Deadlines, competitions, confrontations, and even our frustrations and sorrows add depth to stress. Change of environment, homesickness, death, separation, anxiety about future & uncertainty in life lead to stress in life. Check out some facts on stress.

75% of the general population experiences at least “some stress” every two weeks (National Health Interview Survey). Almost 9 out of 10 adults have experienced serious stress. More than 4 out of 10 adults suffer adverse health affects from stress, and some estimates suggest that 75 percent to 90 percent of all physician clinic visits are for stress related complaints.

The effects of stress may lead to actual medical illnesses, including heart problems, stomach problems, high blood pressure and headaches. Stress also affects the immune system, which protects us from many serious diseases. Stress also contributes to the development of alcoholism, obesity, suicide, drug and, cigarette addiction, and other harmful behaviors. Stress speeds up aging process, memory loss, hair loss, increase in body weight or building more fat.

$300 billion, or $7,500 per employee, is spent annually in the U.S. on stress-related compensation claims, reduced productivity, absenteeism, health insurance costs, direct medical expenses (nearly 50% higher for workers who report stress), and employee turnover.

It’s a fact, people who experience regular stress at work are five times more likely to fall sick than those who don’t and its costing UK industries dearly. Recent figures released by the Health and Safety Executive suggest that of 67 million working days lost each year 60 percent of these are stress related.

A survey of the UK’s leading risk managers has predicted that stress is likely to become the most dangerous emerging risk to business in the early part of the twenty-first century.
Following the recent £210,000 payout to the warden of a mobile-home site, the Association of Insurance and Risk Managers reckons that employee stress is the single main emerging risk for UK organizations and the third most important facing society as a whole after genetically modified organisms and e-commerce.

In women, stress causes fatigue, hair loss, bad complexion, insomnia, disruption of menstrual cycle, low libido, lack of orgasm etc. Women, in fact, may be at higher risk than men are from stress-related chest pain, although man’s hearts may be more vulnerable to adverse effects from long-term stress, such as from their jobs.

Working mothers, regardless of whether they are married or single, face higher stress levels and possibly adverse health effects, most likely because they bear a greater and more diffuse work load than men or other women. This has been observed in women in the US and in Europe. Such stress may also have a domino and harmful effect on their children

Depressed or aggressive mothers are particularly powerful sources of stress in children, even more important than poverty or overcrowding. Children are frequent victims of stress because they are often unable to communicate their feelings accurately or their responses to events over which they have no control.

Girls tend to become stressed from interpersonal situations, and stress is more likely to lead to depression in girls than in boys. For boys, one study suggested events such as changing schools or poor grades are the most important sources of stress. Another indicated, however, that the probability of childhood behavioral difficulties in a boy is increased with the number and type of stressors encountered in the home.

As people age, the ability to achieve a relaxation response after a stressful event becomes more difficult. Aging may simply wear out the systems in the brain that respond to stress, so that they become inefficient. The elderly, too, are very often exposed to major stressors such as medical problems, the loss of a spouse and friends, a change in a living situation, and financial worries.

Studies show that caregivers of physically or mentally disabled family members are at risk for chronic stress. Spouses caring for a disabled partner are particularly vulnerable to a range of stress-related health threats including influenza, depression, heart disease, and even poorer survival rates. Caring for a spouse with even minor disabilities can induce severe stress. (Intervention programs that are aimed at helping the caregiver approach the situation positively can be very helpful at reducing stress and helping the caregiver maintain a positive attitude.) Wives experience significantly greater stress from care giving than husbands, and, according to a 2000 study, tend to feel more negative about their husbands than care giving husbands feel about their wives.

The lack of an established network of family and friends predisposes one to stress disorders and stress-related health problems, including heart disease and infections. And, a 2000 study reported that older people who maintain active relationships with their adult children are buffered against the adverse health effects of chronic stress-inducing situations, such as low income or lower social class. One study suggested this may be because people who live alone are unable to discuss negative feelings and so relieve their stress.

