Beating stress

Stress. We’ve all felt it at one time or another, and in today’s switched on and frantic world more and more people are feeling stressed more of the time. Biologically, stress is the body’s reaction to a difficult or challenging environment. When in a situation that a person finds stressful, their body goes into ‘fight or flight’ mode and produces certain chemicals that make them feel overwhelmed and under pressure. Not only is a large amount of stress uncomfortable to experience; it has health implications as well. Long-term stress can increase the risk of heart attack, stroke, and ulcers. It can even trigger mental-health problems such as anxiety and depression.

Stress is not just personally devastating; it is detrimental to businesses. A survey conducted by Medibank found that stress in employees costs Australian business more than $10 billion annually, and the Australian economy more than $14 billion annually. With all of this information, why are so many people not doing anything about the chronic stress in their lives? These days, stress is considered by many as inevitable in everyday life, especially for those in management or executive positions.