Attitudes Towards Health -
Stress - UK -
Distractions From Worries
Key points
●
The most
popular way of escaping from worries is to socialise with friends or family.
This is also likely to trigger the popularity of talking about problems,
drinking alcohol and comfort eating.
●
Under-35s
are more likely to indulge in unhealthy vices such as alcohol, cigarettes and
comfort eating as a respite from their worries.
●
Relatively
inexpensive and offering a good means of escapism, an estimated 20 million
adults listen to music or read a book to unwind.
Distractions
more popular than addressing the cause
People were shown a list and asked
the following question:
“Which
of the following, if any, take your mind off your worries?”
FIGURE 19:
Distractions from stress, by experience of stress, November 2009
|
|
All
|
Have
tensions or worries
|
|
|
Base: adults aged 18+
|
973
|
809
|
|
|
|
%
|
%
|
(m)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Socialising with my friends and family
|
54
|
58
|
26.3
|
|
Listening to music/reading a book
|
40
|
44
|
19.5
|
|
Exercising/playing sport
|
33
|
36
|
16.1
|
|
Talking to people about how I feel (eg to
family, friends, colleagues)
|
32
|
35
|
15.6
|
|
Spending one-on-one time with my
partner/significant other
|
22
|
25
|
10.7
|
|
Pampering at home (eg soak in the bath, quiet
night in, phone off the hook)
|
21
|
23
|
10.2
|
|
Drinking alcohol
|
21
|
23
|
10.2
|
|
Making time to do something I enjoy
|
21
|
23
|
10.2
|
|
Planning or booking a holiday
|
18
|
20
|
8.8
|
|
Comfort eating
|
15
|
17
|
7.3
|
|
Smoking
|
13
|
14
|
6.3
|
|
Proactively addressing the cause of stress
(eg look for a new job, spend less money)
|
12
|
14
|
5.9
|
|
Eating healthily
|
10
|
11
|
4.9
|
|
Buying something I don't need because it
makes me feel better
|
8
|
10
|
3.9
|
|
Talking to a professional (eg
doctor/nurse/pharmacist or ring a helpline)
|
6
|
6
|
2.9
|
|
Spending time on social networking sites
|
4
|
5
|
2.0
|
|
Other
|
7
|
7
|
3.4
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
None of these
|
6
|
1
|
2.9
|
Note that absolute numbers are
calculated by Mintel
SOURCE:
BMRB/Mintel
●
For many people who are stressed or
anxious, a complete distraction offers some respite from their troubles. Having
a laugh with friends and family is top of the list of things to do if people
are weighed down by their woes.
●
Music and books offer a key form of
escapism, enabling people to lose themselves in the music or plot of a good
book. Around 20 million adults listen to music or read a book to unwind. Women
are more likely to indulge in this pastime, as are adults aged 45-54.
●
Despite today’s under-25s being dubbed the
iPod generation, music or books are more likely to offer release for the
over-45s, most notably 45-54-year-olds. Targeting personal music players at the
older consumer could help create new growth opportunities for MP3 players and
iPods alike.
●
There is a direct correlation between
social grade and those who take their mind off their worries with a good book
or music. Almost half of ABs compared to fewer than three in ten Es unwind in
this way. The only distraction from stress that demonstrates a skew towards
lower social grades is smoking.
Key analysis:
Increasingly popular digital books such as Kindle and the Sony E-Reader could
harness the power of music to offer people the opportunity to listen to a
soundtrack or other music of their choice whilst reading their favourite book.
Getting
by with a little help from friends
“Both
big and small events make me worry but I am seeking counsel from friends and
family to help me cope.”
-35-44-year-old
ABC1 male
●
Having a strong support network of family
and friends is key for more than half of adults (some 26 million) who choose to
socialise with their family and friends as a distraction from their woes.
●
Talking about troubles may come more
naturally to women, as more than four in ten women, compared to one in five
men, talk to people about what’s getting them down.
●
For women, socialising with friends and
family facilitates this although men may socialise with their friends in the
form of playing sport or drinking alcohol. These situations might be less
conducive for opening up and expressing their worries.
●
Households with children are also more
likely to talk about how they feel, highlighting the importance of having a
support network, particularly for people who have children and might be
worrying about their parenting skills or their child’s development.
Key analysis:
Stress-busting products such as anti-energy drinks, complementary medicines or
indulgent snacks would be well placed to promote in online parent forums and
chat rooms.
BRITS NOT
PROACTIVELY DEALING WITH STRESS
Straight
to the source
“The
way I deal with stress is to tackle the problem head on. I need to get to the
root of the problem, find out why it’s not right…and then sort it. It takes me
some time in some cases.”
-16-24-year-old
ABC1 male
●
Almost six million adults address the cause
head on although this is typically a trait of 25-44-year-olds and ABC1s.
