Stress is very much a pharmacy issue, with increased workload due to the rising amount of paperwork often blamed as one factor. So if stress is on the increase in pharmacies as reported, how can we help manage it?

First some bad news – stress is unavoidable. Whether it is caused by the pressure of ever- mounting script volumes or as a response to the economic downturn and credit crunch, stress is an inevitable part of modern life.

The stress we experience today is more intense and unrelenting than that experienced by our ancestors. When a tiger attacked primitive man, his body responded with the classic ‘fight or flight’ reaction. Through dramatic chemically mediated changes, his body physiologically prepared itself for two options: attack or run away. Primitive man’s choices were as stark as they were clear. He was either eaten, in which case ongoing stress wasn’t really a problem or he survived and his body quickly returned to normal. Regardless of the outcome, his body’s response to stress was geared to survival.

Today, the stress we experience is less obvious and more widely spread. For many, stress is not an ally but the cause of deteriorating health, lack of concentration and focus. Why? Well, unlike our primitive ancestors, the stress we experience today is not nearly as tangible. Consequently, our options for relieving stress aren’t quite so clear-cut. We tend to focus on relieving the symptoms rather than the cause. Unfortunately, this allows stress to become pervasive in our lives.

That’s the bad news. The good news is that if we understand how and why we react to stress, we can then manage it.

This module covers the basics of stress and its management, but it is worth bearing in mind at the outset that stress is a highly personal process and, as such, something we need to consider carefully in our own context and personal circumstances.