Stressed families: the impact of extreme over-demand

Sharp incensement in medical visits for "family stress", depressed children, women without their own space or "safety valves". Tips to avoid these situations at home:

Textual data provided by Ms. Paula Saravia (MP: 3290), a member of the Department of Mental Health in Diquecito Sanatorium:

• "The incidence rates of stress throughout the family circle are growing every year by leaps and bounds, bringing highly negative consequences for thousands of Argentine households, with physical and mental manifestations difficult to reverse".

• "'We are all stressed out' is the phrase that characterizes these families who come daily to medical institutions for help, in order to improve their quality of life".

• "While historically, the most affected by this situation were usually heads of households, currently stress and its implications have exhausted women and children, affecting the whole family the same way".

• "Stress is no respecter of social class. However, in the case of the patients we serve in our institution, we are dealing with families of high socioeconomic status, composed of men and women who have problems at work and whose children have also problems in different points of view".

• "The situation will become increasingly complex, as forecasts say. However, an increased awareness by the general public has been noted, which is manifested in a sharp increase in medical visits to specialists and institutions regarding the treatment of stress".

The children in the center of stage

• "Families suffering from stress are made by adults, in general, very successful and overachieving individuals in personal and professional factors. They are parents who in turn expect and demand high yields to their children in academics, arts and sports".

• "When one investigates each case, you regularly deal with these children who have lost their spaces for recreation, relaxation and pleasure. The chaos has led them in some cases to high blood pressure and insomnia despite their young age, and fall into situations of exhaustion that is manifested in a state of permanent exhaustion".

"There are not enough hours of sleep, they have all day obsessively programmed by their parents and their routine is very tight, not allowing them to enjoy this stage of their lives. They also may get physical pain to go from one place to another carrying material of study, or doing activities permanently".

"When these children realize that they cannot meet the family demands, they get intensely frustrated and seek solutions to this frustration through excesses (food, addictions, etc.). This is compounded by the loss of dialogue and familiar contention, making a dangerous cocktail".

• "These children find it difficult to detect what is happening. They are in fact victims of parents who take them forward to the successful 'carrot'".

• "The young man rarely speaks of what she/he is experiencing and feeling, but usually do it through acts such as challenging, transgressive or oppositional behavior".

The worn woman

• "For women, rates of stress are also increasing sharply, for the same reasons given above. This situation is accentuated by the absence of `escape valve' to help reverse its impact".

• "In line with the situation of children, the woman who responds to this model family spends most of the day in the car taking her children back and forth, producing a terrible wear while trying to coordinate her own and others' agendas".

• "This is enhanced by adding their working and professional environment, which usually add a lot of work from home, often without the help of their spouse, who becomes tired and stressed of their work".

• "They are women who forget to be women and become a machine. At this time is when they stop being cute and attractive and results in significant loss of self-esteem, gradually, because of daily demands".

Consequences

Stress can lead to some or all family members the following consequences:

• Psychosomatic Diseases: digestive (IBS), respiratory (bronchial asthma, hyperventilation), cardiac (myocardial infarction, angina pectoris).
• Endocrine diseases: obesity, hypothyroidism and diabetes.
• Dermatological Diseases
• Psychiatric Disorders: Anxiety Disorders, Depressive Disorder.
• Use and Abuse of Psychoactive Drugs, Addictions

How to reverse family stress?

Recover family spaces. We must rebuild the spaces in every way: husband-wife, parents and children, between children and also with our friends. This does not resolve just with a family trip, but a permanent work among the various links. You should facilitate this by searching for shared spaces of relaxation, recreation and meeting the daily level, for example, sharing lunch, dinner, avoiding over the presence of television, which interferes with the dialogue, suggesting a board game, etc.

Promote sports. Sport is very important in reversing the stress on the person. In Diquecito we help the patient to discover what activity is most appropriate for the situation, taste or ability, and patient is encouraged to practice daily. It is important to encourage physical activity in the family, individually and jointly, such as hiking, trekking, dance class, or any other similar.

Improve eating habits. This is critical as our general health and immune capacity will be affected by the quality of our food. It is important to find a balance when the time does not permit the development of home cooking. For this we suggest to design a viable strategy in the context that we move: either by listing places and healthy choices when buying produced food or getting pre-prepared dishes to have on hand in the freezer.

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