I just read a thought-provoking article in New York Magazine. In this article, the author connects America's social and economic trends over the last half of a century to our relationship with certain depression and anxiety reducing drugs. This article argues that in the current time of ceaseless electronic stimulation, we are in a constant state of vigilance and anxiety--states that our physical evolution has yet to catch up with. Hence, they argue, the modern individual turns to the easily-available products of our technological evolution and pop a pill that essentially erases the incessant cycle of worry and gives us the much-needed time-out.
The article points out that some people truly feel that their own anxiety is the very mechanism that gives them an edge over their competitors--a force that gives people the ability to out-perform their peers and be more successful in their various endeavors. While these very people report that the bi-product of this relationship with anxiety is decreased happiness, the insinuation here is that this decrease is not a particularly high price to pay for professional success (particularly given the availability of short-lived anti-anxiety vacations courtesy of anti-anxiety drugs).
The article also mentions the popularity of meditations practices and mindfulness training as one way to handle our increasing anxiety, although the authors discredit these techniques as expensive and unnecessary. I think there is a lot to the notion of noticing the anxiety, learning how to not act on it and learning to live with it. I also think that in this time of increased information availability and stimulation overload, a viable option to popping a pill is to make time for ourselves and our needs, and put our various "important" tasks on hold. We need to make a conscious effort to give ourselves time off, time to connect with our loved ones, and time to take care and nurture our souls, in an effort to give ourselves a "safe and calm place" from which to take on the various worries of our time.
http://nymag.com/news/features/xanax-2012-3/
The article points out that some people truly feel that their own anxiety is the very mechanism that gives them an edge over their competitors--a force that gives people the ability to out-perform their peers and be more successful in their various endeavors. While these very people report that the bi-product of this relationship with anxiety is decreased happiness, the insinuation here is that this decrease is not a particularly high price to pay for professional success (particularly given the availability of short-lived anti-anxiety vacations courtesy of anti-anxiety drugs).
The article also mentions the popularity of meditations practices and mindfulness training as one way to handle our increasing anxiety, although the authors discredit these techniques as expensive and unnecessary. I think there is a lot to the notion of noticing the anxiety, learning how to not act on it and learning to live with it. I also think that in this time of increased information availability and stimulation overload, a viable option to popping a pill is to make time for ourselves and our needs, and put our various "important" tasks on hold. We need to make a conscious effort to give ourselves time off, time to connect with our loved ones, and time to take care and nurture our souls, in an effort to give ourselves a "safe and calm place" from which to take on the various worries of our time.
http://nymag.com/news/features/xanax-2012-3/
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