Stress, Distress and Anxiety:  The Root of Nearly 90% of Medical Issues

For the eleventh consecutive year, April 2003 has been designated Stress Awareness Month. During this 30-day period, health care professionals and health promotion experts across the country will join forces to increase public awareness about both the causes and releases for our modern stress epidemic.

Sponsored by The Health Resource Network (HRN), a nonprofit health education organization, Stress Awareness Month is a national, cooperative effort to inform people about the dangers of stress, successful coping strategies, and harmful misconceptions about stress that are prevalent in our society.

"Even though we've learned a lot about stress in the past twenty years," says Dr. Morton C. Orman, MD, Founder and Director of HRN, "We've got a long way to go. New information is now available that could help millions of Americans eliminate their suffering."

Stress Facts:

75% of the general population experiences at least "some stress" every 2 weeks (National Health Interview Survey). Half of those experience moderate or high levels of stress during the same 2-week period. Millions of Americans suffer from unhealthy levels of stress at work. (A study several years ago estimated the number to be 11 million, given events since that time, this number has certainly more than tripled. Studies in Sweden, Canada, and other Westernized countries show similar trends). Worker's compensation claims for "mental stress" in California rose 200-700% in the 1980s, whereas all other causes remained stable or declined. Stress contributes to heart disease, high blood pressure, strokes, and other illnesses in many individuals. Stress affects the immune system, which protects us from many serious diseases. Tranquilizers, anti-depressants, and anti-anxiety medications account for one fourth of all prescriptions written in the U.S. each year. Stress contributes to the development of alcoholism, obesity, suicide, drug addiction, cigarette addiction, and other harmful behaviors. The US Public Health Service has made reducing stress one of its major health promotion goals.

Dr. Orman has invited leading health care organizations across the country to develop and disseminate helpful educational materials and other information about stress during the month of April. He is also promoting public forums, discussion groups, and other informative community events.

The Health Resource Network is a nonprofit health education organization established in 1982. It consists of health professionals, health promotion experts, and educators committed to developing more effective programs for improving health and preventing disease. In addition to sponsoring Stress Awareness Month, the organization also sponsors National Stress Awareness Day, held every April 16—the day after income taxes are due!

Amsterdam hypnotist Lee Pelletier notes that while stress and anxiety are constants, stress can be effectively dealt with through hypnosis. According to Healthline.com, stress affects the lives of most adults in developed countries in many ways. It is a major factor in rising health care costs; one public health expert maintains that 90% of all diseases and disorders in the United States are stress-related. Stress plays a part in many social problems such as child and elder abuse, workplace violence, juvenile crime, suicide, substance addiction, "road rage," and the general decline of courtesy and good manners. Stress also affects the productivity of businesses and industries. One nationwide survey found that 53% of American workers name their job as the single greatest source of stress in their lives. Furthermore, the overall cost of medical care, time lost from work, and workplace accidents in the United States comes to over $150 million per year.

Hypnosis is appreciated as one of the best overall approaches for dealing with stress. "It should be an early response, before medications are introduced," Pelletier said. "Of course," he continued, any course of care should be undertaken with the supervision of the individual's physician."  Anyone can do certain things for him or herself to alleviate stress.  Making healthy food choices, having a lot of physical activity, and doing things for the fun of it will help.  The simple use of hypnotic breathing patterns can greatly help to reduce stress. Pelletier points out that simply drawing in a nice deep breath, holding it for about 3-5 seconds and then exhaling slowly will reduce stress levels remarkably for many people. This should be repeated 5-10 times to achieve stress reduction.

Pelletier points out that it is very appropriate that April 16 has been designated annually as "Stress Freedom Day" as one's taxes must be submitted by the 15th, and the reduction of stress is great once that is accomplished. If, after trying the above techniques on your own, you would like to consult with Lee Pelletier about managing and even reducing the stress in your life then call 518-772-5026 to arrange an appointment.

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