Dave Frank considers himself to be a pretty stress-free guy. Not many things give him grief. But since he graduated from Towson University in May, the 22-year-old Cockeysville native has struggled to fight his way into the workforce. Stress has ensued.

“Right now I’m unemployed, looking for a job, so I’m pretty stressed out,” said Frank. “It’s hard right now. I’m trying to find anything right now.”

The lack of steady income or even an entry-level job has given Frank his fair share of anxiety, but he reads, goes on bike rides and runs to blow off some steam as he continues to hunt for a job.

With home values plunging, gas and food prices surging and layoffs straining an already tight job market, Frank — and others — are feeling just as stressed as their wallets.

Seventy-five percent of Americans say they are stressed about money, according to a poll conducted in April by the American Psychological Association. Fifty-six percent of respondents said they’re stressed about housing costs, and 48 percent about job stability.

Clinical psychologist Nancy Molitor said she has had an influx of patients coming to her with financial worries.

“I’ve never seen this much broad-based reaction to a stressful situation,” said Molitor, who has a practice in Wilmette, Ill. “This is affecting people on an ongoing basis, and when it becomes a chronic situation it has much more pervasive and long-term effects.”

Debt stress is 14 percent higher this year than it was in 2004, according to an Associated Press-AOL poll released in June, and people say it is affecting their health.

Among people who reported high debt stress, 27 percent reported digestive tract problems, 44 percent reported headaches and 51 percent reported muscle tension, according to the poll.

If stress goes unchecked, it can be dangerous.

Stress, which tends to come when one feels out of control, causes muscles to tense up, arteries to constrict and the hormone cortisol to be released in the body. When you produce a lot of cortisol for long periods of time, your body, like a car going 85 mph, goes on overdrive and gets exhausted, said Kathleen Hall, founder and CEO of The Stress Institute in Atlanta.

Prolonged stress is a risk factor in a host of illnesses, including heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes. It can exacerbate asthma, gastrointestinal problems, headaches and allergies, Molitor said.

After Chris Noble injured his back two years ago helping unload a freight truck at the electronics store where he worked, he suffered docked wages, chronic back pain — and overwhelming stress. Earning two-thirds his former salary through workman’s compensation, the Arlington Heights, Ill., man felt the crush of the bleak economy. His prospects for finding a new job seemed dim. “I realized, ‘If I don’t do something, I’m going to go postal,’” Noble, now 34, said. “It wasn’t healthy for me.”

Worried his stress was getting the best of him, Noble turned to The Stress Relief Center in Northbrook, Ill. Howard Weissman, the center’s founder and a clinical psychologist, uses alternative medicine techniques — breathing, meditation, the unblocking of chis and repairing of leaking chakras — to identify stressors people may not even be aware they have. Noble said the techniques have helped ease his stress.

Taking control of the stress is key to combating it, Weissman said. “If you don’t do anything, it’ll always get worse,” he said. “It’s the inaction that creates the stress.”

But some people still deal with their stress the old-fashioned way, saddled up to a barstool.

“I go out, drink some beer, hang out with some friends,” said Matt Hilldourfer, 27, of Baltimore. “I just relax to get away from it, the transition from work to coming home.” {REDEYE and MATT VENSEL, B}

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It’s common for the frazzled to seek comfort in a stiff drink, a cigarette or a pile of junk food. But after the immediate gratification, too much of any of those vices can actually increase stress, studies show. Psychologists Howard Weissman and Nancy Molitor; Stress Institute CEO Kathleen Hall; and life coach Ruth Klein, a.k.a. “The De-Stress Diva,” suggest healthier ways to reduce stress. Here they are

1. Listen to music. Research shows that listening to music increases the brain’s serotonin, a neurotransmitter that has a calming effect. Any music works except for heavy metal, which has actually been shown to produce more stress.

2. Laugh. Laughing literally loosens you up. Stress reduces the diameter of your arteries by 35 percent; laughing increases artery diameter by 22 percent, lowering blood pressure.

3. Tell yourself how awesome you are. Memorize a short affirmation — “I am strong,” for example — and repeat it to yourself a few minutes every day. Research shows that people who repeat affirmations to themselves have lower cortisol levels than those who don’t.

4. Exercise. Experts recommend at least 30 minutes of exercise every other day for stress reduction. If you’re at work and think you might snap before getting to the gym, walk up and down the stairs, or try deskercises to relieve the tension. The University of California lists some good ones at uclivingwell.ucop.edu/deskercise.

5. Fill up on omega-3 fatty acids. Found in white fish, fish oil and canola oil, among other foods, omega-3 fatty acids are important in neuron membrane development and have been shown to benefit people with depression, cardiovascular disease and other illnesses. They can be taken as supplements.

6. Eat breakfast every day. Make sure every breakfast contains some protein, which helps sustain energy.

7. Have a meal with a good friend at least once a week. When we sit across from someone we know, our bodies produce oxytocin, which is a calming hormone.

8. Eat foods rich in vitamin B6, which increases the release of the calming brain chemical serotonin. B6 is found in bananas, turkey, tuna and sweet potatoes, among other foods.

9. Breathe. This is an important one. When you’re stressed, your breaths become quick and shallow, limiting oxygen to your brain and making you feel foggy. Breathing deeply has been shown to clear your head and lower blood pressure.

10. Perform a mini meditation. For one to three minutes, close your eyes — or if you can’t close them because you’re at work or driving, focus your eyes on something — then take several deep diaphragmatic breaths, and repeat an affirmation with each deep breath. You also can do this with a string of beads, breathing and affirming as you touch each bead.

11. Drink chamomile tea. Chamomile has been shown to act as a mild sleep aid, digestive aid and anti-inflammatory.

12. Soak your feet in water with Epsom salt. Epsom salt can be absorbed through the skin to increase levels of magnesium and sulfates in the body. Raising magnesium levels is believed to help reduce stress, improve circulation, lower blood pressure and flush toxins out of the body.

13. Find your pressure points. If you have a headache on the left side of your head, apply pressure to the web between your thumb and forefinger on your right hand. Don’t squeeze; just push in. If the headache is on the right side of your head, apply pressure to your left hand.

14. Inhale lavender. Research has shown that lavender calms and soothes people’s moods and can help insomnia and anxiety. Boil lavender oil in water, inhaling the steam for aromatherapy. It also comes as massage oils, lotions and candles.

15. Knit. It’s a trendy way to de-stress. More than one in three American women say they knit or crochet, a 51 percent increase from 10 years ago, according to the Craft Yarn Council of America. Knitting may reduce heart rates by 11 beats per minute and lower blood pressure, according to a study from Harvard Medical School Mind/Body Institute.

16. Make a checklist of all the changes you plan to make to reduce stress. For example, write down that you will do 20 sit-ups every morning, have lunch away from your desk, call a friend to meet up for dinner, find a financial planner, etc.—and then check off the items as you do them. {REDEYE}

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