Chicago and stress

It's official according to Forbes magazine: Chicago is the country's most stressful city.

Sinking property values, high unemployment and prices, and poor environments add to the pressure felt by residents in our fair city.

Few enjoy their commute.

Do you?

Stephen Dinwiddie, M.D., a psychiatrist at the University of Chicago writes:

"I think anybody who, like I do, commutes on the Kennedy on a daily basis knows exactly what stress is," he says, of his daily home-to-work commute on Chicago's expressway that extends from the Chicago Loop to O'Hare International Airport. "It takes anywhere from 30 minutes to several centuries—at least subjectively."

The Forbes article goes on to state:

"But more pressing factors make Chicago for the second year in a row the country's most stressful city. Crowding, poor air quality, a high 11 percent unemployment rate and free-falling home values have created a cocktail of constant worry affecting many in the Windy City."

All this was confirmed today as I drove to work. A woman pulled out in front of me in an SUV going 25 miles an hour, all the while drinking a cup of coffee.

I pulled up next to her and looked over and she was smoking a cigarette in one hand, picked up her cell phone with the other hand and made a call. And then drove off.

No wonder we deal with stress here in Chicago.

Peter writes that we can "cast all of our cares and anxieties upon him (God) for He cares for us." I Peter 5:7.

Maybe some of that would be good for us today - as well as taking a few deep breaths, "breathe in, breathe out."