According to one survey, 40% of American workers describe their jobs as very stressful. Job-related stress is particularly likely to become chronic because it is such a large part of daily life. And, stress in turn reduces a worker’s effectiveness by impairing concentration, causing sleeplessness, and increasing the risk for illness, back problems, accidents, and lost time. Work stress can lead to harassment or even violence while on the job. At its most extreme, stress that places such a burden on the heart and circulation may be fatal.

Professional people and entire corporations, are hiring coaches to help guide them in new direction. life coaches are used to aid a person in improving their personal and professional lives. life coaching is designed to help individuals expand their abilities and improve their lives. During a life coaching session the life coach guides the professional to analyze themselves and work on plans to improve their faults or shortcomings. Are you interested in a life coach by concerned about the cost? The fees for a professional coach can be higher than you may think but usually with a little leg work you can find a professional coach in the price range you can afford.

Pricing for professional coaches will differ from one coach to another. Individual coaches determine their own pricing, there are no laws covering life coaches so the prices that are charged are based upon what the market may bear. You may find some life coaches may offer a package deal or special pricing to deal with a specific item or process. You may also find life coaches who offer reduced pricing on life coaching phone consultations or even life coaching via email. When you decide on a life coach spend some time with your new coach discussing their pricing so that there are no surprises when you receive a bill.

More experienced and established coaches are more likely to charge a much higher fee. You can expect to spend up to two hundred and fifty dollars per hour for an experienced life coach but you will often find that it is well worth the money. It is not advisable to settle for an inexperienced coach simply to save money. Find the best coach for your needs even if the coach does cost a little more money. You may find that an experienced coach is able to guide you through the life coaching process in less sessions than you expected.

Corporations and business executives are starting to hire life coaches for their businesses. Usually life coaches will charge a corporation a higher fee than an individual who is trying to work through their own ideas. If you are interested in working with a life coach but find the fees too high ask if they will offer a discount for an individual.

If you are trying to save money but still want to use a life coach you will want to be very clear about what your goals and make sure that you make progress toward you goals during each of your life coaching sessions. Your life coach should be experienced enough to make sure you stay on your desired path, after all that is what they are paid for.

 

Do you think today’s stress statistics make a comfortable reading? Well, not at all. If anything, they are mind-boggling. As stress takes hold of us in our modern lives, we seem to carry on relentlessly until signs of burn out peer us in the face. Only then do we take notice.
 
If you don’t know what I’m talking about, here are some stress statistics to give you a reality check:
 
Stress and anxiety is estimated to affect well over 19 million Americans and growing. 33% of Americans suffer job burn out and is thought to be due to stress at the work place. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health in giving their stress statistics is predicting depression (which is one the many effects of stress) to be a leading cause of absenteeism from the work place. About 70% of workers are unhappy in their current employment due to work related stress. Accidents in the work place that are directly related to stress are exponentially increasing every year. Over $290 Billion dollars is spent in the US economy every year relating to compensation claims from on-the-job stress, health insurance, low-productivity and disability.
 
The American Institute of Stress and The American Psychological Association also show some other related stress statistics. For instance:
 
Stress levels are deeply affected by work in 62% of Americans. Money is thought to contribute significantly to the stress experienced by 73% of Americans. 66% of Americans would seriously welcome help in dealing with stress in their lives. Stress is not confined to adults only. More and more children and teenagers are becoming affected by stress every year.    One factor contributing to increasing levels of substance abuse amongst teenagers is related to their perception of their level of stress.
 
Although the stress statistics speak volumes for themselves, we also need to know the effects of stress on us as individuals.
There are many consequences of stress but the most important ones to remember are:
 
Your relationships will suffer. Hypertension is more likely to develop if you suffer chronic stress You could end up with a heart attack. Stroke is another major hazard. Stressed people are more likely to suffer from mental health problems like anxiety and depression.
 
It is easy to play the ostrich and bury your head in the sand, hoping the problem will go away. No, it won’t!
 
Stress will only go away if you do something about it. Don’t become another statistic. Those stress statistics mentioned above are way too worrying enough.
 
