Calgarians are more stressed, a side-effect of the city's hot economy, say organizations that provide counselling and workplace wellness programs.

At Calgary's Distress Centre, phone lines were busy with 7,500 more people calling for help in 2006 than the year before, for a total of 81,240 calls.

Joan Roy, a social worker with the centre, said Calgary's population is growing at an alarming rate, but while there are plenty of jobs, finding affordable homes can be tough.

"Then they are fairly overwhelmed with: 'What do I do now? I am here now, I have a family here, how do I put a roof over my head?' I think that is a big contributor right now."

The centre has seen increases in calls every year since 1999. The top reason people phone the centre is anxiety, followed by family issues and feelings of loneliness and isolation, said Roy.

Stress on the rise at work

Calgary's booming economy is the driving force behind increased stress in the city, according to Martin Law, director of workplace wellness with Kelly, Luttmer and Associates.

Law said demand for his company's psychological support services and disability programs has been growing steadily.

"People are feeling very overloaded, are feeling very stressed," he said.

One contributor is employees being asked to do more because of the shortage of qualified workers, he said. Add in personal demands, like taking care of aging parents, and people can become sick or depressed, he said.

Jennifer White runs a busy management consulting firm in Calgary. She said she has seen stress in the workplace first-hand.

One oil and gas firm she worked with went through three mergers in a year and a half, she said. As a result, short- and long-term disability claims increased by 20 per cent and more people made claims for prescription drugs.

White said she has been taking yoga for five years to give herself a break from the demands of running her own company.