Chronic Stress in America
How to Manage This Common but Serious Health Risk
Friday, Jan 26, 2024…
It’s around 5:30 pm, and my apartment is quiet, aside from the sound of passing traffic from the street outside. Sitting on the edge of my bed, I let out a long-muffled scream into my pillow. It’s raw and comes from the deepest reaches of my gut. As I pull the pillow down to my lap, I sigh, and my attention is drawn to movement in the corner of the room. My eyes lift, and I see my cat Ozzy gawking at me with a look of sheer bewilderment plastered across his face.
Stress is Running Amok in America
What am I doing screaming into pillows alone in my room? I am simply using a not-so-scientific technique in an attempt to ease my stress levels. From the looks of it, I’m not the only one feeling it these days.
The APA has reported that studies done for the year 2023 show elevated stress levels from Americans across nearly every age group as opposed to stress levels reported pre-COVID. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
It’s also been reported that America is one of the most stressed-out geographic regions in the world, with documented stress levels 20% higher than the global average.
I couldn’t keep this information to myself and decided to take a proactive approach to tackling this prevalent problem. I began to travel down the road to recovery and started educating myself on the common causes of chronic stress in American adults and how best to manage it.
At the Heart of the Matter
In the land of the free and the home of the stressed, this silent assault on the nervous system is blind to your material wealth. It transcends race, gender, political affiliation, education, and social class. Americans experience this anxiety-ridden state of being at such levels that we have an institute solely dedicated to researching the science behind stress.
Aptly dubbed the AIS (or the American Institute of Stress,) this research facility has been in the business of everything related to our trials of trepidation since 1978 and publishes its findings for the public to access.
While thumbing through loads of statistics, I stumbled across a couple that were particularly problematic but also made perfect sense. I don’t want to get you all worked up, so I’ll keep it short.
Nearly half of the adults aged 18–24 identified high stress levels from constantly comparing themselves to others — Thank you very much, Instagram. We also need to consider limiting our nightly news intake because it is reported that 54% of Americans insist on watching the news to stay informed; however, doing so causes them chronic stress.
And finally, experiencing equality in the U.S. will have an even more significant impact than once thought. Why? Because 1 in every 4 Americans feel that they experience discrimination regularly and identify this as a major source of chronic stress.
Here’s the issue that I have with all this data. A large chunk of information was missing from all the ratios and percentages I came across. And that was how to adequately deal with the chronically occurring pressures, fears, and dread mounting in our daily lives.
With over 30% of American adults looking to food to comfort them and 49% of adults admitting to self-medicating with alcohol and the use of illicit drugs to make it through another day, it is apparent that there needs to be more attention paid to alternative methods for relieving the angst brought on by bouts of chronic stress.
The Doctor is In
However, to begin healing, you must first understand what is at stake. Frank Thewes LCSW is a licensed therapist with training and experience in reducing stress as a mental health component and is mindfulness CBT certified.
Dr. Thewes focuses much of his therapeutic work on alleviating the emotional aspects of stress for his patients, which he treats within the safe space of his practice, Path Forward Therapy, in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
Dr. Thewes explains, “In the short-term, chronic stress causes reduced productivity at work, feeling disconnected from favorite activities, and disrupts personal relationships.”
To dig deeper regarding the good doctor’s bodements, I consulted a practicing physician to get the skinny on how severe the effects can be on a person’s physical health.
Dr. Huffman has been a primary care physician for 35 years and is currently the Medical Director at The Florida Injury Center. He was matter-of-fact in his explanation, saying, “The human body releases hormones like cortisol and adrenaline. In short bursts, these hormones offer rapid responses to immediate threats. Still, if released constantly, health risks can arise.”
Huffman then rattled off a laundry list of health problems, including heart disease, hypertension, anxiety disorders, and even cancer.
Huffman says the immune system is left compromised, making your body susceptible to various illnesses and turning your wellness into a game of chance. As you might have guessed, gambling with chronically occurring stress is a dangerous game to be playing. If these are the inevitable outcomes on our health, the rational question to ask next is, “What can we do about it?”
Just What the Doctor Ordered
Considering the gravity of the issues associated with prolonged stress, it puts the importance of knowing how to cope healthily into perspective.
I asked the professionals I spoke with to offer some of their best suggestions on effectively managing stress, which are also easy to incorporate into a busy lifestyle. They presented these practical tips and tricks to add to your toolbox.
1. Learn to identify signs of being overly stressed
These symptoms can range from clenching your teeth, increased heart rate, and feeling on edge. The key here is when your symptoms begin to affect you, take note of what is happening around you.
Identifying your most significant sources of stress is the first step to developing effective stress management strategies that best fit your lifestyle.
2. Develop methods to cope with your stress when you notice the signs above
When you begin feeling perturbed, try taking a short walk in a serene area, like around a pond or in a park with marked walking trails; search YouTube for a guided relaxation or mindfulness activity; try a free app like Calm or Balance to begin your journey with the practice of meditation, or call a person you can trust to vent your frustrations to (without the added worry of judgment or backlash.)
3. Break up your wake routine with calming, mindful activities
Take 10 minutes every morning to breathe and center your thoughts. Data suggests that by practicing mindfulness through meditation, guided relaxation techniques, and breathing exercises, you are reducing the amount of activity in the part of the brain that releases the stress response going out to the rest of the body.
You will emerge calmer, more collected, and more capable of focusing on your daily demanding tasks.
4. Include exercise in your schedule, and if you already exercise, add a calming practice, like yoga
Rigorous exercise is synonymous with releasing neurotransmitters called endorphins that originate in the brain. According to the Cleveland Clinic, endorphins help relieve pain and stress while giving you clarity and well-being.
On the other hand, yoga can bring a feeling of calm and help you re-center your mind, body, and spirit, easing the feeling of being pulled in a thousand different directions that stress may invoke.
5. Focus on activities unrelated to being productive
Remember what they say about all work and no play. Taking part in hobbies or activities unrelated to work, school, or other formal responsibilities can help you recharge your batteries and spark new passions and interests, bringing about a new lease on life.
6. Talk to a professional and Ask for Help
The stigma that surrounds therapy and acting in a way that benefits your mental health, unfortunately, does still exist in our culture. However, reaching out to a therapist can help identify stress points and help find ways to manage them, significantly reducing the adverse effects that chronic stressors can have on the mind and body.
And for those who remain apprehensive about calling on a professional for guidance, many different options are now available to you.
Gone are the days of laying on the couch in a tell-all session with your therapist in a physical office. Telehealth services have become available in recent years, enabling patients and their therapists to meet via video call.
Some therapists will even counsel patients over the phone. Deciding what the most comfortable option is for you and if they accept health insurance or require you to pay out of pocket to access services are the first steps toward finding a professional with whom you don’t mind sharing the more intimate details of your life.
You want to feel confident that they understand the scope of your stress and are on the same page as you in order to guide you toward employing the strategies that best suit your needs.
Your Health Will Thank You
The next time you feel like the world’s weight has chosen your shoulders to bear the load, do your best to remember that you are not alone. Many Americans are feeling the same way. We live in a time where uncertainty is more and more common, and dealing with constant sources of stress has become a part of “our new normal.”
The good news is that if you have healthier ways to manage your stress, you will have much better chances of overcoming the challenges and health issues that operate in tandem with this pressing condition.
I will leave you with some good advice that Dr. Thewes likes to share with his patients.
“If you’re not acting on your stress, it’s acting on you. So, take action and get some help to find better coping methods!”
