Majority of Britons are 'buckling under stress'

They are buckling under the pressure of modern living, with one in ten constantly at boiling point and a fifth feeling stressed even before they have had time to eat breakfast.

Half the people questioned for the Relaxation for Living Institute said they struggle to sleep, while the same proportion have headaches or migraines, a quarter have digestive problems and almost a fifth admit to suffering panic attacks.

For most people, the biggest strain is financial uncertainty, followed by work pressures and relationships.

Another major cause of stress is pressure to look good, with almost half of women and a quarter of men citing it as a cause of anxiety. Demands on time, managing the work/life balance, the environment, war and terrorism, were also factors, according to the survey.

For one in five, stress kicks in before breakfast and this figure doubles by the time they reach work or have dropped off their children at school.

However a surprising one in ten said the morning commute was the most calm time of day.

The overwhelming majority believe living in the UK is more stressful than living abroad and 85 per cent believe life is harder now than it was 50 years ago.

Almost a third admitted resorting to alcohol to help them cope with stress, and the same number to using coffee.

Richard Hilliard, director of the Relaxation for Living Institute, which promotes natural methods to cope with stress, said:

"Stress can manifest itself in many different ways. It might make one person short-tempered and constantly tense while it can cause all sorts of digestive problems in others, making them seriously depressed, and be totally crippling to their lifestyle."

The Institute identified four types of people according to how they reacted to stress. Accepters (35 per cent of the population) treat stress as a natural part of life and face up to it calmly.

The Driven (16 per cent) thrive under time pressure and energise others rather than dealing with it themselves.

Avoiders (16 per cent) go out of their way to avoid anything that makes them anxious, and the Unaware (33 per cent) simply do not believe in the problem.

The research was carried out by Coleman Parkes last month and 1,000 adults were polled.