of Covid-19 was less than half of the number of deaths from heart disease in 2020. It could be argued that the stress of the American lifestyle, and particularly the effects on heart health, continues to be an even bigger health crisis than Covid-19. Reflection Question #2: Know Your Numbers! Tracking your blood pressure at home is an easy way to monitor your health. Blood pressure cuffs for home use are inexpensive. What’s your blood pressure?
In 2020, heart disease and cancer were the leading causes of death in the U.S., ranking higher than Covid-19. An article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2021 states that “COVID-19 was the third leading cause of death in 2020, with an estimated 345,323 deaths, and was largely responsible for the substantial increase in total deaths from 2019 to 2020. Substantial increases from 2019 to 2020 also occurred for several other leading causes. Heart disease deaths increased by 4.8%, the largest increase in heart disease deaths since 2012” (Ahmad & Anderson, 2021). Still, the devastating death toll
SECTION 2: WHY ARE WE SO STRESSED?
The next age group, adults ages 35 to 44, also reported money as a source of stress and ranked highest, at 67%, as identifying that paying for essentials is causing them stress. Parents (defined as adults with children under 18 years of age) also ranked higher than other adults (defined by adults without children under 18 years of age) when it comes to financial stress, with 66% of parents reporting feeling consumed by worries regarding money, compared to only 39% of other adults. Retirees, on the other hand, are not feeling quite as bad. Only 47% of adults ages 65 and over reported being stressed by the economy. Seniors also reported a greater ability to cope with stress, with 71% agreeing that when they feel stressed, they can get over it quickly, as compared to only 51% of young adults (ages 18 to 34) reporting the same (American Psychological Association, 2023). thanks to technological advances—working from home has become common in many professions. This allows “work” to overflow more and more into “life” in a way that is not necessarily productive or healthy. Not having a clear separation between the two can lead to chronic stress. Mental Health America, formerly known as the National Mental Health Association, says: “For a lot of people, the pursuit of a healthy work/life balance seems like an impossible goal. With so many of us torn between juggling heavy workloads, managing relationships and family responsibilities, and squeezing in outside interests, it's no surprise that more than one in four Americans describe themselves as “super stressed.” And that’s not balanced—or healthy...Over time, stress also weakens our immune systems, and makes us susceptible to a variety of ailments from colds to backaches to heart disease.” (2018) This has become the norm for many of us, as our acceptance of being under constant pressure grows, and it is literally killing us. As discussed in Section 1 of this course, we are now seeing some of these effects of chronic stress become the leading cause of death in places like the U.S. to it close to the time of day when we sleep. Additionally, there is now talk in the medical and psychological fields of a phenomenon called screen addiction. If you have a smartphone, you can test this theory by counting the number of times in a day that you pick up your phone to “check in” with the national news, social media, text messages, email, or games. The total by the end of the day will probably shock you—and it is not just you. Screen addiction has become a social norm, at least here in the U.S. Dr. Adam Atler, a social psychologist and professor at New York University, described this addiction in an interview for
The American Psychological Association conducts an annual “Stress in America” survey, and the 2023 survey, titled “Stress in America 2023: A Nation Recovering from Collective Trauma,” breaks down the current issues causing American stress in general terms as well as by demographics—age, race, and gender. The highest-ranking stressor across the board was money and the economy in post-Covid America. The cost of living in the U.S. has rapidly increased since 2020, and American adults are feeling the squeeze. Every age bracket showed a significant percentage of adults identifying money as a stressor, and the highest percentage was among young adults. A startling 82% of adults ages 18 to 34 identified money as a primary source of stress, which was up from 75% in the 2019 survey—and they were not alone. Work–life balance or lack thereof Over the past few decades, workdays and workweeks have gotten longer as productivity expectations have increased. We seem to be under constant pressure to produce more and earn more, from the corporate level down to the working individual who is just trying to make ends meet. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average workday for full-time workers in 2022 was 8.42 hours. For comparison, the same data collected by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics for 2012 showed the average workday to be only 7.65 hours long (see Section 5: References for a link to the charts). That is an increase of over 10% in 10 years, and the numbers were even higher for people with multiple jobs. Could the stress that the average American is feeling about money, as described above, be driving adults to work more? What effect does that have on stress levels and happiness? Work–life balance is a popular buzzword in today’s workplace culture, and for good reason. A company called WorkLifeBalance.com defines work–life balance as a balance between achievement and enjoyment, though not necessarily in equal parts, as there are only so many hours in a day (Bird, 2003). The lines between a person’s professional life and personal life have become blurred compared to what workers experienced a few generations ago. Workdays are longer, expectations are higher, and— Overstimulation Because the lines between work and home life have become so blurred, and many of us continue to work even after we have gone home for the day, our brains are not getting a break. Many of us stare at computer screens at the office, then smartphone or tablet screens away from the desk, then television screens during our leisure time. We are starting to understand how too much screen time can actually rewire the brain. This is more so the case in children, but adults are also affected. The blue light of computers, handheld devices, and television screens has been shown to negatively affect sleep, especially when we are exposed
Page 41
Book Code: MNJ0626
EliteLearning.com/Massage-Therapy
Powered by FlippingBook