Chronic stress over the economy can make you sick
Stress for Success
March 10, 2009

Humans can tolerate an incredible amount of stress. But when it becomes chronic you should be concerned about your physical and emotional health.

Collectively Americans are experiencing chronic stress right now due to the economic crisis. So does this mean some will suffer negative consequences? Probably.

We can learn from a study of post-9/11 stress and its subsequent health consequences as reported by Tony Barboza (January 8, 2008, LA Times).

After the 2001 terrorist attacks UC Irvine tracked fifteen hundred people over three years with annual follow-up surveys showing that stress and fear about terrorism after 9/11 may have caused heart problems (published in January’s Archives of General Psychiatry). Even those with no personal connection to the attacks, the majority of whom watched live television coverage, were affected.

UCI researchers linked psychological stress responses to the attacks to a 53% increase in heart problems, including high blood pressure and stroke, in the three years following 9/11. Most of those surveyed had no preexisting heart problems. The results persisted even when risk factors like high cholesterol, smoking and obesity were taken into account.

The study’s lead researcher Alison Holman, assistant professor of nursing science at UCI, said, “It seems that the 9/11 attacks were so potent that media exposure helped to convey enough stress that people responded in a way that contributed to their cardiovascular problems.” (Do you watch a lot of today’s news coverage of the economic crisis?)

Research participants were asked in online surveys to report doctor-diagnosed ailments and assess their fear of terrorism by rating how much they agreed with statements like, “I worry that an act of terrorism will personally affect me or someone in my family in the future.” (Do you chronically worry about economic ruin?)

Chronic worriers who continued to fear terrorism for several years after the attacks were the most at risk of heart problems and three to four times more likely to report doctor-diagnosed heart problems two to three years after the attacks.

These same researchers in a study released in 2002 found that 17% of the U.S. population outside New York City reported symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) two months after the terrorist attacks. Those with high levels of PTS symptoms in the first nine to 14 days after the attacks were more than twice as likely to report heart problems up to three years later.

What lessons can we learn to protect ourselves from today’s financial stress?
§ Limit economic news consumption;
§ Challenge chronic worrying with action steps to protect yourself:
o Suze Orman advices having backup plans in case you lose your job and/or home – including whom to move in with if the worst happens;
§ Realign your expectations to match present day reality:
o Price your home to sell if you’re under pressure;
o If you need a job take any vs. waiting for one that’s commensurate to the one you lost;
o Live within an affordable budget;

Limit the damage of chronic stress to avoid its health consequences, the topic for next week.

Jacquelyn Ferguson, M. S., of Inter Action Associates, is a trainer and a Stress Coach. E-mail her at www.jackieferguson.com with your questions or for information about her workshops on this and other topics and to invite her to speak to your organization.