In
21st Century, it is predicted that stress and stress related illnesses such as depression and anxiety will become biggest killers. Despite significant advances in housing, standards of living, quality of food, and medical science, pressures all of us have to face in today’s world are as demanding as any pressures experienced by our predecessors.Why are these illnesses on rise? And why do some people become so ill through these illnesses, they can find it hard to function?
Well they sure don’t happen overnight! You don’t suddenly wake up one morning and feel stressed or depressed. It’s not like flicking on a light switch! And by same rule, if you’re suffering, you can’t just wake up one morning, flick off switch and say “Great, I’m better now.”
Many people who don’t suffer from these illnesses often say to sufferers:
“Come on, snap out of it.”
If only it was so easy! Should anyone say this to you, please forgive them as it’s just a lack of understanding. It’s very hard for people to understand how you’re feeling if they haven’t been there.
The fact that these illnesses don’t suddenly happen means we can draw some parallels with illnesses such as heart diseases, some cancers and strokes.
Because these illnesses don’t just suddenly happen either.
If we look at heart disease, it’s often result of damaging behaviors practised over many years. Behaviors such as smoking, lack of exercise and a diet high in saturated fat. Strokes are a result of similar behaviors and cancers too, particularly heavy smoking and drinking as you know.
So how do stressful illnesses such as stress, depression and anxiety compare?
Stress is also product of harmful mental habits and behaviors. These habits and behaviors are developed and practised over years – since childhood in most cases. These are mental processes that enable us to make sense of our lives and circumstances we’re faced with. When we reach adulthood, we perform them automatically because we’ve learned these behaviors by repetition.
