The Adoptions of the Modern Lifestyles: Advancements in Technology and Terrorist Activities - Essay Example

Aspects of Modern Life That Cause Stress Introduction In the development of a human being, social and emotional development is very crucial. In this regard, the psychological development of a person can often be impeded by stress. Stress is a fact of modern life. Stress is described by Olpin and Hesson (2012, p. 18) as a reaction that disrupts our mental balance. In other words, stress is the manner in which the body responds to an environmental condition impacting on a person’s mental as well as physical well-being. On a global scale, one in every 5 adults has been diagnosed of stress. The latest statistics indicate that 35 percent of the U.K employees feel stress during the day. As a matter of fact, one in six children between the ages of five to thirteen in the United Kingdom has been diagnosed with depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder. When stress exceeds the emotional, mental, and physiological limits, it affects body functioning. Therefore, both the negative and positive conditions in life can cause stress. To that effect, the paper will discuss the various aspects of modern life that have led to stress. Thesis statement: Stress is caused by the changes in the modern lifestyle. Discussion The first aspect of modern life that has led to stress is the development and increased use of technology, such as television, computers, Internet, and mobile phones. With recent changes in information technology, the lifestyle of human beings has also changed. Living in today’s fast-paced world requires the use of technology. People are so reliant on technology that in its absence they absolutely do nothing. As a result, few of them exercise in spite of the long hours spent on mobile phones and Internet. It is equally important to note that 48 percent of people feel anxiety when they do not have their mobile phone with them, with more than 60 percent often checking their phone the moment they get an alert for an e-mail or text message (Olpin & Hesson, 2012, p. 112). Technostress causes an increase in body weight. Arnetz (1997, p. 97) assert that most of the technological equipments fail to meet their original specific functionality making people to spend extended hours repairing them. Employees have been reported to experience stress in modern information technology. Stress has been found to have significant impact on the human biological systems causing obesity. It can be defined as overeating and under-exercising (Wadden and Stunkard, 2006, p.17). The eating behaviour is always present and controls a person’s life and has been shown to play a very crucial role in the maintenance of obesity. A person who is stressed due to a spoiled technological gadget such as a computer is more likely to eat more increasing obesity cases. The other health condition worsened by increased technological development is diabetes. Bodily reactions occur with the utilisation of modern information technology. People who spend extended periods of time watching television or accessing the Internet via computers or mobile phones and suffer from diabetes are more likely to suffer from severe effects of the disease. According to a view shared by Polonsky (2012, p.1332), obese people are more at risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. As mentioned earlier, eating of non-nutritious foods as well as lack of exercises are causative agents of obesity. Researchers at the Imperial College London as evidenced in the journal of Diabetologia found out that the risk of sugary soft drinks on diabetes is a direct one other than just influencing the body weight. In this regard, diabetes is caused by an accumulation of blood sugar over a long period. Therefore, when people take in junk foods as a result of technostress they are more likely to develop complications that are associated with diabetes. The second aspect of modern lifestyle that causes stress is terrorist activities. In today’s world, terrorism is a security threat on a global scale. These are acts perpetuated with an aim of creating fear, destruction, and death. For example, the worst terrorist attack in the United Kingdom was on July 5, 2005 when 52 people were killed in addition to more than 700 being injured during the attack. The attacks were aimed at creating fear in the city of London for the participants of the upcoming London 2012 Olympics. The attacks were carried out by four British Islamist men. The first health condition that is caused by terrorist attacks as a result of stress is post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PTSD is a syndrome that develops after a person is involved in, sees, or hears of a severe and extreme traumatic stressful event. The person reacts to the stressor with feelings of helplessness, fear, depression, avoidance of things that remind them of the event, and may persistently relive the event (Rubin, Burnsten, and Bohni, 2008, p.985). Various demographic variables such as the individual’s age (the younger one is at the time of exposure the greater the potential to develop a trauma) and lower levels of educational attainment appear to be associated with increased risk to develop PTSD (Ozer et al., 2008, p.4). People who have been affected by terrorist attacks have been found to suffer from PTSD. More to the point people who suffer from PSTD have also been found to suffer acute depression. The other psychological health problem that can emerge as a result of terrorism is continuous anxiety (Seaward, 2011, p. 49). To that effect, this leads to another psychiatric disorder commonly known as generalised anxiety disorder. Even when conducting a passive activity, a person with generalised anxiety disorder exhibits increased metabolic wastes along with symptoms of sickness, such as sleepiness, no appetite, flu like symptoms, fever, and lack of energy. The disorder affects the normal functioning of the amygdala, cortex, hypothalamus, and thalamus (Kaufman et al., 2000, pp.778-779). Finally, the last aspect of modern life that is associated with stress is drug and alcohol abuse. The people who abuse drugs and other related substances are more likely to develop stress symptoms as compared to those do not use either drugs or alcohol. More than 30% of the UK population have a drinking problem. In the same way, more than 5 million are using illegal drugs, for instance, heroin, cocaine, hallucinogens, and inhalants. The first health condition caused by stress due to alcohol abuse is liver cirrhosis. Alcohol is made of chemicals. The chemical structure of alcohol affects the body in various ways, especially the liver. According to Udell et al. (2012, p.832), habitual drinking increases the risk of cirrhosis of the liver. This is where the healthy liver tissues are replaced with scar tissues, subsequently preventing the liver from functioning properly. Blood flow is blocked and processing of hormones and nutrients inhibited, as well. As a consequence, the drugs and alcohol in the body are not removed. The other health condition caused by drugs of abuse is the heart disease. Globally, cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death. As of 2013, 17 million people had died due to heart diseases. When a person is stressed, they are more likely to abuse drugs and be addicted. It leads to cardiovascular conditions ranging from heart attacks, stroke, peripheral artery disease, hypertensive disease, ischemic heart disease, to abnormal heart rate. Ingested, injected, and inhaled drugs may cause heart diseases (McGill, McMahan, and Gidding, 2008, p.1216). This is costly to both the individual and society. Besides, heavy drinking due to stress has also been found to cause cardiomyopathy. This is a condition whereby the muscles of the heart are weakened and the heart rhythm becomes disoriented, and eventually fails. It is approximated that 90 percent of heart diseases are preventable. Conclusion In summary, the adoptions of the modern lifestyles have resulted in stress. Stress is omnipresent in the lives of human beings. The aspects of modern life that have led to a stressful life include drug and alcohol abuse, advancements in technology, and terrorist activities. All these modes of life have a psychological impact on people resulting in the development of stress. To sustain a westernised modern lifestyle causes a lot of stress. Various health conditions develop as a result of stress, including heart disease, generalised anxiety disorder, PTSD, liver cirrhosis, diabetes, and obesity. All these conditions are deleterious to human health, but they are optional. Therefore, stress can be alleviated through counselling, use of anti-depressants, therapy, and adoption of healthy modern lifestyles, such as eating healthy and exercising regularly. Bibliography Arnetz, B. 1997. “Technological stress: psychophysiological aspects of working with modern information technology.” Scand J Work Environ Health. , 23 (3), 97-103. Kaufman, Joan, Plotsky, Paul, Nemeroff, Charles, Charney, Dennis. 2000. "Effects of early adverse experiences on brain structure and function: clinical implications". Biological Psychiatry 48 (8): 778–790. McGill, H., McMahan, A., and Gidding, S. (2008). "Preventing heart disease in the 21st century: implications of the Pathobiological Determinants of Atherosclerosis in Youth (PDAY) study". 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