The times I've visited Toronto or Vancouver I've particularly noticed how mellow the folks seemed to be compared to those in New York or Los Angeles. I would also guess that their diet and lifestyle is much more healthy and less stress inducing than ours as well. Maybe I was not seeing the whole picture.
But yes folks, according to a recent survey, not only is there stress in Canada but if the numbers are accurate, it is pretty bad too. Nearly thirty percent of Canadians admit to being "extremely or quite stressed overall". Even with their relatively small population that is still a lot of stressed out Canadians.
Some 51% of them list Finances as their biggest cause of stress.
Other major areas of stress for them include Work, Health, Family, and Relationships. I guess if you are going to be stressed about anything those are pretty good targets and would probably come up as the causes in most modern day societies. But with a national health plan, why do Canadians stress over that one? Maybe it's the long wait times?
And the women in Canada are more stressed than the men in every category except for work stress. They worry more than the men about finances and just about everything else on that list above.
The most stressed age group are the 18-24 year olds. To me, that is a surprise. Don't Mom and Dad still pay for college in most North American families and isn't college cheaper in Canada?
Spokesman Rob Meyers for Synovate Canada, the company who released the research results in early June, says "This is a tough time for 18-24 year olds. The rapidly changing world and current economy create a lot of uncertainties for those starting their adult lives and careers."
Perhaps the Canadians are not alone and are simply part of a worldwide trend. The tanking of the global economy is giving us all the jitters and even affecting those young folks who used to see the world as their oyster and themselves as immortal.
But Canada? Maybe those hockey games and cold Molsons are just not the antidote to stress I thought they were. Or perhaps there is just no hiding from it anymore no matter where in the world you do your thinking.
Michael Lee is the author of Turn Stress Into Bliss and the founder of Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy. He writes a free weekly e-zine with lots of stories, information and tips. You can sign up at his website Turn-Stress-Into-Bliss
Tags: culture, stress, society, social issues, stress in canada, age and stress, women and stress