The Last Taboo - it's not Cancer, it's Stress!

Once upon a time, it was taboo to mention cancer. It was thought that you could catch cancer. Not so many years ago, it was seen as a weakness to admit you had cancer because there was little understanding of the mechanism of growth and how it could be controlled and treated. Until relatively recently, colo-rectal cancer was something that was unmentionable. Today, cancer is not the killer it once was; it is not 'the big C'. It is discussed openly, researched widely and patients are supported with a whole range of treatments and therapies, both medical and complimentary. Some cancers are considered curable and many have long remission times. Cancer is not surrounded by the wall of silence which it once was - that wall of fear has been broken down.

Today's cancer is stress. Stress is the last taboo.  It must be contagious because the cost to British business is increasing year-on-year. More and more people are admitting they are unable to think clearly enough to do their work, are exhibiting signs of presenteeism, are developing coping strategies or suffering from sleeplessness, negative thinking and becoming depressed. Yet when questioned about work, few members of staff (and that includes management as well as staff) will admit they are feeling stressed. Why is this? Because they think it makes them look weak, will reflect badly on them and might even cause them to lose their job.

So what's to be done about it? First, people MUST be able to admit they are stressed without fear of reprisal or ridicule. Second, it should be incumbent on employers to train all staff in techniques which will help them become resilient to the stress of the job in the same way as they are trained to actually do the job. Third, any member of staff who is signed off with stress should be encouraged to see a therapist as well as their GP to ensure they can pick up their work-load effectively when they return - there has to be a willingness on the part of the employee to develop resilience and return to full performance. Fourth, incorporating wellness into health and safety policies will reduce the number of staff going off sick and reduce the huge costs to the company and the exchequer.

As a Member of the International Stress Management Association and an Anxiety UK-endorsed therapist, life and business coach I have worked with several companies and organisations to help them understand why people can become stressed and how to handle it and/or change to reduce it. Interrupting the release of stress hormones involves creating new neural pathways in the brain by changing thought-processes, active relaxation and emotional intelligence development.

Stress is a normal biological event designed to keep us safe from danger but constant stress where the body is constantly on edge can be life-threatening - I personally know people who have had heart attacks, strokes and full mental breakdowns due to stress. Stress might be the last taboo - but, like cancer, it can be a killer.

If you would like to know more about reducing stress and improving performance in your company, please do not hesitate to give me a call.

Linda Jane Johnson - 07585 802035 - enquiries@releaseyourbusiness.com

ReleaseYourBusiness: Stress in the NHS is costing us all money!

ReleaseYourBusiness: Stress in the NHS is costing us all money!: Staff in the NHS are stressed, exhausted and burnt out according to an article written by journalist, editor and lecturer Emma Wilkinson wh...

Stress in the NHS is costing us all money!

Staff in the NHS are stressed, exhausted and burnt out according to an article written by journalist, editor and lecturer Emma Wilkinson which was published in The Lancet on March 7th, 2015. This is nothing new - almost everyone who I know who works in the NHS tells me that they are stressed; the NHS it isn't what it used to be; there's too much work with too little time to do it; patient expectations are higher and they are more demanding; managers control the services which are offered without really understanding what is involved; standards of care are dropping etc etc. And what's more, they all tell me they would leave if they could but they have bills to pay and they would be letting their work colleagues down if they did leave. However, they tell me this in private; as the article says - few are willing to admit their fears publicly in case they 'will lose their job or are deemed incompetent'.
                                                               

Ms Wilkinson says there is a culture of fear in the NHS as a result of constant rounds of reorganisation, insufficient funding and negative  reporting in the press which has lead to managers bullying their staff rather than caring for them. Resources which the NHS have put in place to help stressed or anxious staff  are 'closing or being down-graded' even though they are oversubscribed. On the whole, people go into medicine or clinical professions because they want to help people get better and, as Dr Mark Porter says in the article, they would rather take extra work on themselves than not treat their patients.

Staff who are suffering excess stress and anxiety cannot function and have to take time off. The NHS bill for private 'agency' staff is higher than ever (£2.5bn according to The Daily Mail, March 12th 2015, up fom 303m in 1997) yet little seems to be done across the board about the situation. Private providers who have the expertise to teach staff anti-stress techniques, who can help to change the culture and the way in which management, staff and patients interact, who can identify where stress-points are and offer suggestions for minimising them are seen as alien because they aren't part of the NHS.

And that seems to be the problem. The NHS is so insular that it finds it difficult to see or admit its own failings in a positive light, It trains people to work as 'wellness' interventionists but concentrates on diet (rather than nutrition), stopping smoking (rather than making positive lifestyle choices) and exercise (rather than increasing calorie expenditure and muscle tone by incorporating it into daily activities).

Constant stress can cause weight gain; high blood pressure; heart attacks; type 2 diabetes; strokes and more. Our bodies are not meant to be in a constant state of stress yet the NHS is actually causing the people who work for it to become unwell. It's great that some of its overweight staff have been sent on 'slimming' courses but losing weight in itself does not affect stress levels. NHS staff need to be sent on Resilience-building courses which include nutrition, exercise, lifestyle and, most importantly, relaxation/meditation techniques. And the NHS needs to look at its culture to turn it into the caring organisation it purports to be.

                                                             

http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(15)60470-6/fulltext