Seeing I am feeling the stress right now, I find it oddly appropriate that Forbes recently release the top 10 stressful cities in the U.S.

The magazine determined the list by:

• Looking at the 40 largest U.S
• tracked housing affordability
• unemployment rates
• cost of living
• air quality
• number of sunny days per year
• population density

Take the results, mix, and the 10 most stressful cities are identified.  The results are a bit surprising…

10. Philadelphia, PA
9. Providence, R.I.
8. Salt Lake City, Utah
7. Cleveland, Ohio
6. San Diego, Calif.
5. San Francisco, Calif.
4. Los Angeles, Calif.
3. Detroit, Mich.
2. New York, N.Y.
1. Chicago, Ill.

Chicago?!?  Who would have suspected Chicago was the most stressful city to live in?

I have never been a drinker, actually, I’ve been drunk in my 31 years on this planet. There are a whole host of reasons as to why this is but, in the end, the concept of “going on a bender” never appealed to me. Yes, I like a good beer once and awhile but never to the point of inebriation. Mind you, I don’t have a problem with people who get blitzed, it’s just not for me.

Anyway, Britain’s Department of Health has identified 9 binge-drinking personality types. If you are one who partakes in the drink, which category do you fall into?

• “de-stress drinkers”: those who use alcohol to calm down at the end of a hard day. Typically middle-class men and women;
• “community drinkers”: driven by the need to belong. Usually lower middle-class men and women, who drink in big groups;
• “hedonistic drinkers”: crave stimulation and want to lose control. Often divorced people with grown-up children, with exhibitionist tendencies;
• “macho drinkers”: tend to spend most of their spare time in pubs. Mostly men of all ages;
• “re-bonding drinkers”: use drink as a way of keeping in touch with friends;
• “conformist drinkers”: driven by the need to belong and seek structure. Typically men aged 45-59 in clerical or manual jobs;
• “boredom drinkers”: those who drink to pass the time and relieve monotony;
• “depressed drinkers”: craving comfort, or feeling of safety. Can be of any age, sex or socio-economic group;
• “border dependents”: these regard the pub as an alternative home. They visit regularly, at all times of day, weekdays and weekends. Tend to drink quickly.

(source)

At the risk of sounding like I am promoting binge drinking, what is wrong with having a drink to de-stress? Granted, if one ALWAYS drinks to de-stress I can see an addiction aspect, but occasionally doesn’t seem to be a bad thing.