Stress must be taken seriously

PEOPLE will hardly be surprised to learn that work and money are the leading causes of stress in this country.

A survey conducted by the Mental Health Association of Ireland in 2001 found that about a third of Irish people said that stress had a negative impact on their health.

The symptoms of stress may show up in a tendency to tearfulness, impulsiveness, aggressiveness and irritability without apparent cause, or some other uncharacteristic behaviour.

Sufferers may exhibit poor levels of concentration and develop a variety of unexplained illnesses.

They may lose interest in aspects of life both at work and outside, and may be weary, lethargic and apathetic.

Stress rarely receives the kind of attention it deserves, especially with changes in society contributing to more stressful conditions. Stress is currently cited as the second most common cause of absence from work lasting over three weeks.

In a survey of 54,400 users, irishhealth.com found that an equal number of people some 28% of respondents cited the pressures of work and making money as the most stressful aspects of their daily lives. Of course, these are largely related, because work is the way that people make money.

Since so much time is spent at work, it is understandable that a high percentage of stress would be work-related. European studies have found that about a third of people suffer from stress at their jobs.

Traditionally family members were a refuge rather than a cause of stress, but 16% of the people surveyed cited family pressures as a source of stress, and 24% cited personal relationships.

Many families now have two members working outside the home, which adds considerably to the levels of stress, especially when they come home and share burdens that would have been the province of one partner in earlier years.

People spend more time at work than previous generations and they usually live further from their employment.

Travelling is facilitated by the availability of cars and other forms of transportation, but many people have to travel to and from work amid unprecedented levels of congestion on our roads.

Stress is not necessarily a bad thing at work, provided that it does not act negatively on an individual's health.

Work can actually be a relief from stress, by affording a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction as well as providing the social benefits of companionship among work colleagues. This is all part of a broader sense of community.

People need to identify the actual cause of their stress, if they are to do something about it. It is pointless merely attributing stress to work in a general and undefined way. There is a real need to determine the actual causes of stress at work, and distinguish whether it is related to long hours, shift work, bullying, or possibly an inability to take holidays.

It is important that stress be taken seriously, because experts predict that five of the top ten medical problems worldwide will be stress-related by 2020.