Central City News: Stress Takes Its Toll on Health

CALL centres, mobile phones and computers crashing are among the reasons people in Birmingham turn to cigarettes and alcohol to relieve stress.

The findings followed an in-depth study into what aspects of modern life people find the most stressful.

It found that of people questioned in the city centre, over a third of men smoke to alleviate stress while a quarter of the population resorts to drink.

The research, carried out by health charity DPP: Developing Patient Partnerships, also highlighted the different interpretations of stress with 68% of respondents defining it as having a "bad day" while 57% claimed it as having too much to do.

The charity’s Dealing With Stress campaign also revealed that in the Midlands, only 33% of people said they felt their employers helped them deal with stress. Only 15% would speak to their manager about how stressed-out they felt.