Stress-related illnesses are becoming increasingly common. What do you think are the causes of this? What solutions can you suggest?

Stress is a strain on an individual which can be physical or emotional and most times, lead to illnesses. In recent times, there has been an increase in stress related illnesses.

This

essay will discuss the causes (nature of

work

and large family size) and will

also

proffer solutions

such

as placing a

limit

on

work

duration and public education on family planning. Stress induced ill health in an individual can be

as a result

of his job description or expectations from family especially in a large family size. The occupation of a person may require that he spends a long time at

work

thus

causing burn out and strain on the individual. Doctors in Nigeria,

for instance

,

work

for about 60 to 70 hours in a week, which is not safe for the patient or the doctor.

In addition

, the breadwinners of families, especially large families are prone to taking up 2 to 3 jobs to make ends meet and provide for the family.

For example

, a research done in Zimbabwe showed that the wage earner in a family of 5 works at least 2 jobs and the number of jobs worked increases with an increasing family size. For these reasons, illnesses caused by stress,

such

as depression and elevated blood pressure are becoming increasingly common.

However

, there are measures to prevent

this

rising epidemic namely, implementation of

work

duration

limit

and public education on family planning. Government and stakeholders should put a

limit

to which an individual can

work

for a day or week. In the UK,

for example

, the maximum number of hours a doctor can

work

in a week is 40 hours.

In addition

, public enlightenment and increased access to family planning services should be done.

For instance

, a program held by family health initiative in northern Syria, which involved sensitisation, counselling and distribution of contraceptives. Overall, these solutions will curtail the illnesses. In conclusion, stress related illnesses have become a rising epidemic of concern. Overworking due to the kind of occupation of an individual and fending for larger sized families are causes discussed in

this

essay.

This

essay

also

discussed solutions

such

as placing a maximum

limit

of working hours and improvement of family planning services.