Stressed out Brits hit the bottle

According to a new report millions of people in Britain are so stressed out that they are turning to alcohol to ease the pressure.

The report by the charity group the Samaritans says as many as five million people in the country are completely stressed out and a third of the work force is so stressed out by their job that their sleep is affected and many resort to drink as a means of relaxing.

Half a million people said work-related stress was making them physically ill and one in five said their sex life had suffered due to stress.

The Labour Force survey of 2,000 adults has found that at least 13 million working days were lost due to stress-related illnesses such as depression and anxiety in 2004-2005 and many are turning to alcohol as a way relaxing and getting to sleep at night.

Work place stress was often given as the top issue affecting employee productivity and is estimated to cost the economy £3.7 billion per year.

The Samaritans also say the survey found that 50 percent of people were more stressed now than five years ago.

In the 25 to 34-year-old age group, 41 percent used alcohol as a way of relieving stress.

Men were more likely to use alcohol for stress relief than women with 35 percent of men turning to drink as against 29 percent of women.

It was also found that suicidal tendencies dominated when 16 to 24-year-olds felt stressed.

The charity is launching a Stress Down Day today to raise awareness of the effects of stress in the work place.

It said its survey found that the most common cause of stress was money, followed by work, family, health and relationships.

It wants people to turn off their emails and ask friends to sponsor them to wear slippers to work to raise money.

Organisations in Britain are legally obliged to carry out a risk assessment for stress under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.