80 yourfamily.co.zaWHAT’S STRESS DOING TO
your body?
M
edical experts now believe
the strain of dealing with
worries about job insecurity,
marriage difficulties or cash
flow can have a devastating effect on
many different parts of the body, from
the brain and heart to the skin and the
immune system.
‘For one person stress might affect
their immune system, making them more
vulnerable to viruses and infections,’
says Professor Cary Cooper, a stress
expert at Lancaster University, UK. ‘Yet
for someone else it might be their heart
that suffers, because research shows
that stress is one of the risk factors for
cardiovascular disease.’
In a recent breakthrough, scientists at
King’s College London located the brain’s‘worry centre’, the area where stress
and anxiety originate. The research has
raised hopes that new treatments might
be developed to tackle the problem.
The SA Federation for Mental Health
confirms that South Africans live with
dangerously high levels of stress.
According to Statistics South Africa
(Statistics South Africa: 2014), employee
absenteeism costs the South African
economy between R12 billion and
R16 billion annually, a large portion of
which can be attributed to workplace
stress, burnout and employee ill
health. In 2015, a Bloomberg report
ranked South Africa as the second
most stressed nation on the planet.
Ipsos Global and Reuters (2014) found
that as much as 53% of SA’s workingJOB WORRIES, FINANCIAL DIFFICULTIES AND RELATIONSHIP
WOES CAN ALL TAKE THEIR TOLL ON YOUR PHYSICAL WELLBEING
- IT’S IMPORTANT TO HAVE HEALTHY COPING MECHANISMS
population doesn’t take annual leave,
resulting in increased stress and eventual
burnout. Occupational Care South Africa
(OCSA) and Statistics South Africa (2014)
estimate there’s an average of 15% of staff
absent on any given day.
The average employee takes eight
days of sick leave a year, yet such is the
stigma of stress and being unable to
manage that most workers lie about why
they need time off. People often blame
tummy bugs or ‘sick relatives’ instead.
However, being under pressure is not
all bad. Psychologists point out that the
body needs a certain amount of stress
or arousal to focus on important tasks.
For our ancestors the release of stress
hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol
was vital for them to tackle danger