Being stressed or working with stressed out people is no fun at all.
A recent Vic Health-funded study reported job strain-attributable depression and stress costs the Australian economy $730 million a year, mostly worn by employers. 1
At a physiological level we experience the symptoms of stress when the fight-or-flight mode of our nervous system is activated more than the rest-and-digest mode.
When the fight-or-flight mode is ‘on’, stress hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol are released. If these hormones are released continuously the adrenals and the nervous system can be depleted. In fight-or-flight mode, important systems of the body such as the digestive, immune and reproductive systems shut down.
While a small amount of stress can be helpful in improving our memory and performance, persistent, ongoing stress is damaging to our physical, mental and emotional wellbeing.
Continual stress results in sleep problems, headaches, backaches, exhaustion, heart problems, lowered libido and illness.
For optimal health and wellbeing, it’s imperative that we know how to activate the relaxation response and turn off the fight-or-flight mode of our nervous system. We need to develop skills that enable us to live our lives while staying relaxed.
Over the last 10 years an extensive amount of research has been conducted, indicating the effectiveness of mindfulness-based practices to reduce stress.
Reducing stress at work is one of the chief reasons more and more companies are introducing mindfulness-based programs into their workplace.
For example, Aetna, an American health insurance company with 30,000 employees, introduced a mindfulness program for staff and ran it as a clinical trial.
The results showed significant improvements in:
• Perceived stress, with 36% decrease in stress levels
• Heart-rate measurements, suggesting that Aetna staff were better able to manage stress.2
“Elease Wright, head of Human Resources at Aetna says,
“We have seen first-hand how these mind-body programs have helped our employees deal with stress more effectively and help them achieve better overall health”. 3”
Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD, is the founding Director of the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, and is also a Professor of Medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.
Over the last two decades he has conducted extensive clinical research on mindfulness-based practices for stress reduction. The results of his research indicate that those who practise mindfulness experience: 4
• More effective skills in managing stress
• An increased ability to relax
• Dramatic decreases in anxiety and depression
• Greater energy and enthusiasm for life
• Improved self-esteem
• An ability to cope more effectively with both short and long-term stressful situations.
References:
1. https://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/media-and-resources/publications/economic-cost-of-job-strain
2. http://psycnet.apa.org/psycinfo/2012-04383-001/
3. https://www1.aetna.com/news/newsReleases/2012/0223-Aetna-Mind-Body.html
4. http://www.umassmed.edu/cfm/research/publications/