The Tribune

By Dr Monique Thompson

IN THE last article I defined stress as the “physical, cognitive, emotional, and behavioural response to situations perceived as being challenging or threatening”, and took a fair look at the important role that stress plays in our survival.

This week we delve more into the long-term effects of stress with the hope of understanding what our bodies encounter so that we can either put the saying “stress kills” to bed or get proactive when it comes to stress reduction, and make a concerted effort to properly manage the stress in our lives.

Just so that we understand the effect of stress on the masses, I pause to share a few statistics with you from the American Institute of Stress (AIS) concerning Americans. The fact that there is an entire institute devoted to stress alone should speak volumes to its impact, but just to draw you in a bit more:

Stress and the workplace

There has been a 60 per cent increase in productivity over the past 20 years, but wages do not reflect that, which means that people are working much harder for less. On top of this 24 per cent of employees – nearly a quarter of all workers – put in over six hours of overtime per week without pay, and the United States does not legally require employees to take time off. Is it any wonder then that “work stress” is estimated to increase the risk of having a stroke by 50 per cent, cause 10 per cent of strokes, increases the risk of heart disease by 40 per cent, and makes us 25 per cent more likely to suffer a heart attack?

Stress and health

According to AIS, stress is the basic cause for 60 per cent of all human disease. Some 75 per cent of doctor visits, or three out of every four doctor visits are to address stress-related ailments. Americans pay an estimated $300 billion in healthcare costs annually because of stress-related illnesses. That’s nearly a third of a trillion dollars! That’s more money than many of us would see in several lifetimes.

Forgive me for digressing here. Given that these estimates are even somewhat accurate, are we realising the magnitude of these statistics? Are we beginning to see just how big of a problem this thing called “stress” is? With National Health Insurance being pushed to come on stream in nine months, I cannot help but wonder how much emphasis is being placed on reducing healthcare expenditures by seriously addressing “the stress problem”.

I am talking about putting meaningful systems in place to prevent stress-related illnesses and mortality rates, educate individuals from preschool forth about the deleterious effects of stress and proper management skills, and implementing stress reduction programs in every government entity. We cannot advocate for improved health without seriously considering the importance of effectively reducing stress.

Fortunately, this is not the end of this conversation. Due to my digression we will continue this meaty topic next week. Feel free to send me your story on how stress has affected your health (all personal details will be anonymous).

• Disclaimer – this information is not intended to diagnose or treat any condition, rather to be used for educational purposes. Dr Monique Thompson is a naturopathic medical doctor and founder of Cornerstone Healing Institute, a naturopathic family medicine centre. For questions and information, call 356-0083.