BHUBANESWAR: On September 21, a 38-year-old software engineer died by suicide at his home in Chennai. His wife had found him tangled in a live wire. He had recently taken up a new job and was reportedly facing work pressure. Prior to this incident, a young chartered accountant from Kerala working at E&Y in Pune died just after a few months of joining the firm. The woman’s mother alleged that she was burdened with backbreaking work that led to her cardiac arrest. One thing common in the two incidents was work-related stress.
The tragic deaths have reignited debates on the alarming levels of stress faced by professionals in high-pressure environments. The growing crisis affects the mental health of workers, and also contributes to a worrying trend of suicides and heart attacks among young adults. According NCRB data, in 2022 alone over 1.7 lakh lives were lost to suicides. According to a Lancet report, suicide claims more than seven lakh lives a year globally with India recording among the highest number of deaths.
Doctors at Paras Health, Gurugram, also pointed out a worrying rise in heart attacks among young adults, particularly in those in their 20s and 30s. “Traditionally considered a condition affecting elderly, heart diseases are now a serious threat to younger generations. We are witnessing 40-45 cases of heart attacks or cardiac arrests in young adults every month,” said Dr Amit Bhushan Sharma, director and unit head of interventional cardiology at Paras.
As epidemiological studies blame sedentary lifestyle of professionals for the increased mortality, more particularly from cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), experts call for immediate attention to the factors contributing to this phenomenon. Dr Dibya Ranjan Behera, consultant cardiologist at Manipal Hospitals, said CVD is the number one killer in the world. It starts 10 years earlier in Indians as compared to the westerners due to various factors, key among them being work stress, sedentary lifestyle, dietary preferences and lack of work-life balance. The morbidity and mortality of CVDs in the country are also high, he said.
Factors responsible
Work-related stress manifests in various ways, including anxiety, depression, and burnout. Nearly 70% of professionals report feeling overwhelmed by their job responsibilities, according to a Workplace Burnout Survey by Deloitte. The demanding nature of the corporate world, characterised by long hours, tight deadlines, and high expectations, often leads to chronic stress. The pressure to perform often leads individuals to neglect their mental well-being, which can have dire consequences.
“The traditional risk factors are high blood pressure, blood sugar and blood cholesterol levels. Certain other factors that led to heart attacks are the 4Ss - smoking, sedentary lifestyle, stress and sleeplessness. Psychological stress in a short time increases the heart rate, blood pressure and blood sugar levels that lead to palpitation, anxiety, and headache. When it is chronic, it causes a state of inflammation in the blood vessels of the heart and brain that result in destabilisation of plaques leading to a heart attack or stroke,” Dr Behera said.
Dr Sanjay Bhat, senior consultant (interventional cardiology) at Aster CMI Hospital, Bengaluru, said the rising incidence of heart attacks among young adults is a troubling trend, primarily linked to increased stress levels. The unrelenting pressure at work, along with a widespread culture of overwork, sleeplessness and unregulated use of social media play a significant role, he said.
The long-term effects of stress and burnout also have profound implications on social interactions and family relationships.
Head of the psychiatry department at AIIMS-Bhubaneswar Dr Biswa Ranjan Mishra said the vulnerable age group which attempts suicide is 18-45 years. The physical and psychological exhaustion add to mental stress. Working professionals who take such drastic steps predominantly belong to nuclear families and they hardly get the family support they need to overcome the stress level, he explained.
Triggers for stress and burnout
The expectation to meet unrealistic deadlines leads to stress. Sometimes, employees feel powerless in their roles, leading to frustration and anxiety. At this point, lack of support from management or colleagues exacerbates feelings of isolation and stress.
With rising levels of expectations, as people want to achieve more in a short time, it leads to mental stress. “The cobweb of social media cripples them both mentally and physically and consumes their outdoor time, and most importantly sleeping time. They develop anxiety, sleeplessness, panic attacks and depression. In search of some mental peace, they eat more junk food full of the dangerous trans-fats, alcohol and smoking. They get trapped in a vicious circle. A byproduct of this is diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular diseases,” said Dr Behera.
Dr Mishra said the change in social paradigm in the last decade has led to the rise in suicides. “Previously, people were socialising and used to share their worries with each other. Now they are more inclined towards a virtual world which does not have the natural essence of one-to-one interaction,” the AIIMS psychiatrist said. Psychological stress in a short time activates the body’s fight-or-flight response, leading to increased heart rate, BP, and blood sugar levels.