A Super Stressed US

​On March 22, 2022 I am pleased to report that The Holland Sentinel published this article I wrote on their opinion page. I decided to share it here as well. Jude

Early this month the American Psychological Association distributed a survey as it has done yearly for 15 years called the Stress in America TM poll to 3012 adults over 18 in the US.

Not at all surprising we are a Nation under considerable stress.

The APA findings report the “Top sources of stress were the rise in prices of everyday items due to inflation (e.g., gas prices, energy bills, grocery costs, etc.) (cited by 87%), followed by supply chain issues (81%), global uncertainty (81%), Russia’s invasion of Ukraine (80%) and potential retaliation from Russia (e.g., in the form of cyberattacks or nuclear threats) (80%).”

All this, lands on top of two years of the Covid-19 pandemic which the survey reports
two-thirds of adults or 63% indicated that their life has been forever changed by, and an election year that challenged our democracy and pitted Americans against one another.

“The number of people who say they’re significantly stressed about these most recent events is stunning relative to what we’ve seen since we began the survey in 2007,” said Arthur C. Evans Jr., PhD, APA’s chief executive officer. “Americans have been doing their best to persevere over these past two tumultuous years, but these data suggest that we’re now reaching unprecedented levels of stress that will challenge our ability to cope.”

Wow “challenge our ability to cope” is a frightening statement considering we’ve already seen several years of mass shootings, an uptick in violent demonstrations, unruly passengers on planes that have had to be removed. More guns were sold in 2020 than any other year previously with 45,222 total gun deaths in 2020 the most on record and 40 active shooter incidents that year too.

The choices we each make in finding ways to cope with the stress we face matters greatly. Violence hurts us all.

Perhaps we can draw upon the collective strength of the Ukraine people as we negotiate through the stresses we face. They are a determined brave people who have stepped up to do their part to save their country. They are working together, fighting hard and have asked for help. They have shed tears, gone without food, heat, water, walked miles to keep their children safe, endured so many bombs and so very many losses while their cities are reduced to rubble. And, they keep on going.

Rising costs, not being able to find what we want, helplessly watching the invasion unfold from a distance and fearing what may come next is indeed intensely stressful. Those living in the Ukraine experience traumatizing stress daily.

Perspective is helpful to have. We don’t have to look far to see and be grateful for what we have in our own life…even our stressors too.

Living life is not smooth sailing. There are big and little waves to learn how to ride. We need to know how best to steer during the storms and how to swim and get back in after a wave knocks us out of the boat. Sometimes we even have to learn how to build another boat when ours is lost at sea.

Pain, hardship and loss are all part of living life. And, can’t be avoided no matter who we are or where we live.

Rather we need to find and use healthy coping strategies to ride the stress waves as they come our way. And, teach our children how to do this as well.

We can reach out for support from family and friends. We can seek help from professional counselors/social workers and doctors. We can join a self-help support community. We can learn how others cope with stress and try some different tools. We can find resources on line and in the library and book store too.

Importantly we can look deep inside ourselves and honor the emotional pain we are facing by naming it and allowing ourselves to feel it. We don’t have to avoid or run from it. Feelings are a part of being human. Feeling them is as well.

We can write our feelings/experiences in a notebook/journal to let it out. We can go for a walk and talk it out loud to ourselves. We can simply and in strength have a good cry when we need to. Tears are very functional they take stress chemicals out of our bodies and we experience some relief.

And, we can have compassion for ourselves as we negotiate through a stressful time and use that self-compassion to understand that others are struggling too and find compassion for others and the very humanness that we all share.

The APA report also noted that due to the last 2 years 71% polled have become better at prioritizing what is really important to them. It is important to recognize that out of the bad times in life some good does come. We learn. We grow. We gain strength. We become more resilient.

I challenge you to find healthy ways to cope during this intense time of stress that will benefit the greater good in us all!

Jude Vereyken
Resident Park Township

Check out the Practice Tools page for coping resources.
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