Results of a Newspoll Omnibus Survey commissioned by Lifeline Australia indicate that an alarming 91 per cent of adult Australians feel stress in at least one important area of their lives. 

The survey also found that almost half (47 per cent) of adult Australians feel very stressed about one part of their life.

The survey was commissioned by Lifeline Australia in the lead up to its national stress down day on 24 July, known as Stress Down on 24/7.

72 per cent of respondents in full and part-time work cited Work as a cause of stress. Around two thirds of respondents indicated that they felt stress caused by Finances (67 per cent) and Thoughts about the Future (65 per cent). Health (55 per cent) and Personal Relationships (41 per cent) were the other life factors polled.

CEO of Lifeline Australia, Dawn O’Neil, said that while some level of stress in our lives is normal, the degree of stress we are now dealing with should not be something that we take for granted as a culture.

“These figures reveal an alarming rate of stress. I don’t believe that as a society we should just accept that our lives today are more stressful than in the past. We need to look at ways we can take responsibility for our stress levels before prolonged stress causes harm to our physical and mental health,” Ms O’Neil said.

Commenting on the results, Professor Ian Hickie, Executive Director of the University of Sydney’s Brain & Mind Research Institute and supporter of Lifeline’s Stress Down on 24/7, said that Australia needs to urgently address the toll that stress is taking on our physical and emotional wellbeing.

“Prolonged exposure to chronic, unrelenting stress is a killer. We just cannot function under this sort of pressure. We need to urgently address the issue of stress both as individuals and as a society.

“We must develop strategies, today, to deal with and reduce the level of stress in our lives. We have to bring balance back into our lives. As individuals we need to act now to bring practical and achievable stress reducing techniques into our daily lives.

Just admitting that we feel stress and being aware of what causes it, is a good start. Being more physically active, reducing our intake of alcohol, connecting with people socially, planning for time out, are all things we can do immediately.

“We need to opt in to do things to take control, rather than opt out because we are too stressed.

“As a society we must talk about stress, highlight the issue in the public arena and give people the techniques to deal with stress. This survey confirms that stress is an issue for the overwhelming majority of Australians,” Professor Hickie concluded.

Ms O’Neil went on to say that all Australian’s need to take control of managing their own stress levels – to know how much stress is normal, when stress is doing harm, and how to take control. “That is why Lifeline devised the idea of a national stress down day – Stress Down on 24 July. On 24 July we want all Australians to stop and think about developing positive habits to reduce stress and remember that help is available when stress becomes overwhelming.

“Lifeline’s 24 hour telephone counselling service continues to answer around 1,200 calls every day across Australia,” Ms O’Neil said.