By VANESSA McCRAY
TRAVERSE CITY -- Plunging stock markets, government bailouts, dwindling retirement accounts, house foreclosures, job layoffs.
Recent economic woes have some feeling financially stretched and mentally stressed.
"The truth of what's happening is that lots of people have not been affected in the pocket book, yet, but they see the hysteria on TV, and it stresses them out," said child and family therapist Jill Kimball, of Lakeview Counseling in Traverse City.
Negative stress can build up, cause anxiety and impact the immune system.
"Stress, if it's not taken care of, can actually make you sick," said Christine Walton, Munson Medical Center mental health therapist.
A person's perception of stress matters. Certain stressful situations such as planning a wedding can be motivational and positive, Walton said. Bad stress stems from a perceived loss deemed unmanageable.
Financial troubles can trigger stress, and, for some, worsening economic conditions can increase that pressure.
Bill Paxton, director of northern Michigan services for Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services, splits the response to recent economic news into two groups. There are people so focused on a rocky marriage or problems with their children that what is happening "at the big, macro level" doesn't sink in, he said. Then, there are those who have lost a job or heard layoff rumors at their workplace. The latest, gloomy financial reports can boost their stress.
"I think their stress is higher because there's very little hope of things turning around quickly or of finding another job," Paxton said.
Kimball reports hearing from 19-year-olds panicked about their own retirement. The closer the bad news hits home, the more stressful it can be, Walton said. Reports of a plant closing nearby or worrying about a grandchild's future can cause stress, she said.
"Really, people, perhaps, are stressing themselves out more than they need to. One of the things about anxiety is that people overestimate the threat they are facing," Kimball said. "Most of us have had a time when our bank account was at zero, or we've lost a job ..., and we've figured out a way to cope with it."
Stress has become too much when a person has difficulty functioning, Walton said. Trouble eating, sleeping and concentrating at work are signs that it is time to get help, Paxton said. An urge to isolate or pick fights are clues, as are physical symptoms such as fatigue, irritability, headaches, grinding teeth and tension.
Paxton thinks stress in general has increased the last few years.
"I think we see more anxious people, more anxious kids," he said.
