Stress can be easily managed by you from within you.

2009 “Perceptions of Stress in Adults”, a part of APA Study, Stress in America survey results show that adults continue to report high levels of stress and many report that their stress has increased over the past year. Additionally, many adults are reporting physical symptoms of stress.

75% of adults reported experiencing moderate to high levels of stress in the past month (24 % extreme, 51 % moderate) and 42 % reported that their stress has increased in the past year. 43 % of adults say they eat too much or eat unhealthy foods as a result of stress. 37% report skipping a meal because they were under stress.

While 44 % of adults report that they exercise or walk to relieve stress, many Americans also say they rely on more sedentary activities to manage stress (49 % listen to music, 41 % read, 36 % watch TV or movies more than two hours per day, and 33 % play video games). Although these activities may be helpful in alleviating stress, they do not improve overall physical health or maintain a more healthy weight than more active forms of stress management.

Overall, many adults say they have felt the physical effects of stress in the past month:

• 47 % of all adults report that they have lain awake at night;
• 45 % report irritability or anger;
• 43 % report fatigue;
• 40 % report lack of interest, motivation or energy;
• 34 % report headaches;
• 34 % report feeling depressed or sad;
• 32 % report feeling as though they could cry; and
• 27 % report upset stomach or indigestion as a result of stress.

“The prevalence with which Americans continue to report increasing and extreme stress levels is a real concern,” said Dr. Nordal. “Also, people say that their levels of stress and lack of willpower are preventing them from making lifestyle and behavior changes that are necessary for improving and maintaining good health. It’s clear that people need tools and support to better manage extreme stress in order to prevent serious health consequences. Unfortunately, our current healthcare system does not do a very good job in this regard. And insurance companies often don’t cover preventive services or the kinds of services people need in order to better manage chronic illness.”

The results of the 2009 “Stress in America” survey by the American Psychological Association found that while 85 % of Americans say their stress level has remained the same or increased in the past year, just 4 % of people use therapy as a way to combat that stress. This reflects a decrease in therapy usage related to stress. In 2008, 7 % of people said they saw a mental health professional to manage their stress.

In fact, Americans are more likely to eat (28%), smoke (14%), shop (15%) or watch TV (36%) than see a therapist as a stress management technique.

“We need to make Americans aware that seeing a mental health professional such as a Marriage and Family Therapist is a wise, effective way to manage stress that’s getting in the way of daily life,” said Patsy Pinkney-Phillips, Ph.D., president of the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists Board and a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. “If you’re experiencing high levels of stress, talk therapy can help you get through it.”

The same report indicates that adults seriously under-appreciate the stress their teens and tweens endure in their daily lives. That pretty much sums up the appreciation most adults have for their own levels of stress day-to-day.

Most adults will acknowledge their true levels of stress only when pinned down about it or when they experience physical symptoms. And even then many will deny those symptoms believing a pill or better boss or less demanding spouse or change in some other external environmental issue will take care of it. Although those kinds of changes can decrease stress to some degree, they are usually much harder to manage and control than internal stress mechanisms – resources one can learn to harness at will.

That’s the good news! Stress can be easily managed by you from within you. You don’t have to wait for your employer to mellow out or ease up on you. You can take care of your stress yourself without indulging in health reducing behaviors such as smoking or vegging out on the couch in front of the tube.

If your health insurance carrier (assuming you have one) does not provide coverage for mental health (a likely situation), you can learn powerful stress management techniques such as the Rapid Eye Technology Immediate Release Technique (IRT), Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), and Self-Hypnosis for free from a trained professional practitioner. Just ask!