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Katharine Tengtio

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The Stress Generation

Posted: 01/10/2012 01:00

My alarm goes off, blaring probably one of the most recognised noises of today (the default iPhone ringer) and the equally most annoying.

I reach to grab my phone, with one eye open, and can already see multiple emails from Amazon, iTunes, LinkedIn and Fortnum & Mason reminding me with great urgency what books I must buy, what songs I must download, new people to connect with and that holiday four months away for which I must, must buy hampers for my friends and family. Delete, delete, delete, delete.

I get out of bed, pour myself a cup of coffee and start to get ready for my day. I turn on the radio. The number of Syrian casualties is growing exponentially. We are still trillions of dollars in debt. The Arctic ice is melting at a record-breaking speed. And my Tube line is down this morning due to planned engineering. The world is already in apocalyptic state and I haven't even had my second cup of coffee.

Later, I run out door, late as usual, panicking as I try and figure out an alternative route to commute in. I reach the tube station, along with hundreds of others, filing in through the barriers.

Classical music is humming in the background among silent chatter and loud beeping. Walking down the escalator I count 27 television ads, flashing at a rapid pace announcing which show to see next, which protein smoothie to drink, which restaurant I should eat at. My heart is racing, in part due to my excessive caffeine intake, and having to process so much information, images and sounds in such a short amount of time. My day has just begun.

My daily routine is not unique- so many of us share a similar morning experience. This has become the norm of our generation. This rapid-paced, information overload era has created a stress and anxiety culture. Early morning, afternoon and late into the evenings, connected to our computers, phones and the world around us, new-borns to seniors are victim to the stress that pervades us all.

It has been reported that 26% of children ages 8-12 report an increase in stress each year. 45% of teenagers ages 13-17 also report an increase in stress each year. 61% of working adults say their work has had a significant impact on stress levels, and 54% of working adults are concerned that this stress has or will cause health problems. #stress is trending right now on twitter at 93 tweets per minute. It's impending, it's increasing and it can't be stopped!

Stress is arguably one of the most powerful human emotions. Triggered by work, home, friends, family, events that have happened, events that are happening, events that may happen, stress is present in all facets of our lives. The manifestations of stress cause our brains to shut down and our bodies to react in extreme ways.

I've personally witnessed friends and family suffer from twitching, body aches and pain, numbness, vomiting, and panic attacks. Additionally, many of the ways people deal with stress end up causing more stress, such as drinking too much caffeine, smoking, drinking and taking drugs. All this stress is stressing me out! It seems like an un-ending cycle.

In the latest article in Generation C Magazine, a student shares her stressful experience living abroad and studying at one of the most competitive universities in the world. Again, her stressful experience is not unique and is surely shared by many other students these days. However the article gives a brief insight into the small things in life that can relieve us all from 'The Stress Generation'. As time goes on, the stress will continue to persist. Our generation will have to learn new and healthy ways to deal with this. Perhaps it will be the small and subtle instances of happiness and peace in our lives that will save us.

Generation C Magazine is a platform for contributors of all ages and backgrounds to share with us innovative and inspiring ideas to address and solve the common problems of our generation. Stress is among many issues we face today. If you are interested in sharing your thoughts on stress or any other topic you think is integral to our generation, please visit our website and contribute your ideas! http://www.generation-c.org

 

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My alarm goes off, blaring probably one of the most recognised noises of today (the default iPhone ringer) and the equally most annoying. I reach to grab my phone, with one eye open, and can already...
My alarm goes off, blaring probably one of the most recognised noises of today (the default iPhone ringer) and the equally most annoying. I reach to grab my phone, with one eye open, and can already...
 
 
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12:05 AM on 10/03/2012
Stress is not an emotion. It is a perception of our ability/inability to cope with an external demand, whether physical, economic or social. That perception may produce anxiety, which is a primitive emotion. One can reduce stress either by rising to the demand, avoiding the demand or just considering the demand unreasonable.
10:42 PM on 10/01/2012
i know what stresses me out...................... the god dam kids and a boss who cares more about saving money rather than quality standards to the customers.
10:15 PM on 10/01/2012
With the demise of Christianity and the rise of other things, it is hardly surprising we are all stressed to the point of being ill. Our kids are hyper and are lives are confused and overwhelming us. No wonder health suffers. The majority of the stress is caused by over population and the inability of this Government to recognise the REAL issue which has so damaged this country. The underprivileged are hounded to the point of suicide and the rich are encouraged to indulge themselves alarmingly, spending more in a day on things that harm them, than most of us need to live on for a year. Sick, sick society.
09:51 PM on 10/01/2012
I watched X Factor on sunday night and realised what a sick world we are in. Some fellow went in to a strop because he had been picked for the live finals.Others weren't and they went away in tears because they hadn't been picked.The bloke who had been picked walked like a woman, acted like a mardy teenager, and will probably get through to the last three , just because of the novelty act that he is.Then like Jedwood will go on to make thousands, and people think they are stressed.
05:34 PM on 10/01/2012
Add to that overly and needlessly agresive people, lack of respect and consideration from road users and kids ,unhelpful or rude shopstaff ,US of A getting us to fight their oil wars ,I mean help them in their hunt to find non existant weapons of mass destruction and just to rub salt in, a smug ,uncaring, self centred ,money grabbing government !
10:27 PM on 10/01/2012
I couldn't have said it better myself. Well done. I long to see some return of respect. It makes all the difference to the day. Most of all I want to see our country back as it was with honourable people at the helm and patriotic, caring people working to make our country a better place. Idealistic, yes, but a good aim to have. However, our country is lost under the sheer weight of people. No wonder we are all so stressed. All our green fields are being given away to build houses for all these people. What are we to do for growing our food? We have hardly any armed forces left and our police are dwindling. What is left for us when our own Government sells us down the river and refuses to see the obvious?
05:02 PM on 10/01/2012
you modern young and sometimes not so young want and in doing so have created an unrealistic world ! all you hear children saying is i want i need .when you moderns eventually realise you have been conned into making the rich richer and all you do is race your life away!! yes you have computers mobile phones etc , didnt have them 40 years ago and if they had never come would not have missed them.yes for some reason we live longer but the free time is less and the quality not very good but carry on the rich love you
10:21 PM on 10/01/2012
The pursuit of riches harms us all. The top few live their hedonistic lives whilst the rest of us merely want just enough to get by, so that we don't have to live with the fear that this Government heaps upon us. We ask for little except the right to live our lives in a modest way, yet we are denied even that because the rich and powerful have to become more rich and more powerful at the expense of the rest of us. Unfortunately, these days, money means that even life, to some extent, can be bought. Sick! There are too many people in our country and too many who expect to receive without giving anything. This attitude has destroyed our country and our peace of mind. No wonder we are all dying from stress.
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08:37 PM on 09/30/2012
I have a 'dumb phone'. It makes phone call-flavored phone calls. I have gotten some 'spam' texts here and there, and they cost me airtime minutes that I have to pay for, but it's pretty minimal. I hope they come out with a 'do not call' list for cellphones, just like they did with regular copper landline service. I think we're overconnected in our modern age, some people want to sell still more connectivity, but, honestly, how much do you really NEED, and when do you get into sleep-thiefism? Someone makes billions off all that stuff, but it's not me. And frankly, if they came back through and got rid of all those cell towers, how many people would really honestly miss them?