Do these things stress you out??

While prepping for the radio show, I came across a list of the “Ten Most Stressful-Modern Day Scenarios” that were compiled by the South West News Service in England. I thought it would be fun to share the list and see if you agree with their list.  I also encourage you to share your “stress” that may not have made their list.

The study found that 58% of people are feeling more stress than ever before.  Because of that stress, we are losing close to six hours of sleep a week (about 12 days a year).  As a Sleep Technologist who knows the importance of a good night’s sleep, this is indeed disturbing.  What are folks stressed about?  Here are the Top 10 things:

10. Forgetting your phone charger.  I can totally understand this one.  I have an hour drive to and from work, so if my phone isn’t charged, I get freaked out a bit.  I think this stress is a bit more stressful if you forgot to pack it on a trip.

9. Credit card fraud. With all of the scams and identity thieves out there, I really thought this would be higher up on the list.  Let me tell you – I have had someone get ahold of my credit card because of a skimmer or something at the gas pump.  There is nothing scarier than getting that call from the bank saying someone is spending all your money overseas!  What a big headache!  We had to wait for new cards and for the bank to put our money back.  It was awful.

8. Not being able to remember a password.  This happens to me more times than I care to admit!  I work at three jobs and at each one of them, I have to do the “mandatory” password changes.  I cannot even begin to tell you how stressful it is to try to remember them.  At some places I have a computer login, an email login, and a login for the time clock.  Yeah, I know, “write it down”. But isn’t that what they tell you NOT to do?!  Then you have the passwords that need a symbol, but you can’t use “!”, “?”, or “$” (or any of the ones you’d be likely to remember).

7. Your phone battery going dead.  To me this goes hand in hand with #10 and I don’t know why it is a separate item on the list.  I do, however, understand the stress of it!  How many times have you been expecting an important call and you see your battery life is 20%?  Mine gives you the “red” warning when it gets to 15%.  That only makes it more stressful!

6. A slow internet connection.  I remember the days of dial-up and DSL.  There was no such thing as speedy internet.  We are spoiled today and even the smallest slow down can get us angry and stressed out.  We do so much that needs internet today, and you can totally relate to the stress that happens when it is slow or down.  I am gearing up for online classes for a college degree.  There is a big fear when you begin a test, quiz, or big project that the internet might go out.  This is a huge stress!

5. Being late for work.  When I was in high school, my band director instilled in us one simple rule:  “If you’re on time – you’re late!”  I am early for everything.  I am almost always at work 30 minutes early on a daily basis.  It gives me time to prepare for the day and relax a minute before the day begins.  If there is ever an accident that closes the freeway, icy roads, or something that puts me behind – yes, I stress!

4. Losing your phone.  I think this is one of my biggest stressors.  There are times I have totally freaked out when I misplace it.  Our phones are our “connection” to life!  God forbid I ever have to call my wife without my phone – I don’t know her number!  I don’t know anyone’s number!  My calendar is on my phone.  I wouldn’t know what I have going on from day-to-day.  I have apps for my bank on there, as well as my social media, and more.  The many pictures I have taken of family are priceless.  I would be lost without my phone.

3. Sitting in traffic. YES!  While I am better about keeping my anger in check, it is difficult with so many idiot drivers on the road!  Weed was just legalized here in Michigan.  I just read an article that the majority of people pulled over for being suspected of driving under the influence were high, not intoxicated.  Driving in general (not just sitting in traffic) can be a HUGE stress and the amount of road rage incidents we hear about is proof of that!

2. Arguing with your significant other.  I am very lucky in regard to this now.  My wife and I don’t always agree on things, but one thing we do is discuss things.  Communication is a key!  We talk.  Yelling is kept to a minimum.  This was not always the case for me in the past.  It seemed like arguing was a daily thing and a lot of “I did not – You did too” kind of crap.  People knew how to push my buttons and get me to react in anger.  Nothing good comes from that.  What does come from that is stress.  I would imagine this is true for many people.

So what topped the list?

1.  Losing your wallet or credit card.  This is worse than credit card fraud I think.  I have so many things in my wallet, credit cards, pictures, my SS card, notes, and more.  I can only imagine the stress of losing it.  Sometimes, you don’t even need a pin number to use the credit card.  The stress level of losing one or both of these things is incredibly high!

What item stresses you out the most?  Did they miss something?  Should something on their list be higher?  I would love to hear your thoughts.