Over the past few years, more and more of my professional time is being spent on issues, concerns or problems that seem to be related to or caused by patients' stress.  I guess I'm not exactly surprised since I see a lot of older patients on fixed incomes, military families with household members on deployments and I practice in an area with a 12% or greater unemployment rate.

Certainly, this can be frustrating as it makes it increasingly difficult to stay on time (never my strong point, I admit), but even more so because I real feel for folks who are just flat out telling me they are physically and emotionally overwhelmed by stress related to financial, employment, medical or family problems or all of the above.

Increasingly, I am coming to view this as part of a big picture with no obvious solution in sight.

Growing up in a strong union heavy manufacturing town (Pittsburgh, PA), I remember what "speed-ups" were about.  This was a short-term increase in work hours that was agreed to by the union in order to complete a big job order for the benefit of both the workers and the company.  Lately, with everyone scrambling like hell to get the same amount of work done by fewer people the whole economy feels like a giant, permanent speed-up.

Added to this is a sense that no matter how hard you work, it's impossible to excel in your work without sacrificing your family life.  Or, vice versa.

Time War is now being coined to describe the conditions over the past 20 or so years that are leaving us all in a sense of continual uncertainty, instability and anxiety for the future.  A bit like the Red Queen in Alice in Wonderland: running as fast as you can just to not fall behind, plus the potential to just sink without a ripple.

As a doctor, I'm also affected by the same forces at play, but a lot less so than many and grateful of it.  Also, I've never been so happy to be self-employed.  At the same time, I agree with the authors of this article that there is a tremendous rush for a quick fix just to cope, just to "take the edge off".  This ranges from antibiotics for viral infections to sleeping pills for what often amounts to overwork.  Agreed: why is everyone on Ambien?

Solution? Hope for the future?  IMHO, I'd be happy to see it agreed that the new "full-time" is 25-30 hours a week.  This seems like a reasonable way for people to have gainful employ and a family life. Companies may have to hire more people to get current workloads accomplished, but that seems reasonable and would certainly employ more people (many of them skilled).  A change in work and/or public school hours would be great, since it's tough to raise children if their pre-school or public school hours are vastly different than work hours.  I see nothing wrong or prohibitive about matching work and school schedules more closely.

In the mean time, healthy ways of reducing or coping with stress include realizing what really makes your life worthwhile, and not stressing over the rest.