STRESS is affecting more people's lives in the South than ever before according to a new report. Around 52 per cent of Southerners admit to suffering from stress and a range of related health problems.

And eight out of ten of us believe that life is becoming more stressful in the 1990s, through a combination of work, financial and family pressures.

The report, backed by health care company Lanes, found that overwork was a more important cause of stress for people in the South than financial pressures.

More than 30 per cent of men questioned said lazy and incompetent colleagues were a problem, particularly where the same colleagues are both unhelpful and unpleasant. Women also complained of overload at work, as well as the pressures of travelling to work - with 22 per cent finding driving stressful.

The survey also found that people commonly turned to alcoholic drinks, cigarettes and arguments to relieve stress.

Dr George Lewith, a consultant physician and complementary medicine expert based in Southampton, said: "Stress initially has a very positive effect on the body if it occurs over a very short term.

"The damage occurs when you have prolonged stress, particularly if it is a situation that you cannot resolve such as a difficult boss, or an impossible marriage."

In these circumstances, he added, stress can depress the immune system, irritate the bowel, cause depression, anxiety, insomnia, and generally have a draining and destructive effect on the body.

Dr Lewith said complementary medicine, including acupuncture, herbal medicines like Kava and Hypericum and homoeopathy, could alleviate some of the symptoms of stress.

But he added: "These techniques can help re-adjust the body stress response, but at the end of the day lifestyle changes in which the individual recognises why they are in a stressful situation and how to manage or resolve the stress is a key to improvement."

Anti-stress dietary tips include eating three times a day, including lots of fruit, and avoiding high carbohydrate snacks and fatty foods.

Dr Lewith added: "Take regular exercise and try to introduce some balance into your life, so that work, home-life and social life all play a part, rather than one element excluding all the others."

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