Study finds stress levels up.

[ski diva]

If you're feeling more stressed lately, you're not alone.

According to a report by the American Psychological Assocation, nearly half of all Americans -- 48% -- feel more stress than they did five years ago.

What about you? Are you more or less stressed than you were five years ago?

 

[Ski Spirit]

Stress Level

Definitely more stressed overall but not when skiing,
i.e. more skiing is required to offset stress! :cheer:

 

[IntheClouds]

I left my high stress job 1 year ago. Was home a couple months & had the T.V. on a bit during the day to catch up on life, watched Oprah, etc. I'm getting a little tenser during the day then I used to. Then what do I run across ? An article saying those who watch Oprah are significantly more stressed than the rest of the world. Off w/the t.v. & on to my favorite music cd's. Or, just leaving the windows open for now & listening to the birds. Except , I have this Red Tailed Hawk with a nest in the oak tree in my back yard. She screams at me everytime I'm in the kitchen & won't stop until I leave. Just how annoying & stressfull is that ??!!!! Really disturbs my morning peace. Or I hers. Not making light of the subject, but neither of us will concede as to who owns this joint ! Aw, the solution, the men in my family have to do the morning kitchen duties. They seem to be oblivious. I do the dinner chores & the hawk doesn't seem to care.

 

[SnowFalcon]

I'm definitely feelin' pretty stressed right now as I am under serious deadline pressure to finish the last chapter of my MA thesis! But overall, I feel like increased stress comes and goes. I think the more things we are trying to juggle in our lives, the more stressful it is. So if the stress level is too high, then simplifying is the answer. Although I often have a hard time doing this myself. And then there is skiing, which is like a meditation to me. When skiing, I have to be in the moment. There can't be anything else but me and the mountain. Actual meditation is great for destressing too. I just read an article on AOL the other day that was saying that the only thing that has been consistently shown to reduce stress is meditation.

 

[abc]

Nop!

5 years ago was the depth of post9/11 and resession. If people are stressed out now, what were they thinking in 2002?

 

[Sheena]

I think I am less stressed! I went back to DC at the end of August, and everyone commented on how relaxed and refreshed I looked. (mainly because my last 2 or so months at work in DC required a lot of balancing, I was planning a wedding and a cross-country move! )

 

[Pequenita]

Less now. I didn't have job security 5 years ago, thanks to the newly elected governor who was appalled at the number of attorneys the state employed and threatened to decrease that number. And I was already making so little money, I could qualify for Mass General Hospital's low-income patients program! The things one does for public service....