Stress – Unhealthy Reactions to Natural Human Response

Hans Selye, a Canadian endocrinologist, is considered to be the first researcher to demonstrate the existence of stress. In fact, he coined the term “stress” in 1936 and identified it as “the non-specific response of the body to any demand for change.”

Addiction researchers are specifically interested in stress because of some of the unhealthy ways individuals choose to deal with stress. These include drinking, taking drugs, gambling and other addictive behaviours. The following search frequency study focuses on query results for the word “stress” and related phrases.

Workplace Stress – Far Too Common Occurrence

In 2001, a survey conducted by the Canadian Mental Health Association showed that 25% of respondents viewed workplace stress as a major source of stress and anxiety in their lives. Additionally, a report from the Canadian Institute for Stress showed that between 1990 and 1999, there was a 220% increase in stress cases by employee assistance programs. Given these statistics, it is not surprising that in Graph 1, “stress in the workplace” received 16,564 queries. In Graph 3, four other related search phrases are “job stress”, “workplace stress”, “work related stress” and “work stress”.

Also interesting, “holiday stress” is the seventh most commonly searched word combination, receiving almost 32,000 searches. Clearly, individuals are suffering from stress both inside and outside the home.

Stress - Prevalent Search Topics - Graph 1

(Continued on Graph 3 at the bottom of this page)

Top 30 two and three word combinations

	estimated searches/year across all search engines
	10,000		250,000
stress disorder	233781
traumatic stress	225960
post traumatic stress	221050
stress management	190490
traumatic stress disorder	177188
post traumatic stress disorder	174974
stress test	140980
stress relief	87445
holiday stress	31897
stress syndrome	30958
managing stress	29911
definition of stress	29251
stress reduction	27445
stress balls	27250
stress on the body	26536
tramatic stress	25474
post tramatic stress	25351
traumatic stress syndrome	22671
post traumatic stress syndrome	22660
stress and anxiety	19901
stress causes	19793
posttraumatic stress	19119
relieve stress	18441
tramatic stress disorder	18253
post tramatic stress disorder	18248
what is stress	17236
teen stress	17189
stress in the workplace	16564
posttraumatic stress disorder	16295
stress related	16266
	10,000		250,000

Stress Management – Different Search Phrases Looking for Similar Information

“Stress management” (190,490) is an extremely popular online search topic. Similarly, “stress relief” (87,445) and “stress reduction” (27,445) were also allocated a considerable amount of attention. Given the popularity of this subject, it is no surprise that stress management has become a booming industry. Books, seminars, stress balls and stress relief games have all been created to deal with this ever-increasing problem.

Moreover, stress or anxiety disorder, an umbrella term that covers several different forms of abnormal, pathological anxiety, fears and phobias, predominates many of the phrases in Graph 1. Post-traumatic stress, one of the most serious forms of anxiety disorder, is also prevalent and requires more specialized treatment than that offered through common stress management techniques.

Stress Market Research - Graph 2

Top 100 words used in stress searches
(Top 1000 can be found at Top 100 stress exact phrases and top 1,000 concepts/words. - Graph 5)

	estimated searches/year across all search engines
	0		270,000
post	258738
disorder	234981
traumatic	225970
management	197828
test	144990
relief	87837
causes	51877
anxiety	39763
how	39499
work	32371
holiday	31906
body	31669
definition	31646
managing	31167
syndrome	31044
reduction	30743
workplace	29463
balls	27349
related	27107
what	27083
tramatic	25474
college	24179
ways	24143
games	23680
health	23590
techniques	23309
posttraumatic	19119
relieve	19089
dealing	17811
teen	17542
students	16933
job	16165
cause	16049
statistics	15310
critical	14812
teenage	14485
relievers	14417
incident	14130
incontinence	13796
tips	13276
illness	12965
repetitive	12789
reliever	12538
coping	12480
center	12278
midwest	12036
reduce	11823
depression	11303
heart	11012
reducer	10900
about	10845
articles	10435
types	10276
free	10191
deal	9933
echocardiography	9883
cardiac	9836
quotes	9835
loss	9773
cartoons	9639
scale	9140
ball	9122
relieving	8896
tests	8808
hives	8768
acne	8104
pregnancy	8058
hair	7989
echo	7984
voice	7797
physiological	7715
physical	7706
analysis	7673
injury	7633
signs	7485
exercise	7295
controlling	7202
manage	7193
disorders	7170
handle	6844
pain	6780
desktop	6747
game	6522
heat	6401
avenue	6395
cartoon	6310
teacher	6254
police	6220
adenosine	6197
adolescent	5957
student	5869
medication	5736
school	5718
quiz	5625
children	5570
non	5517
article	5368
chinese	5262
eraser	5199
factors	5182
	0		270,000

Addictions Research – Montreal, Canada Center Leads the Way

Clear Haven Center, a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center close to Montreal, Canada, devotes a great deal of time, effort and resources to furthering addictions research. Search frequency research on a wide range of topics including stress management, is one of the new, innovative tools the professionals at Clear Haven use to better understand and treat a wide spectrum of addictions.

Stress - Prevalent Search Topics, Continued - Graph 3

Top 31 - 100 two and three word combinations
(Top 30 are in Graph 1 above)

	estimated searches/year across all search engines
	4,000		16,000
dealing with stress	15475
causes of stress	15473
teenage stress	14481
stress relievers	14417
critical incident stress	14043
stress relief games	14033
job stress	13426
repetitive stress	12786
stress cause	12666
stress reliever	12534
stress at work	11861
stress incontinence	11676
midwest center for stress	11660
reduce stress	11613
stress management techniques	11476
stress health	11307
stress anxiety	11282
stress reducer	10899
about stress	10667
ways to relieve stress	10372
types of stress	10251
stress statistics	10192
stress echocardiography	9755
deal with stress	9376
stress ball	8972
workplace stress	8936
stress scale	8797
work related stress	8723
stress cartoons	8706
stress tests	8660
critical incident stress management	8444
coping with stress	8232
cardiac stress test	8155
voice stress	7793
stress analysis	7621
stress injury	7541
repetitive stress injury	7389
controlling stress	7201
manage stress	7147
physiological effects of stress	6775
stress related illness	6519
stress reduction techniques	6495
stress avenue	6393
heat stress	6389
handle stress	6325
teacher stress	6210
heart stress	6055
adenosine stress	5992
adenosine stress test	5975
stress management tips	5907
adolescent stress	5868
how to relieve stress	5802
articles on stress	5793
quotes about stress	5511
heart stress test	5383
stress disorders	5320
work stress	5306
stress relieving	5303
causes stress	5293
stress eraser	5199
what causes stress	5183
stress leave	5134
thallium stress	5055
thallium stress test	5043
stress and illness	4994
cope with stress	4949
stress clipart	4924
von mises stress	4834
stress echo	4795
student stress	4787
	4,000		16,000