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FEELING PULLED IN
TOO MANY DIRECTIONS?
The "sandwich generation"
is most stressed, APA Survey Says
You have a nice house, a great job and healthy children, but
somehow the prime of your life is starting to feel, well, less prime than
you had imagined. Those Americans in the sandwich generation (age 35
to54) report the highest level of stress, according to a recent national
poll by the American Psychological Association. Caring for aging parents
and simultaneously raising children can leave many 35 to 54 year olds
with high and untreated levels of stress. In fact, nearly two out of five
Americans 35 to 54 years old report extreme levels of stress (39 percent
vs. 29 percent of 18 to 34 year olds and 25 percent of 55+), and
experience their highest level of stress for 8.2 days of each month,
compared to 6.5 days for 18 to 34 year olds and 6.9 days for those over
55.
Furthermore, members of this
generation report that their stress negatively affects others, citing
relationships as a top stressor. In addition, 81 percent cite work
or workload and money and housing costs as an extreme source of stress.
"It's not surprising that so
many people in that age group are experiencing stress," says
psychologist Dr. Stephanie Smith. "The worry of your parents'
health, and your children's well-being as well as the financial concern
of putting kids through college and saving for your own retirement is a
lot to handle. The key is recognizing your stress and implementing
healthy behaviors to address it."
APA offers these tips for managing
stress:
Understand how you experience stress, Everyone experiences stress differently. How do you know
when you are stressed? How are your thoughts or behaviors different
from times when you do not feel stressed?
Identify your sources of stress. What events or situations trigger stressful feelings? Are
they related to your children, family, health, financial decisions, work,
relationships or something else?
Learn your own stress signals. People experience stress in different ways. When you are
feeling stressed, you may have a hard time concentrating or making
decisions, feel angry, irritable or out of control or experience
headaches, muscle tension or a lack of energy. Gauge your stress signals.
Recognize how you deal with stress. Determine if you are using unhealthy behaviors (such as
smoking, drinking alcohol and over/under eating) to cope. Is this a
routine behavior or is it specific to certain events or situations? Do
you make unhealthy choices when you feel rushed and overwhelmed?
Find healthy ways to manage stress. Consider healthy, stress-reducing activities such as
meditation, exercising or talking things out with friends or family. Keep
in mind that unhealthy behaviors develop over time and can be difficult
to change. Don't take on too much at once. Focus on changing one behavior
at a time.
Take care of yourself. Eat right, get enough sleep, drink plenty of water and
engage in regular physical activity. Ensure you have a healthy mind and
body through activities like yoga, walking, working out at the gym or
playing sports. No matter how hectic life gets, you need to take care of
yourself--which includes making time for yourself--so you have the mental
and physical energy to care for your parents and children.
Reach out for support. Accepting help from supportive friends and family can
improve your ability to manage stress. If you feel overwhelmed by stress
to the point where you cannot perform your daily activities, you may want
to talk to a psychologist, who can help you better manage stress and
change unhealthy behaviors.
For more information on stress or other psychological health
topics, visit www.coloradopsych.org , www.apahelpcenter.org ,
www.frontrangepsychology.com
The American Psychological
Association (APA), in Washington, DC, is the largest scientific and
professional organization representing psychology in the United States
and is the world's largest association of psychologists. APA's membership
includes more than 148,000 researchers, educators, clinicians,
consultants and students. Through its divisions in 54 subfields of
psychology and affiliations with 60 state, territorial and Canadian
provincial associations, APA works to advance psychology as a science, as
a profession and as a means of promoting human welfare.
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