Job & domestic stress

There are two primary "tension sources" in our lives: Job, and domestic.

OBVIOUS HIGH JOB STRESS WORK:

Police, doctors, emergency workers, and nuclear plant safety operators (like Homer Simpson), have obviously stressful jobs.  But, while less so, so do executives, most teachers, and mothers. Postal workers… well, forget it, they're off the scale.   

NOT SO OBVIOUS HIGH JOB STRESS WORK:

Almost all occupations (except relaxation therapists) have it.  It doesn't matter if you're a food server, taxi driver, student or cashier – people just don’t think of most jobs as being stressful, but they are. 

DOMESTIC

There are “everyday” stressful situations, and unique or occasional ones.  In the everyday category, the biggest source of anxiety is relationships. The closer the relationship, the worse the stress is generally.  Stress between spouses, parents, children, for instance, is worse than stress between distant relatives and friends.  And then there’s in-law stress (ouch).  Of course, dating adds lots of stress. Oddly enough, “falling in love” can cause as much stress related health damage, as breaking up.  

But then there are the non-everyday types of stress, some of which can effect us deeply and last a long time.  Like the stress of someone dying.  The stress of a breakup.  Worse, pre, during, and post-divorce stress.  The stress of retiring. Even a traffic violation stop adds stress.  Losing money, a job, or getting a lot of money adds to stress totals.  Worrying about the economy is very stressful. And people often don't think about allegedly "fun" activities as being stressful, but the fact is, things like holidays and vacations actually contribute a great deal to our overall stress levels.