IN a world driven by a hectic pace of human activities, stress has become very prevalent and so has many of the diseases associated with it. Cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, diabetes and mental disorders are on the rise. Suicides are also more prevalent, but in this regard a significant proportion results from activities related to Islamic fundamentalism.
Stress is caused by many factors including financial difficulties, domestic problems, insecurity etc., but a very common cause is the tendency of people wanting to do too much in a given period of time because they want to keep up with the Joneses and end up “hanging their hats where they cannot reach them.” The end result very often is stress and a deterioration of health.
The statistics associated with stress is simply staggering. Stress and anxiety are estimated to affect well over 19 million Americans and growing.
* 33% of Americans suffer job burnout which is thought to be due to stress at the work place. * The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health in giving their stress statistics is predicting depression (which is one of the many effects of stress) to be a leading cause of absenteeism from the workplace.
* About 70% of workers are unhappy in their current employment because of work-related stress. * Accidents in the workplace that are directly related to stress are exponentially increasing every year.
* Over $290 Billion dollars is spent in the US economy every year relating to compensation claims from on-the-job stress, health insurance, low-productivity and disability.
In the quest to have a modern world we are perhaps missing some and abandoning some fundamentals of life which to a large extent is contributing to the stress factor. Perhaps we need to balance modernism with the basics which oriental philosophies of Hinduism, Confucianism and other ancient Chinese philosophers advocated and these include simplicity, humility, contentment and a deep sense of humanism.
Relaxation and leisure activities are extremely helpful in relieving stress and therefore at both the governmental and non-governmental levels such activities should be vigorously pursued.
From a Guyanese point of view, not many people could afford a vacation which is  very good to relieve stress,which is  often caused because parents and children hardly meet as a unit because both parents may be working long hours; children may be studying away from home or simply because family members daily schedules simply do not coincide.
On the other hand in the shorter term more affordable leisure activities could be organised more frequently and these include healthy entertainment shows, such as humourous plays with serious messages, musical shows, acrobatic and stunt shows and circuses etc. With respect to the latter, it has been a very long time since we have had a circus in Guyana, so perhaps the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport could place on its agenda the hosting of a circus in Guyana in partnership with the private sector.
On this note the recent Bikers Fest held at the National Park was a most welcome one and such clean shows should be encouraged and promoted. Also, the Guyana Police Force has revived its annual gymkhana. These are the kinds of activities that will impact positively on stress and inculcate positive thinking in the young. The promotion of similar shows should be intensified.
There should also be a revival of the community centre culture and this in the past was a wonderful means of engaging the young and old in recreational activities.
We have had and are still having an overdose of unhealthy shows where artistes from other CARICOM states perform which is contributing to a moral decline and valuable money which could have been spent on children’s welfare are being wasted at these nonsensical shows by parents.
It is a fact that stress is a cause for global concern and therefore persistent efforts have to be made to curb it or else mankind could be pushed to the brink.