If I had a pound for every time someone has asked me, “will stress be more of a problem this year” I would not be rich but I would certainly be on a holiday right now!

There are no simple answers, as usual, but it is more than likely that people will be feeling the adverse reactions to excessive demands placed upon them,(gosh I almost sounded like someone who knows what they are on about) let me explain what that really means……

It is very likely that a large portion of the working and non-working population of the country will be suffering from greater demands placed upon them, which in turn may result in people becoming stressed because of,

1.    Economic state of the country/world
2.    Banking crisis
3.    Job cuts
4.    Wage cuts
5.    Lack of mortgage/loan facilities
6.    Uncertainty about the future
7.    Terrorism
8.    A feeling of doom and gloom
9.    The media

I could go on but these are issues that will affect everyone in one way or another. However, does this mean that the country, the world population will all be stressed? ABSOLUTELY NO!

But should we be aware and take action to prevent what might happen? ABSOLUTELY YES!

When homes, jobs, families, money are all under pressure it is inevitable that some people will be made ill and I would suggest that these figures will be increased world wide. The impact on business, at a time when they are feeling the crunch, has the potential to be crippling. For those companies that have embraced good management practices and support their staff through Occupational Health, Wellbeing initiatives, Employee Assistance Programs, Stress Training, that have and a Motivational Business Culture, to name but a few, will come through this period much more strongly than those that are still blind to the benefits of these sorts of initiatives.

Don’t allow yourselves to become tainted with the doom and gloom. Keep a positive mental attitude to the difficulties that lie ahead. Become more self aware as to your stressors and how to manage them. And make sure you look upon these challenges, as human beings have in the face of adversity before, as ways to evolve and grow, to learn and adapt and do what we humans do best…….OVERCOME.