Just about everyone who you talk to nowadays will complain about being “stressed out.” Thirty years ago, no one ever even used this term. Today, however, it is a staple in most conversations. We often refer to ourselves as being “stressed out” when we discuss our careers as well as our personal lives. Recent studies indicate that even children are “stressed out.” Little kids, who shouldn’t have a care in the world, are becoming “stressed” due to activities at home or at school. In most cases, they are simply inheriting the stress from their parents. Psychologists who deal with “stressed out” individuals blame the current situation on everything from the foods we eat to our society. Most agree that people today attempt to do “too much” and end up getting burned out. We all experience stress during the course of our lives. There is a difference, however, in being constantly stressed out and experiencing stress due to a certain situation. Anything that dramatically disrupts our lives is a cause for stress. Most people recover from the stressful situation after it has been resolved or over a period of time. Other people tend to get stressed out all the time. In fact, their entire life appears to be one big stress factory. This is unhealthy and is gradually taking its toll on our society. Each year, billions of dollars are spent on symptoms of stress. There are dozens of prescriptive medicines on the market today that address stress and anxiety. Millions of people are on some sort of medication for “stress.” What has happened in the past thirty years that has caused us to become such a nation of stressed out individuals? Is society expecting too much from us or are we expecting too much from ourselves? Why are so many people suffering from the following: • Anxiety disorder • Social anxiety disorder • Obsessive compulsive disorder • Anorexia Nervosa • Depression • Panic attacks Years ago, no one ever even heard of these conditions, now they are featured in every magazine you encounter. There is a huge market to treat both depression and anxiety, which usually go hand in hand and are the offspring of stress. Pharmaceutical companies are cranking out different anti-depressants all of the time. These are said to be ‘better” than the other anti-depressants that they discovered a year prior. Thirty years ago, no one ever even heard the term “anti-depressant.” If you used that expression back then, people would think you were talking about something to do with your car.