses hundreds of billions of dollars a year. The American Psychological Association estimates that 60 percent of all absences are due to stress-related issues. The New York Times reported in 2004 that “Workplace stress costs the nation more than $300 billion each year in health care, missed work, and the stress-reduction industry that has grown up to soothe workers and keep production high.” The same figure was quoted by Forbes Magazine, NPR, and MSNBC, among others. The $300 billion price tag comes from the American Institute of Stress (AIS), which reports that the cost includes, “accidents, absenteeism, employee turnover, diminished productivity, direct medical, legal and insurance costs, workers' compensation awards as well as tort and FELA (Federal Employers’ Liability Act) judgments.” 

Workers reporting themselves as “stressed” incur health care costs that are 46 percent higher, or $600 more per person, than other employees. American businesses spend more than $26 billion each year in disability payments and medical bills for stress-related conditions. It is little wonder, then, that the rising cost of health insurance has become the single biggest expense facing many American businesses. 

Cardiovascular disease, America’s number one killer, affects 71 million Americans each year, and costs the nation nearly $400 billion in treatment and lost productivity-and that’s only one of many conditions proven to be related to stress. Like every other national expense, the health care costs of stress have to come from our pockets, in the form of taxes, increased product costs, and health insurance premiums. 

Current estimates say that stress costs every person in America $195 per year, or $780 for a family of four. This does not take into account the extra expense incurred by the effects of stress on other conditions, such as cancer, heart disease, obesity, and chronic pain. According to the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, health care expenditures are nearly 50 percent greater for workers reporting high levels of stress.

Stress not only affects your health and your pocketbook, but it seeps into every aspect of your life, slowly sapping the joy out of your day-to-day activities. In fact, stress-particularly financial stress, is one of the most common reasons why families split apart. It is also the leading cause of a whole host of psychological, emotional and social ills, including violence, depression and substance abuse.

Unlike most other diseases that affect Americans, there really isn’t any routine medical treatment for stress. Some doctors will prescribe antidepressants, such as Zoloft or Prozac, while others will prescribe an anxiolytic medication, such as Imipramine or Buspar. Because stress is due to an emotional reaction to life events and is not a biochemical condition like diabetes, drugs have a limited ability to alleviate stress.

The most effective way to help relieve stress is through changes in lifestyle behavior. Here is a crash course in stress busting 101! 

You can combat the symptoms of stress by-
· Exercising regularly
· Choosing the right foods (less soda, coffee, sugar and processed foods)
· Developing habitually healthy habits
· Learning to balance your response to stress
· Receiving regular chiropractic care
· Massage therapy

Additionally, chiropractic care enables your nervous system and spinal column to operate at its maximum capacity helping to unlock your body’s potential to battle stressful situations.

Click this link for some additional easy stress reducers.  By developing a better stress response system, we can choose to live a happier, healthier life and let the little stuff go.