Grahn, Patrik
- Department of People and Society, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Abstract
Stress-induced illnesses have become a huge global problem. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), mental health disorders and cardiovascular diseases – both of which are clearly affected by stress – are expected to be the two major contributors to illnesses in all parts of the world, with mental health disorders calculated for all age groups and both sexes, by the year 2020 (WHO, 2008). Stress is not an illness per se; rather, stress reactions are natural and necessary – they serve to sharpen our senses and make us more effi cient. In the event of a perceived threat, stress reactions trigger our ‘fi ght or fl ight’ refl exes that helped our early ancestors survive (Atkinson et al., 1996). During stress, our body organs react in many different ways, and if stress is sustained for an inappropriately long time without the possibility of recovery, these reac- tions become dysfunctional and harmful, with the risk of causing serious and harmful effects on all vital organs (Aldwin, 2007). For early humankind, who lived on nature’s terms, the body’s own adaptation mechanisms were suited to their purpose. Today, many psychiatric diseases in particular are strongly asso- ciated with prolonged and incorrect stress reactions, the foremost being depression and fatigue syndromes (Aldwin, 2007). The widespread exhaustion and fatigue reactions caused by prolonged stress that we now face in Europe are a serious problem. In its latest report, the European Working Conditions Survey states that ‘Work-related stress is one of the most common work- related health problems, affecting 22 per cent of European workers, and the sectors most at risk are health and social service and education’ (Parent-Thirion et al., 2007). The WHO has rated stress as one of the major causes of death in the developed world, and consequently has made stress-related diseases a priority health prevention area (WHO, 2008).
Published in
Title: Innovative Approaches to Researching Landscape and Health : Open Space: People Space 2
Publisher: Routledge
SLU Authors
Tenngart Ivarsson, Carina
- Department of People and Society, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
- Department of People and Society, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
UKÄ Subject classification
Applied Psychology
Publication identifier
- ISBN: 978-0-415-54911-0
- eISBN: 978-0-203-85325-2
Permanent link to this page (URI)
https://res.slu.se/id/publ/132445