1978-2008 - 30 Year Retrospective on Our World and Stress
Have you noticed that our lives are more stressful than 30 years ago? If you can even rejoinder this question, chances are good that you are a member of a huge demographic group known as the "Baby Boomers" and because of this membership, you are a driving force in our society. "Baby Boomers" are a demographic trend of habitancy born after World War Ii in 1946 and before 1965. This group of habitancy has driven major changes in our society including: use of disposable diapers, jars of baby food, Disneyland/Mickey Mouse Club/Tv, Ford Mustangs in the 1960's, minivans in the 1980's, Woman's liberation, Women in the workforce, Lexus/Acura's, computer use, pagers, cell phones, e-mail, the "Information Age," the "Greening" movement, "youthful aging," "active retirement," liposuction-facelifts-botox, 500 channels of Tv, real estate booms and busts, stock booms and busts, sales of anti-oxidants, increases in costs of healing treatment, recreational drug use, sushi's popularity, wine consumption covering France and Italy, recreational trip as sardines in time challenged (late,) unhealthy airplanes, major sporting events (Superbowl, March Madness, Tiger Woods' Golf, Pay for View events, and the "X Games"), rock concert tours, activity movies with special effects, and the Wars over Oil.
Since the opportunity of the Stress instruction town in 1978, there has been a huge growth in identified and diagnosed stress linked symptoms. Many symptoms such as: insomnia, panic/anxiety, headaches, sexual dysfunction, Gi complaints, high blood pressure, substance abuse/addictions, heart disease, depression, obesity, some lasting pain complaints, and even immune system dysfunction have all been linked to increased stress in our society. But why are we more stressed out now than ever before in human history? The rejoinder may lie in the trends driven by the "Baby Boomers" and this group's preference to the high paced expectations of our new technologies. Remember, we have some very primitive genetic coding that must endeavor to keep pace with exploding contemporary technologies. For example, as a child growing up in the 1950's, I watched my working parents come home from work by 5:15 Pm, sit for ½ an hour in the "living room" to discuss their day, smoke their cigarettes, and drink their cocktails, all before having a "family dinner" together. This is how they managed their stress in the 1950's before we found out that smoking and alcohol was bad for us and that there was no time for sitting, chatting, and de-briefing about the day. Sure we had alcoholism, lung cancer, and exploding television coverage of the "cold war" but then there were full ashtrays on the desks of your physician as you discussed your most recent vaccination schedules. habitancy would stay home for one week of the two week vacations to sit colse to their house and just rest up. habitancy were not responding to their pagers, cell phones, faxes, e-mails, or ordinarily "plugged" in 24/7 as we are today.
It is piquant to note that in 1978, the birth of the new "Information Age" was on the verge of exploding on our North American society. Personal computers were being developed. Media coverage of the world was putting international conflicts on our Tv's while our dinner hour. Scientific and technology developments were driving our cheaper and putting pressure on our relationships. The Middle East was becoming mighty by controlling oil production and their instabilities based on Muslim vs Western beliefs and philosophies. Parents were being pressured to monitor and operate their children's schedules and educational amelioration more than in past generations while separation was changing "traditional family" definitions. Natural resources were discovered to be running out. Nuclear power was exploding but uncertain. Gasoline shortages were experienced. American instruction was beginning to fall in reputation and effectiveness. Asian economies were exploding. Ptsd (Post-Traumatic-Stress Disorder) was defined and psychoneuroimmunology was advanced to seek the potential association between mind/emotion and health. In 1978, habitancy were still paying for their condition care rather than waiting for their insurance clubs to cover any and all condition care procedures. condition care procedures were still practically affordable. Aids was not yet medically discovered.
In comparison in 2008, the "Information Age" with it's new technologies is more fully in operate of our lives. We are more "plugged in" 24/7 than ever before. habitancy drive their cars distracted by cell phone conversations. habitancy talk, out loud, about private considerations as they walk down the road with their cell phones plugged into their ears. (It is no longer the "village idiots" who seem to be talking to themselves as they move down the sidewalks of our cities.) Telephones ring and disturb us in restaurants, church, movies, doctor's offices, school, airports, elevators, and while shopping. habitancy go on vacation and still spin with their jobs daily. We watch Tv news programs and see the "Talking Heads," while text flies by on the lowest of the screen that is not linked to the news story being discussed. Graphics also appear on the screen to the right of the "Talking Head" and we wonder why the "News" is so stressful. We have "imbedded reporters" on the front lines showing distant wars on our Tv's in our house rooms and then wonder whether Tv has desensitized our children to violence.
