The last few years have been a stress-inducing time for many businesses and their workers. But some health care professionals say it”™s gotten to the point where it can now be described as an epidemic and it behooves companies to take action.
“What we are seeing obviously is an epidemic of stress. And in health care, we are seeing a lot of both psychological and physiological stress,” said Joanne Campbell, a board-certified holistic nurse and director of the wellness club at Hudson Valley Hospital Center in Cortlandt Manor.
Campbell overseas a variety of stress-lowering programs including tai chi, yoga and a massage therapy. One program teaches people how to use exercise regimes to combat stress.
“It”™s a very stressful time in our country. There is all the psychological stress with the costs of living, with losing jobs. With financial woes come family problems. And those are two of the biggest stresses you can have: family and relationship problems and financial problems,” Campbell said.
In regard to psychological stress, Campbell said she”™s seeing a lot more people with anxiety, depression and sleep disorders And this is often reflected by the sheer amount of medications ”“ both over-the-counter and prescriptive ”“ that many people take to help treat such problems.
The walking wounded
Regarding physiological stress, Campbell said she”™s seeing more people with back pains, neck problems and headaches. There are also more complaints of constipation and irritable bowels. “These all have a stress component to them. So it”™s kind of like the walking wounded,” she said.
These things do not necessarily hospitalize everyone, she said. “But this is an epidemic, considering the proportion of the population that”™s affected and the number of people who have stress-related symptoms. They are seeking treatment. They are going to their primary-care doctors with complaints of body aches, sleep disorders and headaches. This is what we are all seeing.”
Campbell said there is an increased  awareness of stress but not enough people know how to properly deal with it.
“What most people do is, they combat stress by engaging in risky behaviors: overeating, skipping meals, drinking alcohol, smoking cigarettes. It”™s so interesting that when we are stressed, we tend to seek quick fixes that will put us under more stress rather than doing things that can actually help, like exercise, managing our weight and our diet.”
Campbell suggested it”™s in the best interest of companies to help employees reduce stress. “Number one, companies need to provide an outlet, whether it”™s an on-site fitness facility or even a walking path. They should provide something so that employees, during their workday, can get out and break that intense stressful feeling,” she said.
She also urged companies to provide quiet rooms for mediation or provide a yoga class. “This needs to become more popular in the workplace. Because a stressed-out employee does manifest these disease-like symptoms and they will use up health care dollars. If you have a stressed-out employee who”™s running to the doctor and saying, ”˜I have a headache”™ or ”˜I can”™t sleep at night,”™ this is a problem,” she said. “Not only is the stressed-out employee, who was once a productive member, less of a producer, but he also becomes more of a user of insurance dollars. So it behooves companies to take seriously the opportunity to help lower their employees”™ stress.”
Mental-health initiative
There is also movement at the state level to address mental-health issues. In 2008, the New York State Department of Health initiated a “Prevention Agenda for the Healthiest State.” It”™s a 5-year plan that asks local health departments, hospitals and other community partners to work together to address 10 public health goals, said Janine Logan, communications director for Northern Metropolitan Hospital Association in Newburgh.
“One of the goals concerns substance abuse and mental health. So both regionally and statewide there are initiatives to provide the appropriate primary care and also preventive strategies to help people either become healthy or stay healthy, both emotionally and physically,” Logan said.
“There is no question that the economic crisis caused many individuals, especially those who lost their jobs, to suffer from depression and anxiety. I have witnessed this first-hand and anecdotally, but I can”™t confirm that it has caused any appreciable increase in inpatient hospital admissions. I believe most of this care is rendered on the outpatient side,” Logan said.
