A Txdigest poll: How stressed out are you?

[Bob Of Burleson]

For Many Americans,
Stress Takes A Toll
On Health And Family

Richard Knox
NPR.org

Stress is part of the human condition, unavoidable and even necessary to a degree. But too much stress can be toxic — even disabling.

And there's a lot of toxic stress out there.

A national poll done by NPR with our partners at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health finds that more than 1 in every 4 Americans say they had a great deal of stress in the previous month.

And half of all adults say they experienced a major stressful event in the past year. That works out to more than 115 million people.

As big as that number is, it's just the tip of the stress iceberg, says Princeton University psychologist Eldar Shafir. "Everything I know suggests that this is a pretty massive underestimate," Shafir tells Shots.

That's because our poll captures only the stress that people are conscious of. Shafir's work and that of others shows there's a lot of stress people don't even realize they have. And this "hidden" stress can reduce our capacity to juggle all the big and little problems life sends our way.

It's all about cognitive capacity — the ability of the brain to process many different inputs at the same time, judge what to pay attention to, and make quick decisions on how to respond. Think of it as the bandwidth on your Internet connection.

"We have very limited bandwidth," Shafir says. "There's only so much you can attend to at any one time."

When people are juggling complicated situations, Shafir says, "It's like driving on a stormy night. You're focused completely on the thing that's capturing your attention right now, and other things get neglected."

If stress is chronic, that neglect can be costly over time, compromising your health, your financial well-being, your relationships. So it's important to understand this big thing we call stress and what it's doing to us.

Our poll is unusual in that it focused on the 26 percent of people who say they're currently living with a high level of stress.

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[Bob Of Burleson]

Should I bump this poll? Oh, that's a decision, a huge decision. I'm feeling stressed because I have to make a decision. Maybe it's a No. 10 stress. Will I get relief if I push the button? There, I did it! Ahhh, now I'm back to No. 1 stress.

[Bob Of Burleson]

For Many Americans,
Stress Takes A Toll
On Health And Family

Richard Knox
NPR.org

Stress is part of the human condition, unavoidable and even necessary to a degree. But too much stress can be toxic — even disabling.

And there's a lot of toxic stress out there.

A national poll done by NPR with our partners at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health finds that more than 1 in every 4 Americans say they had a great deal of stress in the previous month.

And half of all adults say they experienced a major stressful event in the past year. That works out to more than 115 million people.

As big as that number is, it's just the tip of the stress iceberg, says Princeton University psychologist Eldar Shafir. "Everything I know suggests that this is a pretty massive underestimate," Shafir said.

These are not just the people who say they have some stress day to day. These are the share of Americans for whom it really makes a big difference. It affects their ability to sleep and to concentrate. It leads them to have more arguments with family members. It affects their health.

. . .

It's all about cognitive capacity — the ability of the brain to process many different inputs at the same time, judge what to pay attention to, and make quick decisions on how to respond. Think of it as the bandwidth on your Internet connection.

"We have very limited bandwidth," Shafir says. "There's only so much you can attend to at any one time."

When people are juggling complicated situations, Shafir says, "It's like driving on a stormy night. You're focused completely on the thing that's capturing your attention right now, and other things get neglected."

If stress is chronic, that neglect can be costly over time, compromising your health, your financial well-being, your relationships. So it's important to understand this big thing we call stress and what it's doing to us.

MORE

[Bob Of Burleson]

I like the picture they came up with.

[zoomzoomklunk]

I selected #1.....after 5 it becomes #0.

[Bob Of Burleson]

Yeah, I wanted a "0" option, but the poll software limits you to 10 choices.