How Does The Psychological Pressure Of A Fast-paced Lifestyle Affect Us?
The fast and changing lifestyle in which we currently live can have a very negative influence on the mental health and emotional balance of millions of people around the world.
Furthermore, some of these alterations are so frequent that they are even normalized as something to which one must resign oneself, so that they are not considered a real problem against which measures must be taken. It is understood that it is the price to pay for living in Western societies of the 21st century, although this is really a fallacious reasoning.
In this article we will see what they are the habits and social dynamics typical of today’s lifestyle that expose us to excess stress and anxiety
What are the main elements of psychological pressure of a fast-paced lifestyle?
In Western societies, a very accelerated pace of life has been normalized; This set of habits, routines and cultural phenomena of information transmission includes several psychological elements that contribute to generating states of anxiety and stress. Below we will talk about the most important ones.
1. Reconciliation problems
One of the phenomena that generate greater psychological discomfort in contemporary societies is the difficulty in reconciling work with personal and family life
The increasing demands and accelerated rhythms of a constantly evolving labor market prevent many people from maintaining a full and satisfying family life with their partners and children.
This fact generates frustration in many workers who are unable to find time outside of work to spend with their loved ones, which in turn It translates into states of anxiety, stress and even a predisposition to suffer depression or burnout syndrome
2. Need to compete and constantly train
Another source of anxiety and psychological pressure very present in the world of work is the increasing competition between employees of the same company or work sector as well as with companies and workers from other parts of the world that practice through the Internet and may be potential competitors
Likewise, this increasing competition forces employees of any company to constantly update their knowledge and learn new tools and techniques useful for their jobs. This competitive dynamic means that the constant training of workers is no longer seen as a way to learn about what we like, but rather as a way to add added value in the labor market.
3. Difficulty making new friends
As indicated, in the current labor market We have less and less free time to dedicate to group leisure recreation or any personal activity that allows us to disconnect from work obligations.
There are many activities that stop being carried out due to a long or strenuous work day, and this also includes social life and the possibility of meeting new people in any public place.
In the final stage of youth, the increasing difficulty in meeting people of the same age and establishing new romantic or friendship relationships It is another element that can psychologically affect any person, given that social fabrics based on informal ties (through the extended family, neighborhood communities and friends) that were once common in neighborhoods and towns are increasingly becoming more common. weak and distributed in small nuclei disconnected from each other.
Another characteristic of this time of few certainties, both on a personal and professional level, that we have had to live through is an essentially unstable labor market, among other things. due to how quickly the world of technologies and work methodologies evolves
Unlike past decades, when it was assumed that a job could last a lifetime, today most employees in the West are clear that continuity in the workplace is far from assured.
5. Difficulty disconnecting from work
Fast-paced lifestyles are also characterized by an increasingly blurred differentiation between work and personal life which prevents many employees from disconnecting 100% during their leisure time or on weekends.
Some elements that have contributed to exacerbating this overlap between work and life are teleworking, permanent access to the Internet, email and also any other means of communication with work.
In addition to that, the importance of developing the brand or personal “branding” also contributes, sometimes to generating notable psychological pressure on many employees.
You may be interested: “On vacation my anxiety has increased”
6. Constant distractions during leisure time
The existence of social networks or applications that keep us busy for a long time and even make us lose track of time It also generates, in the long run, great psychological discomfort.
The habitual use of this type of hobbies can generate a great emptiness in the person and a feeling of having wasted a lot of time with games or social networks, time that could have been used for another, better activity.
Related article: “How to make the most of my free time? 7 steps to follow”
7. Overcrowding in cities
The overcrowded living conditions in some cities also pose a real psychological problem for many people: In almost all countries there is a tendency to abandon rural environments and concentrate in large cities
In addition to that, the lack of green and quiet spaces to relax, noise and increasing pollution also constitute stressful elements that in serious cases can generate anxiety, stress or other mental health disorders.
8. Psychological impact of fear of infections
The social and health crisis caused by the COVID pandemic that began at the end of 2019 has meant a real change for the lives of millions of people, and has significantly accelerated all those stressful elements that we have seen in the previous lines.
The appearance of this virus has brought with it a greater number of stressful situations and elements of extra psychological pressure, which, if necessary, must be treated by a mental health specialist.
But beyond the coronavirus crisis, we must not lose sight of the fact that in an increasingly globalized society the risk of large-scale pandemics has increased greatly, and these are emerging with relative frequency, reinforcing the appearance of psychological alterations associated with anxiety and obsession with risk avoidance.
You may be interested: “Fear and anxiety, two symptoms of the coronavirus”
Do you want to have professional psychological assistance?
If you are interested in having psychological assistance and training in the management of anxiety and stress, contact me.
I am a psychologist and certified Mindfulless instructor with many years of experience in intervention for problems related to stress and anxiety. I offer training programs such as the 8-week MBSR Mindfulness Course, completely online and with theoretical and practical content to learn to deal with complicated everyday situations.
