We have been quite busy lately, and to be honest, I feel as humans move from generation to generation, they become ever busier than they were previously. We just have a way of adding more burdens to the already existing burdens that we face. With the advancements in technology, it is only getting worse, as we have to acquire new knowledge and learn new skills to survive, which will always cause stress.
The Unreal Logic of Stress Prevalence
You may wonder how many people are stressed today? I've got some numbers: To put things into perspective, I attempted to identify the world's adult population today, as the preceding report did not consider whether people are stressed as adults or children.I found that about 53% of the global population are adults, which naturally keeps them within the stress-prone category.
Thus, if we have 53% of the world's population as adults, it could imply that about 2/3rd of the world's adult population are currently stressed. The remaining 1/3rd may be the ones that are already mentally ill (most likely psychotic), which could easily imply that all sane adults are living with stress.
Interesting, right! I may not be anything close to complete statistical correctness in my analysis, but get my point; stress is an inevitable part of life, and it's also very important to human survival. We cannot entirely escape stress. But stress becomes a problem when it lasts for a long time, which most people do in the 21st century.
Chronic Stress
Chronic stress is very deadly and can cause a lot of problems. For one, it basically impairs our ability to function properly as humans. It is also linked to a host of mental health issues, including anxiety disorders, depression, and some cardiovascular health diseases, and can aggravate existing health conditions. Chronic stress could be that bad!
My Stress (Common Sources/Stressors)
I'm one of the most stressed individuals in my home. This is as a result of the type of work I do. With my work experience, I've come to identify one fundamental ingredient of chronic stress: a job that you can take home with you.
Any job that you can take home with you can cause more stress than other jobs. You can take your job home with you, either physically or mentally. Some of us work for 15 or more hours without being aware of it. If you're not at your job, you're thinking actively about it.
Most often, working with IT firms or offering IT (information technology) services such as writing, coding, programming, researching, data analysis, and more, are jobs that can easily go with us wherever we are. In general, working to make a living will cause stress, and this stress could last for a long time.
What more could lead to stress? Trying to deal with the difficult times, dealing with friends, family, and associates, the growing insecurity and economic hardships, the news, and numerous others What can be done?
Stress Antidote
One key to dealing with stress is to be modest about our abilities. Modesty involves knowing your strengths and weaknesses and working in harmony with them. Most of the time, trying to do more than we are able to handle will lead to stress and frustration. Multitasking is not a gift that everyone has, so instead of trying to accomplish more in a short time, why not take things bit by bit?
Another important key is to avoid negative stressors. While positive stressors could cause unhealthy stress over time, negative stressors cause a person to develop acute and long-running stress. A good example is the news. Do you feel overly anxious after listening to the news? Does it seem like you can't get your mind off the news? If that's your situation, the news and media could be a stressor to avoid.
Prioritizing is another effective method of dealing with stress. You've got to be pragmatic here. There's a limit to how much you can handle, so, prioritize activities based on their importance and handle the most important first, and everything else in that order.
Find time to rest, engage in physical activities, and eat healthy. Among other things, if you've been able to do all you can as well as follow through on the advice of my friends from a distance, such as @dwixer who identified 4 ways to deal with stress, @gi-de-on who noted 5 basic ways to deal with stress, as well as other ways that can be found here by a host of interesting authors, then, I recommend you visit a mental health specialist. Trust me, it is very very okay to see one!
Remember, stress is like money, it must be managed effectively and efficiently, but unlike money, too much of it may spell doom.