Stress is now a major problem in many countries around the world. What are some of the factors in modern society that cause this stress, and how can we reduce it? 

More people than ever feel stress is controlling their life. They not only feel stressed in their working life but increasingly in their personal lifem, too. Once we have identified the roots of stress we can think of measures to reduce stress in our life.

Stress can have different external and internal causes. In many jobs it has become harder to focus on a single task at the time. The use of modern communication technology often leas to multitasking and switching between tasks constantly. This has not only been shown to have a negative impact on productivity but also feels stressful for most people. Additionally,  workloads and time  pressure have increased in many positions as companies try to streamline their processes.  Employees are given less time to complete tasks. A constant  feeling of rush is perceived stressful. There are also internal factors that heighten the feeling of stress such as unrealistic role models or a tendency to perfectionism. Nowadays media feature stories about hard to reach ideals like a very fashionable and successful working mother. Therefore, people feel pressure to be equally  perfect and neglect their true priorities and goals. Also, feeling you have to get even minor tasks as perfect as possible, which takes more time, can leave one feeling stressed and exhausted.

Luckily, a person can act in several ways to reduce stress. Better time management is often regarded to be the key to dealing with time pressure without being stressed. Time management includes setting priorities what needs to be done most importantly and setting realistic goals. Also, not delaying tasks to the last minute reduces stress. Moreover, reducing distractions and interruptions to our work can help us to work more efficient and less stressed . It can be as easy as switching off the television or phone during work or ask not to be disturbed. Additionally, it is important to prevent stress form taking over your entire life. Managing time for breaks and relaxation may feels hard when one is very stressed. However, they help us feeling in control of our lives and not making stress a constant experience. One should ,make a conscious decision to “switch off” sometimes and not check work emails in one’s spare time. Also setting priorities and reducing perfectionism can help. Maybe cleaning the house can wait for some days instead of squeezing it into an already busy schedule.

All in all, stress is an increasing problem but there are multiple simple and efficient measures we can take to reduce it. With growing competition and increasing pressure on employees we should pay more attention on how we can personally reduce stress in our lives. Also, we should teach students this vital skill for success.