Where stress-busters meet Myth Busters in N.J. | Editorial

Decry the great yoga studio shortage around these parts. There are few "new-age" storefronts compared to North Jersey, as well. And, not enough of us have been stocking up on "calming" teas when they're on sale at Whole Foods or even Walmart.

Come to think of it, there isn't a single Whole Foods location in the part of the state that a recent Rutgers University study tagged as "Southeastern New Jersey." What the great Southeast does have, however, is higher rates of stress than researchers found anywhere else in New Jersey.

Breaking out Atlantic, Salem, Cape May and Cumberland counties, and based on a 2016 survey, 23.8 percent of regional respondents said they had a "great deal" of stress, and 52.2 percent said they had "some" stress. The Southeastern percentage in each case was the highest among five New Jersey regions, as was the combined percentage (76.1 percent ) of "some" and "a great deal" stress responses.

Let it be known that no part of New Jersey is stress-free. Its statewide "some stress" score of 44 percent is seven points above the national average. The lowest regional combined score in New Jersey was 64.7 percent, only about 11 percent lower than the Southeast section.

Still, it surprised the Rutgers team that the counties in the state with the least traffic congestion, the lowest population density and, probably, the smallest overall property tax bills, would most need "Marcus Welby, M.D." actor Robert Young to come back from the dead and ask "Why so tense?" while hawking decaffeinated coffee on TV.

But, there's a possible reason for stress gaps that didn't entirely escape the researchers: "It's people who say they have trouble paying their bills, even if they're not low-income," said Joel Cantor, director of the Rutgers Center for State Health Policy.

Both "South" sections -- Gloucester County and north was labeled as "Southwestern" -- reported higher financially related stress than the other regions, Cantor added.

In other words, the results of this survey track closely with other assessments of New Jersey on factors such as child health and poverty. Every year, in its annual "Kids Count" profiles, Advocates for Children of New Jersey (ACNJ) puts Cumberland, Cape May, Atlantic and Salem counties near the bottom of the 21-county ranking. This past July, Cumberland finished last, Cape May was 18th, Atlantic was 16th, and Salem was 15th. They were joined near the bottom with urbanized Camden, Essex and Passaic counties.

Which counties did ACNJ rank best? Morris, followed by Hunterdon, Somerset and Bergen. All have average family incomes well above any South Jersey county's.

There's probably a synergistic correlation between the studies' data. It stands to reason that counties in which youngsters' outcomes are most at risk would have the most adults who are worried -- stressed out -- about their kids. Some 70 percent of the Southeastern residents polled in the Rutgers survey attributed their stress to concern about a family member.

Lack of access to jobs, to social safety net services and to convenient health care are all stress triggers, and maybe they're bigger ones than traffic jams or high crime rates. Sure, we can stop drinking so much Red Bull and start learning Transcendental Meditation techniques. To really move the regional stress needle, though, it will take a more equitable distribution of resources throughout our state.

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