Research reveals secret to a stress-free life: don’t live in the North West

Stressed man

Contrary to stereotypes of strung-out Londoners, the North West and West Midlands seem to be most stressed parts of the country with almost a quarter of people reporting feeling stressed or anxious every day. The East of England is the least frazzled region with only just over one in 10 (13%) reporting feeling that way.

New data published by Chrysalis Courses on National Stress Awareness Day (Wednesday 1  November 2017), finds that half of us (51%) feel stressed or anxious at least once a week and four out of 10 people (39%) would consider seeing a counsellor or hypnotherapist for stress or anxiety issues.

The research from the UK’s leading counselling and hypnotherapy training provider paints a picture of a stressed-out nation with insomnia and unhealthy habits. Half of us (47%) who experience stress or anxiety struggle to sleep because of it and one in five (19%) feel stressed or anxious every day.

Percentage of people reporting feeling stressed or anxious every day by region:

• North West – 24%
• West Midlands – 23%
• North East – 22%
• Yorkshire and the Humber – 21%
• London - 21%
• South East – 21%
• South West – 19%
• Wales – 18%
• Scotland – 17%
• East Midlands – 15%
• East of England – 13% 

Stress and anxiety levels are having a significant impact on our health and well-being with over four in 10 respondents (41%) being driven to eat junk food, give in to unhealthy habits such as smoking and drinking (39%), and to take their stress out on their partner or family (38%). One in 10 have replied to emails in the middle of the night (13%) and one in 25 (4%) people have cancelled or postponed a holiday due to stress and anxiety.

The research shows that your stress and anxiety levels can vary greatly depending on your gender, age and even your marital status:

• Men are more than twice as likely to say they never feel stressed or anxious (11% versus 5%) and women are more likely to suffer the effects of stress than men, particularly in terms of insomnia (54% of women who ever feel stressed versus 39% of men) or taking stress out on their partner or family (45% of women vs 31% of men)
• The older you get the less likely you are to feel stressed or anxious: three in 10 18-24-year-olds (29%) feel stressed or anxious every day compared with only one in 10 over 55s (10%)
• Those who have never married are three times more likely to feel stressed or anxious every day than those who are married or in a civil partnership (29% versus 13%)
• Being a parent with a grown-up child/ children seems to be linked to slightly lower levels of stress (12% feel stressed or anxious every day), while having children aged under 18 is linked to higher levels of stress (24% feel stressed or anxious every day)
• Social media users are twice as likely to report feeling stressed and anxious every day than those who haven’t used social media platforms in the last month (21% versus 10%)