"But how real is stress? There are obviously traumatic events that can introduce severe stress into people's lives. But the meaning of stress, a word once applied to extreme, relatively rare situations, has been inflated to apply to just about everything that happens. Indeed, stress, say some experts, is largely a matter of perception and attitude. The word 'stress,' it turns out, generally has no more medical meaning than the phrase 'life is not perfect.' It is a word meant to convey a highly subjective psychological condition, which in turn is meant to life the burden of responsibility for the quality of our thinking and decisions from our shoulders...
...the stress epidemic is having a profound effect on the ability of people to think and reason. 'Critical thinking has dropped totally off the map for many people,' Sheperd says. Stress seems to work in a twofold way to short-circuit thinking. First, the overuse of the catchall term 'stress' prevents many people from employing precise language to assess their situations...and adopting a constructive plan to deal with it...The word and concept of stress inclines people to wash over and rant, rather than analyze and pinpoint the problem. Second, the widespread acceptance of the notion that there is a massive amount of stress in society creates a feeling of melancholic or angry resignation toward life. The goal becomes to 'manage stress,' which reinforces the belief that the power in life lies in events, not people, Sheperd claims.
...The challenge is to liberate ourselves from this mass hypnosis and reclaim our curiosity, our thirst for knowledge, as opposed to pure emotion, and the full powers of our critical thinking - the best stress buster there is."
-Michael R LeGault, Th!nk
...And in the end, most of us are creating our own hells...the choice is yours to put yourself in certain situations, and not only that, the choice is yours in how you approach and handle them. Step back and out of yourself and you will likely see that you are creating your own busy world to give yourself more self-importance and/or because you are running from something, keeping yourself busy to avoid thinking about who and where you are, and all the many things you have to slow your life down to appreciate.
...the stress epidemic is having a profound effect on the ability of people to think and reason. 'Critical thinking has dropped totally off the map for many people,' Sheperd says. Stress seems to work in a twofold way to short-circuit thinking. First, the overuse of the catchall term 'stress' prevents many people from employing precise language to assess their situations...and adopting a constructive plan to deal with it...The word and concept of stress inclines people to wash over and rant, rather than analyze and pinpoint the problem. Second, the widespread acceptance of the notion that there is a massive amount of stress in society creates a feeling of melancholic or angry resignation toward life. The goal becomes to 'manage stress,' which reinforces the belief that the power in life lies in events, not people, Sheperd claims.
We have a society where many, if not most people do not accept responsibility for their own lives. I am not just speaking of those who want to blame their parents or society because they have turned to a life of crime. I am referring to those who blame everyone and everything for the way they feel and behave in life....'The problem is, now stress is everything. In reality there really isn't stress, there are only good situations and bad situations. People that think in certain ways get through the bad situations better.' In an article published in the Economist, Howard Goldman of the University of Maryland School of Medicine expresses even less sympathy, suggesting much of stress is perception: 'Every generation thinks it's more stressed out and souped up than the rest.'
...The challenge is to liberate ourselves from this mass hypnosis and reclaim our curiosity, our thirst for knowledge, as opposed to pure emotion, and the full powers of our critical thinking - the best stress buster there is."
-Michael R LeGault, Th!nk
...And in the end, most of us are creating our own hells...the choice is yours to put yourself in certain situations, and not only that, the choice is yours in how you approach and handle them. Step back and out of yourself and you will likely see that you are creating your own busy world to give yourself more self-importance and/or because you are running from something, keeping yourself busy to avoid thinking about who and where you are, and all the many things you have to slow your life down to appreciate.
When the world was youngDid you stand and listenWhen the world was youngIn your heartWhen the world was youngDid you stand there with itWhen the world was youngin your heartWhere we runningwhere we runningwhere we running to?Why we runningwhy we runningwhy we running through?
-'When the World was Young'
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