Stress Levels in people increase world wide

According to a new survey by the Gallup Global Emotions report, the stress levels in human beings have shot up.

Over 150,000 people from over 140 countries were interviewed and it revealed that that three out of five were stressed and the two angry, sad or worried.

The survey ascertained that Chad is the most stressed country followed by Niger. The report reveals Paraguay as the most positive and less stressed country.

In Uganda , according to Francis Kihoro  a psychology expert, the majority factors contributing to stress include financial constraints, work demands, safety concerns, family violence and relationships.

Top 5 countries with highest positive experiences

• Paraguay
• Panama
• Guatemala
• Mexico
• El Salvador

Top 5 countries with highest negative experiences

• Chad
• Niger
• Sierra Leone
• Iraq
• Iran

Dealing with Stress

According to the international Journal of stress management, With extreme stress, one’s productivity and health can be affected. For example, they could be more prone to heart complications, high blood pressure and a weak immune system.   Several Ugandan celebrities have succumbed to stress and drugs like Jackie Chandiru and Maddox Ssematimba however have been on track of defeating the depression in the last years. Before dealing with the stress it is important to know what is stressing you. So what are some of the signs and symptoms showing that you could be experiencing extreme stress:

• Always feeling anxious and irritable.
• Loss of interest in your work.
• Sleeping problems.
• Fatigue.
• Having trouble concentrating.
• Muscle pains and severe headache.
• Social withdrawal.
• Resorting to junk food, alcohol or drugs to cope.

 

Some of the major causes of stress at work include:

• Excess workload.
• Lack of planning and organization.
• Redundancy at work.
• Monotonous and unchallenging work tasks.
• Conflicts with work colleagues.
• Unclear direction and performance expectations.

The international Journal of stress management explains that finding out the cause of your stress is the first and most important step to dealing with it all together.  Having identified what exactly stresses you, the next step is to figure out realistic and healthy responses to your stressors. People have different ways that they handle stress that could be either healthy or unhealthy.

 

Healthy Responses	Unhealthy Responses
Exercise to help you relax. Taking walks. Taking breaks in between work tasks or from the stressful situation. Meditation. Getting enough sleep. Organizing your work. Indulging in a healthy hobby. Eating healthy meals.	Drinking excessive alcohol. Resorting to drugs. Smoking. Eating too much junk food or food with too much sugar.

While dealing with the stress whose cause you have identified,  put in place boundaries for yourself, Maintain healthy and positive work relationships, have time for yourself apart from your work routine, talk to your colleagues and supervisor about the situation and always seek medical help when the stress over exceeds your capacity to handle.

Excessive stress is a condition that is not immune to anyone. It can affect anyone in any workplace and is a condition that should be given much attention as it not only affects the person but all those around them and the organization at large. Be sure to take the right steps in handling it because it is a long-term condition that could affect you for the rest of your life.