Although stress is part of everyday life, research shows that higher levels of stress are prevalent in people, in malfunctioning homes and people with strained relationships. People with physical and psychological health issues also face more pronounced health effects from stress compared to people without such conditions. According to a study done by the Australian Psychological Society (2012), seven in every ten Australians with stress report experiencing some impact on their health with 18% of the participants reporting strong physical impact on their health. In Australia, groups that experience significant health effects from stress include people with chronic illnesses and their carers, adult youths and indigenous Australians struggling with mental health issues and substance abuse.
Approximately two in every five Australians experience different levels of stress that could be harmful. However, the effects of stress on health are not experienced equally by all Australians. For instance, people with chronic illnesses such as diabetes report significantly higher levels of stress, depression and anxiety compared to the Australians without chronic illnesses (Australian Psychological Society, 2012). Stress exacerbates poor health in people with chronic diseases. For example, people with cardiovascular diseases and diabetes report experiencing mental health issues, environmental issues and personal health issues as they try to maintain a healthy lifestyle (American Psychological Association, 2013). Carers of people with chronic health illnesses also report higher levels of stress and stress compared to non-carers. This could be as a result of the burden on the carers of ageing and those who are chronically ill. The higher levels of stress on carers as compared to non-carers have a strong impact on their physical and mental health. Carers with low levels of support report significantly higher levels of stress, which in turn results into greater impact on physical and mental health (Carers Australia, 2012).
Apart from the chronically ill and their carers, young adults also face greater mental and physical health challenges from stress compared to working and retired Australians. Young adults continue to report higher levels of stress and distress compared to older Australians. This is consistent with other studies carried out in the previous years. The reason why young people face slightly greater health effects from stress compared to older Australians is because of unemployment and financial issues. Unemployment and lack of finances results into higher levels of depression and anxiety in young adults compared to the working and retired Australians. Demoralized young people without jobs are likely to experience poor health compared to other demographic groups.
Other groups that experience poor health from stress include the indigenous Australians struggling with mental health issues and substance abuse. According to Berry and Crowe (2009), “indigenous Australians do not access mental health and substance abuse services at a level that is consistent with their need, and this is mostly due to inconsistent or insufficient culturally respectful mental health services.” Indigenous Australians continue to experience extreme levels of loss, grief and cultural alienation, exposing them to higher levels of stress than non-indigenous Australians (Mehl-Madrona, 2009). As a result, substance abuse comes in handy as a means of relieving stress. However, lack of mental health services predisposes this group to greater physical and mental health impact compared to non-indigenous Australians.
In conclusion, although stress is a normal experience, some groups face greater physical and mental health impact from stress compared to others. For example, the chronically ill and their carers have poor health compared to this who are not chronically ill and those who are non-carers. Young adults without jobs and indigenous Australians also experience greater impact on their physical and mental health compared to older Australians and non-indigenous Australians.
References
American Psychological Association . (2013). Stress and well-being in Australia in 2013. Melbourne : American Psychological Association Ltd.
Australian Psychological Society. (2012). Stress and well-being in Australia in 2012. Melbourne : Australian Psychological Society.
Berry, S., & Crowe, T. (2009). A review of enagement of indigenous Australians within mental health and substance abuse services . E-Journal for the Advancement of Mental Health , 8 (1) : 1-12 .
Carers Australia . (2012). Carers Perspective on Caring: A qualitative analysis of open-ended responses to the Carer Health and Wellbeing Index survey 2007. Retrieved February 27, 2014, from Carersaustralia.com : http://www.carersaustralia.com.au/storage/Carers- Perspective-on-Caring-March-2008.pdf
Mehl-Madrona, L. (2009). What indigeneous elders say about cross-cultural mental health training . Explore , 5, 20-29.
