In Europe and Singapore, the picture is very similar. According to the World Health Organization, stress, especially that relating to work, is the second most frequent health problem, impacting one third of employed people in the European Union. In Singapore, stress is also on the rise. In one survey conducted by Roffey Park in August 2016, 52% of Singapore workers surveyed say their stress level has gone up over the last six months (Siow, 2016). The survey found that the top three sources of workplace stress across Singapore, China and Hong Kong are 1) workload 2) lack of support and 3) organizational politics. In another survey conducted by Singapore Jobs Central in July 2016 found that of the 2,281 respondents, 83.3% said that their work stress has increased in the last six months.
In 2009, Camara Jones et. al first used the “cliff analogy” to describe the different levels of health services in children’s health. Jones described the levels of intervention as 1) an ambulance at the bottom of the cliff, 2) a net or trampoline halfway down, 3) a fence at the top of the cliff and 4) the deliberate movement of the population away from the edge of the cliff. The cliff analogy can be used to examine many different health issues, and this paper will examine stress as a heath issue using the four levels of cliff analogy.
What is stress?
Claude Bernard (1865/1961) noted that the maintenance of life is critically dependent on keeping our internal setting constant in the face of a changing environment. Walter Bradford Cannon (1929) called this “homeostasis.” Hans Selye (1956) used the term “stress” to represent the effects of anything that seriously threatens homeostasis. The actual or perceived threat to an organism is referred to as the “stressor” and the response to the stressor is called the “stress response.” The body responds to stress by releasing a flood of stress hormones, including adrenaline and cortisol, which set up the body for emergency action. The person’s heart pounds faster, breath quickens, muscles tighten, blood pressure rises, and senses become sharper. These physical changes increase a person’s strength and stamina, speed for reaction time, and enhances one’s focus. This is known as the “fight, flight or freeze” stress response and is our body’s way of protecting us.
When stress is within our comfort zone, it can help us stay focused, alert and energetic. In emergency situations, stress can save our lives; stress can also help us rise to meet challenges. But when stress is beyond our comfort zone and becomes chronic, it stops being helpful and can start causing major damage to our mind and body.
