Expatica news

Belgium is stressing out

24 March 2005

BRUSSELS – Almost half of the Belgian population suffered from regular stress last year.

Family and professional problems are the biggest stress factors, and sport is the best remedy, experts say.

According to a study of 1774 people by Test-Achats, 43 percent of Belgians were regularly stressed out last year and 88 percent said they had suffered significant stress in their lives.

Around 54 percent of this stress was caused by family matters and 63 percent because of work.

Traumatic events such as a death in the family, war, divorce and retiring are also high stress factors.

Stress also levels vary from person to person, reveals the study.

Women between 18 and 26, smokers, those who do not practise sport and those who live in built up areas are more susceptible to it.

The main symptoms linked to stress are tiredness, 69 percent, anxiety, 66 percent, irritability, 62 percent, and insomnia, 56 percent.

Medicine is still the most popular way to deal with stress, with 37 percent of Belgians taking some kind of pills to resolve it.

But many people choose to try sport as a less expensive remedy.

On average, practising a sport requires a monthly investment of EUR 45, while medicine costs on average EUR 48 a month and psychotherapy EUR 95 a month.

[Copyright Expatica 2005]

Subject: Belgian news