I'm feeling a tad stressed...edgy, overwhelmed, impatient, lethargic and generally unable to cope.

I'm confused about the nature of stress. Am I stressed or just a bit anxious because I have a lot going on? Or do I have a clinically recognised disorder such as "Generalised Anxiety Syndrome".

Perhaps I should see my GP, but then they are probably too busy with the flu epidemic

Am I depressed? According to what I heard on the radio, I seem to have a few symptoms and the self assessment in ‘self diagnostic weekly’ showed me to be in the red bar of 'significantly stressed'.

I need help in deciding if I am really stressed or just mildly depressed or maybe I merely need a rest, so I will go and search the Internet.

I type in ‘stress’ and receive no less than 146,000,000 hits - which to look at first? There is simply too much information and it's very confusing:






I felt stressed before, but even more so now! There are so many articles - many well intentioned and others that are merely cashing in on the misery of others.

Stress is a Serious Issue

Interest in stress has been a hot topic for 10 years or more, with numerous attempts to promote awareness and remove the stigma.

The important question is, are we any nearer to reducing levels of stress with its destructive effects?

Some take the view that stress is being overhyped with:







There is a view that if we can remove the hype, the problem might just go away.

However, experience over the past 10 years indicates that simply ignoring the issue of stress does not work.

Focussing particularly on the workplace, Dame Carol Black reports that:

Ill health is costing the British economy £100 billion each year. That equates to the annual cost of running the NHS!

She continues that, 2.2 million people are suffering from an illness that they believe was caused or made worse by their job and in 2006/7, 13.8 million working days were lost due to work related stress depression and anxiety.

Those statistics indicate that stress is not going away, so what next?

In the current climate people are reluctant to raise anything that might conceivably jeopardise their careers. Treatment and support are available but people seem reluctant to seek them out until they are in such a state that they are unable to function or their health is being significantly affected. Some have learned to hide their symptoms from others so the statistics may well be understated.

Professional View

For 8 years I have been helping people to manage the destructive effects of stress. In the current economic climate it appears to be even more prevalent but worryingly even more disguised.

The root causes of stress are highly individual and often complex, but there seems to have been little progress in proactively tackling them.

Perhaps we are simply paying the price for living in a demanding world with information overload and too much choice. Confused priorities have put contentment and happiness below material wealth.

Having got ourselves into this mess, we now need to find our way out. Whilst there are all manner of techniques and therapies for coping with stress, we really need to be addressing the broader sociological issues that have led us to this state – and that will require effort from all of us.