●
Men are just as likely as women to say that
they proactively address the cause of stress.
Doctor
is the last resort
“Recently
turned myself in at my GPs and asked for help.”
- 45-54-year-old ABC1 female
●
Going to the doctor or seeking professional
medical help may be seen as admitting defeat and is very much a last-resort
option for many adults. This will be key to why people may talk to family and
friends first, but if they still feel no better, they might then turn to a
professional.
●
Just three million adults have talked to a
professional (such as a doctor/nurse/pharmacist or rung a helpline) in order to
take their mind off their worries. To an extent this highlights the stigma
attached to seeking professional help to deal with stress and may be regarded
by some as a sign of defeat or inability to cope on their own. It is here that
the British ‘stiff upper lip’ syndrome really affects people’s ability to get
help when things overwhelm them.
●
However, this presents strong opportunities
for de-stressing and relaxation products that could be marketed as a ‘doc in a
box’ with a telephone helpline for when people feel they need help but don’t
want to talk to a doctor about it. Perhaps even offering anonymous stress
clinics could help break down such mental barriers.
Key analysis:
Promoting products as an alternative to going to the doctor, ie helping you to
cope on your own and saving the embarrassment of telling others your
difficulties, could help reach people who might otherwise suffer in silence.
Marketing
products on blogs or forums or online helpline sources could provide a more
relevant means to promote products that help people to unwind. Advertising
music, books, social networking sites, pampering products or chocolate on the
web pages of helplines, chat forums or even charity websites could drive
association of certain products with helping to make people feel better about
themselves and the problems that are getting them down.
Mature
adults take healthier approach
“[When
I come under stress] I eat frequently but don't feel satisfied by whatever I
eat.”
-Over-55 ABC1
female
●
Younger adults are far more likely to
distract themselves from their worries with unhealthy lifestyles. Along with
socialising with their friends, they are more likely than older adults to drink
alcohol, smoke and/or comfort eat as a distraction from their worries.
●
Almost three in ten 18-24-year-olds drink
alcohol to take their mind off their worries, compared to one in five or fewer
amongst the over-45s. By contrast, older adults make time to do something that
they enjoy such as reading or listening to music.
●
Amongst adults who have worries or
tensions, more than one in five 25-34-year-olds comfort eat or smoke compared
to one in ten over-65s who comfort eat and just 6% of over-65s who smoke. Older
adults tend to eat more healthily than younger adults aged 18-24 because they
are more worried about their health generally.
●
Adults aged 25-34 are the most likely to
comfort eat, with one in five indulging in food treats in order to take their
mind off their worries. This compares to just one in ten over-65s. However,
much of this may also be owing to the fact that older adults tend to be less
stressed than younger ones and may therefore feel less need for comfort food.
●
Complementary medicine specialist A Nelson
markets natural flower remedies to respond specifically to comfort eating. The Bach Emotional Eating Support Kit comes
in a set of three bottles of natural flower remedies with each one addressing a
stage of the overeating cycle in order to help people deal with the emotions
that might contribute to comfort eating.
Key analysis:
Perhaps there is scope for a line of mainstream foods targeting comfort eaters.
Such foods could make them feel full or help to release endorphins to make them
feel emotionally content. Developing a healthy range of comfort foods could
appeal if the packaging and marketing angle are relevant.
Number
of distractions
FIGURE 20:
Repertoire of distractions from stress, November 2009
Base:
809 adults aged 18+ who stated any stress
|
|
%
|
|
|
|
|
1-2 distractions
|
37
|
|
3-4 distractions
|
31
|
|
5-6 distractions
|
18
|
|
7+ distractions
|
12
|
SOURCE:
BMRB/Mintel
●
In the main, people who suffer from tension
or anxiety rely on just one or two distractions to help take their mind off
their worries. Socialising with friends is the stalwart approach, adopted by
almost four in ten adults who use one or two distractions. Listening to
music/reading a book, or talking to people about how they feel hold a distant
(but joint) second place (16%).
●
In keeping with the fact that men are less
likely than women to admit to suffering from tension or anxiety, they are also
significantly more likely to cite fewer distractions from tension. More than
four in ten men, compared to a third of women, will distract themselves in one
or two ways from things causing them concern (see Appendix – Distractions From
Worries section).
●
Adults who are most likely to use a wide
range of distractions offer the best opportunities for retailers and
manufacturers of products that appeal in times of stress. Those who resort to
seven or more distractions are most likely to be aged 25-44 and relatively
affluent (usually within the AB social grade).
●
Adults in full-time employment are most
likely to use an expansive range of coping mechanisms (seven or more) although
they typically demonstrate a greater tendency than others towards exercising,
pampering themselves at home, spending time with a partner, drinking alcohol or
booking/planning a holiday.
Also Read Consumer Attitudes towards Health Stress in UK. Contact Mahasagar Publications for Dissertation Writing Help.
