Workplace Stress

INTRODUCTION

Stress is an unavoidable consequence of life. A certain amount of stress is necessary to meet professional and personal challenges and maintain motivation and optimal performance. But excessive stress, or an inability to cope with stress, can affect your health.

Conservative estimates suggest that more than 70-80% of the medical problems presented in the doctor’s office are in some way stress-related.

WHAT IS STRESS ?

Although the word “stress” is often used to refer to external situations – such as divorce, or the death of a spouse – medical researchers have come to think of stress as the body’s response to those external conditions (also called “stressors”).

The stress response consists of certain physiological changes which involve the nervous system, hormones, blood flow, heart rate, muscle tension and digestion.

Together these changes are known as the “fight or flight” reaction. It has existed in people since prehistoric times, and has enabled us to survive as a species in the face of countless life-threatening situations.