Stress And Social Anxiety
If you've ever been stressed or struggled with social anxiety, you know that the fear of stressful situations can really wreck havoc on your life. In today's post, we're going to talk about what stress and social anxiety are, how they form, and what you can do to help yourself when struggling with these mental health issues.
What is stress: Stress is a set of emotional responses that occur in a situation where an individual perceives some kind of threat or danger to himself or herself and his or her way of life. What causes stress? Well there are many things that can cause life-changing stress: an injury; unfair treatment at work; heartbreak; losing a loved one; financial woes….the list goes on. Each of these situations is a threat to our way of life, and it is that stress which can turn an otherwise happy and healthy person into someone who experiences anxiety, depression, alcohol or drug abuse, or even suicide.
A History of Stress: We're not really sure how we came to be stressed out living in this world. For years, the "fight or flight" glands were assumed to have developed in our bodies as a means for the body to respond quickly when it is physically threatened. For thousands of years prior to modern times, fear and stress had been used as effective tools for survival. With this in mind, we can see that in the ancient world, stress was seen as a very positive thing. It was thought to be a tool that either helped us survive against the odds or used when times were tough. Today, however, we have lost sight of how our ancestors dealt with stress and have come to view the use of pressure point techniques and other forms of self-defense in modern society as an unacceptable way to respond to stress and threat.
When did stress develop into what it is today? We do not know for sure when stress became a problem for us as individuals. It is clear that by the early 20th century, stress was already considered a major issue for society. Its use was widespread throughout America and there were many who struggled with its negative effects. Stress in America was first seen as something physical, and it is thought that doctors began to exhibit a new kind of occupational pressure on themselves as they began to be seen as the keepers of human health amongst their patients. It's interesting to note at this time things like canned foods and preservatives were being introduced into our daily meals. Doctors were also prescribing things like alcohol and opium so often, 2 times a day (including bedtime), that the term "drug addiction" began to develop a negative connotation behind it. With stress taking such a heavy toll on the health of Americans, even their doctors were increasingly fearful of its effects.
Post WWI: The 1920s brought with it an uptick in the stress levels of Americans as they made a transition from a nation that believed in self-reliance and was based on personal responsibility to a "capitalistic society" where everyone had to work together in order to succeed. There was now more competition, no longer were people living off the land, and work was now more easily available for all. Even with these new types of stressors, many people continued to live life as if it were normal, but this "normality" soon became impossible for all but the rich elite. Those that were not able to adjust to the change began to suffer from what is now known as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
The Great Depression: The Great Depression is a time period of American history in which world trade collapsed, starting in 1929 and reaching its lowest point between October 29, 1929 and March 9, 1933. This event tested the economy and hampered individuals' ability to find work. The majority of Americans were either out of work or underemployed by this point in history. For those who were unable to find employment, they often had little money coming in while the cost of goods was drastically increasing. Stress levels were high, and although it was difficult to say who suffered more from the Depression (the rich or the poor), there is little debate that the '30s created a lot of stress for many.
The Post WWII Era: Following World War II, many people began to identify stress once again as a major issue for our nation. The war had brought about a great need for equipment and tech that could be used to help arm our soldiers. Many of these items had not been tried before and were a big part of what made WWII such an amazing time in American history. This shift from a culture of self-reliance to one that allowed for such an increase in stress was a major issue for our nation. People were now reliant on complex technologies to carry out simple everyday tasks. The term "information overload" was coined during this period, which referred to the growing number of ways in which stress could be created by the information we came into contact with each day.
Nowadays: Today, we continue to struggle with issues as they relate to stress and anxiety. More specifically, we see increasing numbers of people suffering from depression and anxiety disorders (even panic disorders) where they are unable to find relief from the fear or worry that seems to consume their lives. Unfortunately, medications that once worked to ease patients' anxiety are becoming increasingly ineffective as we learn more about why these types of disorders are able to take over so many lives. Even with the above facts in mind, there seems to be an almost complete disconnection between our modern beliefs regarding stress and what the original Greek philosophers were saying.
In the original works of the Greeks, fear was seen as a positive part of our nature. The original Laskarides Circle was intended to ward off evil spirits and they believed that what they were doing was enabling men and women to become more confident, strong and capable by removing fear from their lives. The original Greek philosophers would have never believed that it was more beneficial to use fear to create a strong, confident individual than it was to use the formula of 'standing up straighter and feeling better'.
Perhaps many of us still believe that in order to be successful we must set aside our fears. Perhaps we still believe that if we can overcome our fears, or at least understand them enough to overcome them, then we will be able to find success in our careers and relationships. Unfortunately, this is not true. Our fears are simply tools for us to use in order to survive against the odds in life so when you look at most major issues facing the world today (war, poverty, etc. ), you might say that we are going through a phase of our development in which we have allowed fear to once again get the best of us.
It seems that many people still believe that fear is something negative, something we can overcome so long as we face it head-on. But is this really true? Is fear ever something positive? If you take even a moment to look at the world in which we live, what would you say is the source of most stress? For many people, their jobs or relationships are their biggest source of stress. The issue here isn't that they have a job or relationship, it's how they relate to it and deal with it on a daily basis.
Conclusion: The Greek philosophers had it right. In fact, the original Laskarides Circle was intended to help people develop greater strength and confidence in their everyday lives by removing fear from the equation. It's interesting to note that these ancient doctors believed that our body and soul were complete when there was no fear present. So, it was the complete removal of fear from your life that would allow you to truly live a healthy, happy life of meaning and purpose.
Before you try to remove whatever is making you so stressed, take a moment and ask yourself if being more concerned with what is causing your stress than what needs to change within yourself could be considered living in a state of constant fear.