Dear all,
Present millennium is called a Stress-Millennium and the life now is stressful because of several reasons. Some of them are as below:-
(i) When population increases, the resources for survival are not sufficient. The demand increases but the supply is not at the same rate as that of the increase of population. The resources should be affordable. To increase the affordability people tend to increase their income. There is a competition amongst the people to fight for the scarce resources. Survival of the fittest principle is applicable. The fittest only survive. So, everyone strives to be the fittest. The competition is increasing with the increasing population. Everyone is not able to cope up. Therefore, there is a stress.
(ii) Technology is booming. Every moment there are new developments and changes. Everything becomes old and obsolete overnight. Life cycles of products and services are too short that before they finish their life, they become obsolete as new products and services replace them from the market. So, organisations are competing for their survival in the market. They want employees who can make the difference. So, lack of job security, uncertainty of day to day living and life, need to work for long hours day and night, the anxiety involved in all these causes stress.
(iii) People try to manage the stress through a health compromising lifestyle e.g stress-busting through eating, drinking health compromising liquids, smoking etc. When they try to manage the stress through PLEASURES, which are body related, they land up with health impairment, diseases of the body, disorders of the mind, and strained relationships with break-up, divorce etc.
(iv) Countries want to improve their economy at any cost. There is a competition between the countries to become economic super power. Universal human values are forgotten in the run for supremacy or grab the oppurtunity or being one-up than others in the competition. They want the humans to aspire for more and more materialistic things so that there is a good money flow. They make them addicts to products and services through addictive chemicals, more comforts, wrong social perceptions etc i.e unethical practices. All sorts of pollution to earth, water, air, environment, body, mind, relationships etc and damages to all living and non living occurs. Life and day to day living becomes totally materialistic. Capitalism is followed. Everyone becomes selfish and does not care for the other. Organisations also do not follow universal human values, they are highly competitive and materialistic. There is no welfare orientation. This leads to anxiety and survival of the fittest at all levels from individual to societies to states to countries. So, stress is everywhere. Diseases and disorders increase phenomenally. Social relationships get damaged with increased divorce. Family system breaks and society fails.
So, what to do? How to live healthily and peacefully? How to retain the nucleus of a society, country and the world intact i.e how to keep the Family system intact?
If we understand the life and living in the right/correct perspective, follow cognitive and behaviour therapy methods, and live a life of health enhancing life style with stress busting methods of correct healthy eating, adequate sleep, exercises for the body, mind and relationships etc then we can avoid the physical, mental and social stresses to a great extent, rather than busting the stress after getting it. Stress avoidance is better than stress control, stress-busting etc.
Peacefully yours....Rams...Psychologist.