At work, we feel constant change. 8 hour work days are a thing of the past. Many of us are doing the work of 2 or 3 habitancy to help keep our jobs, and "downsizing" from taking our positions. We have: software changes every quarter, hardware changes, course changes, course changes, downsizing, international firm communications/meetings, holding problems, leadership challenges, hiring problems, administration amelioration challenges for technical habitancy who do not have training in management, transportation challenges, multi-tasking, multi-national conglomerates micro managing local workplaces, international telemarketing (from India, China, wherever), and longer commute times. We have copy machines that are too involved for whatever but some mechanical engineers to work. We have e-mail and instantaneous demands for more information. We have the expectations placed on us that we can perform in this high tech world and furnish 3 times the amount of work, because we are being paid 2 times as much as workers were a generation ago. habitancy want more "quality of life" at work and in their lives. Workers want "flex-time" schedules, "job sharing," and want to work from home through "telecommuting." Work environments are scrutinized as never before for the environmental challenges that follow bodily and reasoning health. holding of key personnel has become a key issue for many organizations and "quality of life" issues rank equal or higher than payment in many clubs with holding concerns.
Our primitive survival response mechanisms have not evolved to keep pace with the advancements in technology .... So.... We are feeling more stressed/pressured now than ever before in the history of mankind. One of the most necessary coping skills for the increased stress has become the increased use of denial, also known as the "stick your head in the sand" response to stress. We are so overwhelmed that we do not have time to convention stress administration or to even have the self-awareness about this epidemic. We are robbed of our ability of life. Our productivity can be reduced. Our short term and long term condition can be compromised, and yet we still look for a "quick fix" that does not require time or endeavor for coping with stress. The pharmaceuticals that we ask from our physicians do not solve the problems and often have side-effects, if they work at all. More children are being diagnosed, at earlier ages, with stress linked bodily and emotional symptoms. We are living longer and demanding better condition even as we age. Despite our labor saving devices and appliances, we seem to be working longer and harder. Most working families require two incomes to retain the chosen lifestyles that our "expectations" and societal role models encourage. Our children are having to raise themselves more than before because their parents are busy working or are distracted by their 24/7 attachments to their careers.
These are not just developments and issues for the United States and Western countries. Asian economies are exploding as is their requirements for increases in power and technologies. Eastern Europe is entirely dissimilar than it was in 1978. World climate changes affect all inhabitants of the world. Food shortages are beginning to be felt in many countries. Wars and conflicts in "Third World" countries have repercussions in other economies. Cultures are changing faster than ever before in human history. transportation and world trade has made our lives more global and has caused firm and trade to be conducted on a 24 hour daily cycle. The race is on and only habitancy who dwell in denial can not see the broad impacts of contemporary day changes. The world is a smaller and drawn together by firm in ways that have never happen before.
We must be aware of the impact of these changes upon our condition and well being. Awareness is half the battle. The other half of this battle is to form better coping strategies that we can convention as individuals to enable us to withstand the pace of change and to keep up with rapidly piquant trends. Our health, our productivity, and our ability of life will depend upon our abilities to adapt to these changes, in the most positive ways...We can not avoid or even operate all of the changes that we encounter, but we can learn to better operate the way we rejoinder to these challenges.
Some potential suggestions for managing the building stresses consist of a collection of potential solutions including:
1. New role models for stress survival for general habitancy and families. The old standards of stress survival such as: denial, avoidance, substance abuse (medicating ourselves), over eating, "freakin out," or getting angry need to be substituted by more positive and sufficient techniques for stress management.
2. change in awareness and priorities about productivity enhancements and ability of life including a more salutary and realistic view of living in this fast paced world. A necessary growth of the awareness of the aging of the Baby Boomers and this impact upon our society and the world.
3. retain with positive habit change and then accountability partners or mentors which may consist of pro coaches/therapists, clergy, educators, "healthy house and friend."
4. Realistic goals and then realistic plans to perform these goals.
5. Time for self-care! Learn the lesson that to generate more time you must spend time in self-care. Commitment to self-care!
6. operate over our urge to give in to "denial" and "the quick fix"
7. Changed expectations on the use of new technology. Use technology like biofeedback to growth awareness and then, operate over stress responses. (More tools and resources for stress administration and biofeedback techniques for studying bodily operate of unhealthy habit patterns.
8. An evolution of spiritual and emotional condition and well being (not necessarily religion). Seeing ways of maintaining a salutary balance that honors mind, body and spirit.
9. An educational system that precisely prepares us for the "Information Age" and our roles within it.
10. A world that is so technologically advanced that it precisely respects the individual and true ability of life...