One-third of Americans are under "Extreme Stress"- Poll

The stress level of American people has got worsened in the past five years, causing one-third of them to suffer from extreme stress, and damaging health, relationship and work productivity of nearly half of the people, revealed a new national survey by the American Psychological Association (APA).

APA’s 2007 Stress in America poll, released on Wednesday, suggests that one-third of the American adult population is under extreme stress, while nearly half of Americans or 48 percent believe their stress levels have significantly jumped during the past five years, affecting their personal and professional life.

The survey, conducted online by Harris Interactive between Aug. 30 and Sept. 11, 2007, questioned 1,848 adult Americans and revealed a list of statistics of them. In the survey 32 percent of the respondents said they are experiencing extreme stress, driving them to overeat, drink, and smoke.

Nearly one-third of the people surveyed responded they had difficulty balancing family and work responsibilities, while more than half said stress had caused friction in relationships with family and friends.

Nearly three-quarters of people who participated in the poll blamed work (74%) and money (73%) as the main sources of stress in their lives, followed by workload and children, while more than half of respondents cited housing costs as a major source of stress. Low salaries, too much work and a lack of opportunity were cited by the respondents as the main inducers for stress at work.

"Stress in America continues to escalate and is affecting every aspect of people's lives - from work to personal relationships to sleep patterns and eating habits, as well as their health," said psychologist Dr Russ Newman, Executive director for professional practice at the APA.

"We know that stress is a fact of life and some stress can have a positive impact, however, the high stress levels that many Americans report experiencing can have long-term health consequences, ranging from fatigue to obesity and heart disease," he added.

Stress is a term which is not alien to any living mortal today. Be it a school going kid; burdened with studies and the fierce competition in other fields or an old man on the verge of his retirement; they are all under the clinch of stress. Stress is a state of affair that demands physical and mental energy. In medical terminology ‘stress’ is defined as a disturbance of the body’s homeostasis. Today, with the rapid diversification of human activity, we come face to face with numerous causes of stress.

As our mind and body try to cope up with the frequent changes in life, the demand of energy is raised and so is the stress. A stressed brain looses its mental flexibility and has less ability to pay attention or to learn and remember.

Stress can cause a variety of health disorders such as frequent headaches, backaches, heart attacks, allergies, eating disorders etc. Outside the brain, stress can play havoc on the immune system of the body. The immune system of a stressed-out individual apparently ages out at a faster rate thus making it more prone to all kinds of diseases.

Relaxation training, yoga and dance therapy help patients relieve physical and mental symptoms of stress. Meditation can also be a useful tool for controlling stress. Hydrotherapy, massage therapy, and aromatherapy are useful to some anxious patients because they can promote general relaxation of the nervous system.

In the recent survey, nearly half of the respondents found reading, listening to music and exercising useful in relieving stress, while forty percent said they got relieved by spending time with family and friends, and 34 percent found prayers useful.