Stress killing people

Apr 23, 2023 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

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Kaieteur News – Road deaths account for an average of 100 deaths in Guyana each year. But that figure pales in comparison to the deaths resulting from cardiovascular diseases. One in every three persons who die in Guyana is a victim of cardiovascular illnesses including heart disease.

Medical professionals have long established a link between stress and heart disease. A recent health advisory reiterated that not only can stress induce heart disease, it can also compound other existing conditions if left unmanaged. This is why doctors place so much emphasis in encouraging their patients to manage their stress levels.

Living in Guyana has become very stressful. Instead of the discovery of oil providing greater economic security, thus helping to reduce personal stress, it has had the reverse effect. The oil economy and its effects on the traditional economy are increasing the levels of stress.

Fisher folk have seen their catches, and consequently, their earnings, plummet ever since oil operations began. The government claims that these low catches are seasonal and have nothing to do with oil exploration and production, but not many are convinced that there is no relationship.

Some fisher folk have had to sell their vessels. Even though a one-off cash grant of G$150,000 was paid by the government to each person working in the sector, this sum can hardly compensate for the reduced incomes and layoffs within the fishing sector.

Stress does damage to one’s physical and mental health. Since oil production began, stress levels have escalated.

Since oil production began, the level of anxiety and stress in fishing communities have risen. It is not surprising therefore to read about increased incidents of interpersonal violence in fishing households and communities.

Many persons have a distorted impression of farming communities being idyllic, slow-paced, and tranquil. But this is far from true. The agricultural belt in Guyana has the highest incidence of suicide, not only in the country but in the world. So what is causing these high levels of stress in rural areas?

Farmers are scrounging for a living and they are doing so under stressful conditions. Every time a rice farmer goes to crop, he is doing so under stress not knowing whether his cultivation will fail because of floods, disease, or the high cost of fertilizers and fuel. Many rice farmers owe the commercial banks and do not know whether they will be able to afford to go back to crop if they suffer some misfortune due to natural or man-made causes. The stress generated is increasing cardiovascular illness within the agricultural belt. No wonder private hospitals are being established in rural communities.

But stress levels are also increasing in urban areas where there are higher levels of income. Just take a look at the traffic situation in Georgetown, more and more businesses are being approved for a small city and this is adding to the city’s traffic woes. The same is happening for persons having to commute from West Demerara, East Bank Demerara and East Coast Demerara.

Road rage is increasing as are accidents and this all has to do with the congestion on the road stress. Persons are finding that because of the inordinate long hours they are spending in traffic not only are they getting less done but by the end of the day, their nerves are frayed.

The government has been boasting about its housing drive. But this sector too is creating extreme anxieties. Many young persons are now building their homes. Some of them have done and acquired loans to build their homes. But now they are finding that the sums they borrowed are grossly inadequate to complete their homes. The price of sand, cement, stone and steel have all doubled in recent years. And when you go and explain this to the banks, many times you are told that your income cannot justify an increase in your loan. This is adding to the stress levels of citizens.

These are just some of the pressures which are being faced by citizens in a country that is supposed to have the fastest-growing economy in the world. Guyanese are still scrounging around to make a living while an executive of one oil company operating in Guyana is enjoying a fat salary increase for 2022.

The oil companies are creaming off the country’s wealth because of the lopsided deal which was signed and which is not being renegotiated. And while the oil companies’ profits and take are soaring, our fisher folk farmers, commuters, and first-time homeowners are under severe stress and are struggling to eke out a living.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of this newspaper and its affiliates.)

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• deaths, Guyana, Health, Medical, Peeping Tom

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