Act today, so we can improve our health and the overall health of the nation.
 
Learn to recognize the signs of stress here and now with our resource guide and start doing something about it today.

How do you choose a life coaching program when there are hundreds out there available? There are eight major areas to consider when choosing a program that will produce effective results. Here are the first four.

1. Price. All the programs range in costs, some are as high as a few thousand dollars. Although cost does not determine how good a program is, it does determine whether a person can afford it. The program should be reasonable for what they’re offering. It is also good to know who founded the program and what credentials they have. This can tell you a little bit about whether their program is strictly a money-making business for them or they really do want to produce effective coaches.

2. Techniques. Most of the programs make their money by the price they charge, therefore, they will claim they offer the best techniques out there. It is probably best to inquire about a program’s techniques through word of mouth. If that’s not possible, try doing a web search on the program and see if any comments are found out there on the Web. An effective program will provide valuable information on how to be an effective coach. It will also provide mock sessions.

3. Secular vs. Christian. Are you looking for a secular coaching program or a Christian one? There’s a difference. Secular coaching doesn’t include God in it. It is more based on what people can do through their own strength. Christian coaching relies heavily on the guidance of the Holy Spirit and is Biblically based. They believe each person was born with a God-given purpose. Without God we cannot be all we were meant to be.

4. Length of program. Do you want to attend a program that is six months long (or more) or just a few weeks long? The programs all vary in length. An effective program will not waste your time on repetitive information thus dragging out the program for several months. It will teach you what you need to know in less time so that you can get started as a coach as soon as possible.

In Part Two, you will learn of the next four major areas to consider when choosing a good life coaching program.

Copyright – Mary L. Weinstein. All Rights Reserved.

This is the 21st century – an age in which sprawling lifestyles and super-sized ambitions are carved by all and sundry. Everyone wants to live life king size with a perfect house, a gleaming car and a hefty bank balance. Contrast this with deeper and larger than life values such as happiness, fulfillment and satisfaction, and you get a rough idea about what today’s generation strives to achieve.

Consequently, one is left with very little time to give to oneself and ends up in a confusing spiral of emotions – often lost and out of focus. Life coaching is a vocation where people advise, counsel, mentor and guide stressed and confused individuals with their personal and business lives. In a broader sense, coaches help their clients improve emotional intelligence through smart thinking. Life coaching also helps people become more aware about themselves and the society they live in by assisting them in understanding their emotions. In addition to, this type of mental healing aims to provide essential life skills to troubled people, healing not only their mind, but body and soul.

These days, the integration of emotional intelligence in life coaching has led to excellent results in the profession and improved the scope too. Some of the benefits that participants of life coaching have achieved are:

1. A better understanding of oneself – this has improved self awareness, control and emotional stability.

2. Better creativity and innovation – Participants have shown tremendous potential in areas they thought were beyond their reach through a clear mind.

3. A passion for living – In other words, life coaches have helped their clients achieve a ‘drive’ to achieve more and conquer their fears by overcoming challenges.

Apart from personal benefits, improvement in emotional intelligence goes a long way in perking up one’s professional career. For example, if a man lost his job, or made a bad investment, it would lead to unnecessary worrying and tension. If this went unchecked, it would soon take a toll on the man’s mind and body, resulting in further mental frustration and eventually, destruction. However, mentoring and counseling this man as to how he should overcome such hurdles would help him cope with the issue in a positive manner. Not only would he work harder to rise above the problem, he would actually consider it a trivial issue, thus looking for alternatives to make his life better.

This is just a small example which illustrates how life coaching can help an individual at work. Research, on the other hand, has shown that success in life depends more on emotional intelligence rather than cognitive aptitude.

So how does life coaching achieve such powerful results? Experts feel that the private atmosphere and warm coach-client relationship relaxes the client’s mind and helps the person in uncovering brighter avenues of thinking, clearly and smartly. Considering the fact that life coaches usually counsel their clients an hour every week, over a period of two to six months, offering life and career changing results, this can be a really rewarding endeavor for those who are facing problems in life.