Stress related illness

Former boss of the Financial Services Authority Hector Sants had to leave his position at Barclays Bank because of stress and exhaustion.

Everyone experiences pressure at some time in their life and problems arise when pressure is excessive, prolonged, or comes from too many directions at the same time. most people can deal with high levels of stress and sometimes even thrive on it, but when additional pressure or crises occur, some people find it more difficult to cope with and therefore find it a stressful experience.

What is important is the individuals perception of the situation. It is not so much the situation that causes the stress, but now we perceive it and what we bring to the situation in terms of our mental attitude and past experiences etc, that is largely the problem.