THE run-up to Christmas is one of the most stressful times of year.
But if the nightmare of last-minute shopping, cooking and family rows isn’t bad enough, new research shows that everyday stress can put years on you.
Experts at the University of California say their findings are the first to demonstrate that stress can speed up the ageing process of the body by as much as 10 years.
They tested 58 mothers and discovered that the immune systems of women under stress had undergone the equivalent of ten years’ ageing.
British psychologist, Professor Cary Cooper of Lancaster University adds: “This research is proof of the dangers of ignoring stress, and that it is something to think about, especially at this time of year.
“It’s estimated that 31million working days are lost every year in this country due to stress, so it’s a very big problem.”
But what can we do about it? Try our stress test to find out how many years you might be losing. And try to have a calm Christmas …
1 Your boss asks you to stay late to finish an important task, but you were meant to be going to your child’s parents’ evening at school. Do you…
a) Stay late and finish the work without complaining, but feel angry?
b) Call the school and explain you’ll be late, finish your work, rush to the school and arrive late at the parents’ evening?
c) Explain to the boss that you cannot work late that night, but you’ll come in early tomorrow?
2 You are running very late for an appointment and you haven’t even started getting ready. Do you…
a) Try to calm down, get ready and make your way there as quick as you can.
b) Call, apologise and say you will be late. Then get ready without panicking.
c) Rush out of the house without even brushing your hair.
3 You are shopping in the supermarket on your lunch break, but there are lots of long queues. Do you…
a) Stay patiently in one queue and chat to other people to ease your frustration.
b) Rush from one queue to another, trying to find the shortest one.
c) Wait in one queue but get angry and complain to the staff.
4 You are driving towards traffic lights in a rush to get to work. The lights turn amber as you approach. Do you…
a) Stop at the lights, but kick yourself because you could have saved time by driving on.
b) Accelerate before the lights turn red.
c) Stop at the lights, put the radio on and accept that you have to wait for a couple of minutes.
5 5 A colleague approaches you and angrily criticises your work. Do you…
a) Become defensive, point out all their faults and have a big row with them.
b) Politely disagree with them, controlling your anger.
c) Listen quietly to what they have to say. Then deal with the problem later when you have thought it through.
6 You get a phone call at work to say your child is ill, but you have an important meeting. Do you…
a) Call the people you’re meeting, cancel and rush home.
b) Arrange for your partner or a family member to look after the children and attend the meeting.
c) Call the people you’re meeting and explain that you’re going to be late, then try to make alternative arrangements.
7 7 There’s a huge queue on the motorway, but you’re running late. Do you…
a) Get anxious, but call your friends on the hands-free to tell them how frustrated you are.
b) Put on some music, accept you have no control over the situation, and wait for the traffic to move.
c) Drive down the hard shoulder to get to the nearest exit.
8 You’ve been away from work and when you return there are 200 emails waiting for you. Do you…
a) Look through each email carefully, but accept you cannot hope to read them all today.
b) Open and read every single message as quickly as you can, because you could miss something important.
c) Pick out priority messages, and deal with the rest tomorrow.
9 9 Your teenage daughter gets home far too late. Do you…
a) Have a huge row.
b) Try to tell her calmly how worried you were, and why she shouldn’t do this.
c) Tell her that you will discuss this with her tomorrow, and go to bed. Then have a chat the next day.
10 There are rumours of redundancies at work. Do you…
a) Gossip to your colleagues about what might be going on.
b) Wait for the inevitable, and accept you’re in for some sleepless nights.
c) Ask your bosses what’s going on.
SORT YOURSELF OUT
PROFESSOR Cooper’s top stress-busting tips:
PERSPECTIVE: If there’s a situation that’s upsetting you, put it into context. It’s probably not a matter of life or death. Think about how bad things could really be.
REDUCE: Ask yourself what three things you can do right now to reduce the stress you’re experiencing. If you can’t find the answer straight away, keep going until you get an answer.
ANALYSE: Look at the root causes. It’s always helpful to ask yourself exactly what made you feel stressed in the first place. Be honest with yourself.
LEARN: One of the greatest gifts you can give yourself is to learn from difficult situations. What can you learn from your current situation that will help you avoid a repeat occurrence?
MODEL: Think of people you know who’ve faced similar challenges and have overcome huge hurdles – and see what they did.
RELAX: Plan some “me” time into your schedule and do whatever helps you relax.
SUPPORT: Protect your new-found self-confidence by surrounding yourself with supportive friends. Look after yourself with plenty of sleep, a balanced diet and exercise.
ANSWERS
NOW check how many years you’d gain or lose:
1(a)-1 (b)zero (c)+1 2(a)zero (b)+1 (c)-1 3(a)+1 (b)-1 (c)zero 4(a)zero (b)-1 (c)+1 5(a)-1 (b)zero (c)+1 6(a)-1 (b)+1 (c)zero 7(a)zero (b)+1 (c)-1 8(a)zero (b)-1 (c)+1 9(a)-1 (b)zero (c)+1 10(a)zero (b)-1 (c)+1
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