Stressed Out People and Cities

Stressed Out People and Cities
Being stressed out is said to be a consequence of modern lifestyle, where the pace of life is very fast and there is constant pressure on individuals and societies to adapt to rapid changes and difficult situations. We may have heard senior citizens recall a golden era, when life was led at a leisurely pace, with a strong sense of community and network of friends and relatives. Today’s globalised economy and an individualistic society has ensured that people feel the stress more acutely and are stressed out more often.

Stress seems to afflict people from all walks of life, across gender, age and class barriers. Even cities are described today as being stressed out.

What actually characterises stress? And what causes it? This article explores the concept of stress, the various types of stress experienced by people and how an entire city can be described as stressed.

Are You Stressed Out? – Recognising Stress

Stress is a negative reaction to various situations in life. A combination of mental and physical behavioural patterns can indicate that a person is stressed out.

Some of the physical symptoms of stress include:

Disturbed sleeping habits
Headaches and stomach problems
Heart problems

Behavioural symptoms may be:

Irritability and anger
Depression
Inability to concentrate

Why are You Stressed Out?

It is important to analyse the facors that may be causing the stress. While medication can be taken for physical symptoms of being stressed out, only resolution of underlying causes of stress can help in alleviating the stress symptoms. If there are no easy solutions to stress factors, then ways must be explored of dealing with the causes of stress effectively.

Let us take a look at various situations of stress prevalent today.

Stressed Out About Money

The global financial crisis has caused financial hardships and unemployment to many people. People with mortgages defaulted on their payments. Being unemployed, having loan payments to make and at the same time trying to support a family is an absolutely mind-boggling task.

Such a situation would typically cause people to be stressed out about money. The stress symptoms may include anger, depression and social withdrawal.

The anger, which resulted out of being stressed out about money, may be directed towards the government and towards other people who are thought to be the cause of their hardships. Continuing high unemployment rates have prompted voter anger against the ruling Democrats in the United States. As a result, Democrats are trailing in survey polls behind their rivals, the Republicans.

Dealing with financial stress – Therapists advice people stressed out about money to share their problems with people in similar situations to ease stress symptoms. Socialising with family and friends can also help. If unemployed, options such as learning a new skill to find jobs should be explored. Financial advice should be taken to find ways to improve the situation.

Stressed Out Family

In a family, stress symptoms of even a single family member can affect everyone else.

If the parents in the family have financial problems, they may respond to the situation with anger, irritability and depression. They may even develop heart disease. Parents in stress, in turn affect the children resulting in stressed out kids. Some stress situations in parents may also be because of relationship problems between the mother and father.

Children may have their own problems, at school in studies or with peers and bullies. Stressed out kids also display the same symptoms as adults such as social withdrawal and angry outbursts. Stressed out teenagers are especially prone to rebellious behaviour. They may also be stressed out about communication skills when interacting with others.

Solutions for a Stressed Out Family – Identifying the source of stress is most important. The help of grandparents and family counsellors can be taken to search for solutions. Talking to school authorities can bring solutions for dealing with stressed out kids and teenagers. Funny stressed out alleviation techniques such as seeing a comedy movie with family can also help. For those who are stressed out instrumental music can help calm the mind.

Stressed Out Cities

Recent news reports in September 2010, have said that Detroit ranks first in the stressed out cities ranking developed by Portfolio.com. A combination of factors such as high crime rate, more people in poverty and a large unemployment rate have contributed to portraying a stressed out picture of Detroit.

Rate this Article

Excellent

Good

Average

Bad

Terrible

Current Rating

Stressed out cities have greater financial and social problems. This in turn indicates a stressed out population in the city as well.

The underlying malaise which gives rise to these stress indicators should be identified. If there is a large unemployment problem, the government generally takes steps to create more jobs or encourage entrepreneurs to start enterprises. President Obama responded to the high unemployment rate of 9.6 % in the US by announcing new tax break plans for businesses. In the same way, sociologists study the causes behind a high crime rate and find solutions.

The attitude to adopt towards problems and being stressed out is best summed by a line from Baby face Stressed Out lyrics “It could work out, so don’t stress out”!