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5 Ways Modern Life Causes Stress & What To Do About It?

Ms. Smitakshi Guha

4 Min Read

Fast Check Fact Checked

The modern world may have turned many unimaginable things into living reality through science and technology but there’s a thing that has escalated exponentially, and unlike everything else that comes with modern living, this thing isn’t good news. If you didn’t figure it out already, we’re talking about stress!

The pressure that people feel in their day-to-day lives overwhelm them so much that stress and anxiety cases are constantly on the rise. So, how does modern life actually cause stress in people? Let’s find out!

1. Being constantly connected

Yes, technology has given us the power to stay connected with people even if they are living time zones away from us. From social media to the conventional messenger services—speaking to your loved one is no big task anymore. However, this ease of accessibility has made us stay glued to our smartphones and tablets almost 24×7. We’re so engrossed in the virtual world that we barely embrace any ounce of reality. This habit of ours often leads to sleep deprivation, meddling with our circadian rhythm and has a major role in causing stress and anxiety.

What to do: Give yourself a much-needed break from your smartphone. Invest some time in people around you instead. Your social media account isn’t going anywhere, but those around you, can. So, cyber detox once in a while should be on your to-do list.

2. Comparing ourselves to higher standards

Setting goals is absolutely all right. But pushing yourself to reach unreasonable targets is never healthy! The modern world has set some superficial standards of ‘being the best’ which according to social media and beauty magazines, comes from being skinny, attractive and having the highest number of followers on Instagram. We often compare our reality to the highlight reels of others, feeling sad, envious, or even jealous seeing how ‘perfect’ others’ lives seem to be! This is a very prominent trigger for stress and it can also lead to depression.

What to do: Accept the fact that not everything that you see on social media is true. Nobody’s life is as perfect as it seems on Instagram and those airbrushed models on magazine covers don’t look that flawless in reality either! Embrace the reality and look for only positive vibes in and around you, be it in real life or social media.

3. Poor prioritization skills

To have a good balance in things you do in life, you need to prioritize tasks and people. If you lack a focus and goal and tend to procrastinate things almost every day, it will never give you any fruitful results.

What to do: Start making a to-do list or abide by a planner. You can take this as a daily task or a weekly task. Note down activities in order of their importance and this way, you will get better at time management and prioritizing the needful.

4. Lack of good stress-release mechanisms

With extreme workloads or some issues in personal life, stress often becomes inevitable. But how to handle or manage that stress is what you should focus on. In the modern era, most people consider smoking or the intake of alcohol to be the ‘best’ stress-release mechanisms. On the contrary, these habits only worsen the situation and put you at risk of more physical and mental health complications.

What to do: Take out at least 40 minutes from your daily schedule and devote it only to yourself. Invest that time in doing something healthy and peaceful, like yoga, meditation, aerobics, or any other form of exercise. Practice breathing exercises, which are really helpful with stress-release.

5. Pollution

Other than emotional factors, environmental factors can also be a contributor to stress. Pollution can aggravate your body’s stress response making the stress hormone secretion soar high. Air pollution and noise pollution are two of the vital forms of pollution associated with increased cases of chronic stress when it comes to the environmental causes of stress in the modern world.

What to do: Try to guard yourself well against the harmful effects of pollution. Wear a mask whenever you step out to not let the poor air quality meddle with your system. Avoid loud noises whenever possible, with the help of earplugs. In a nutshell, take good care of yourself both indoors and outdoors.