Saturday, March 26, 2011

Stress Fracture

I remember when it became hip to be stressed. The 70s were confused and the 80s were decadent. Tension, stress and anxiety didn’t really come into their own until the 90s. Suddenly, being busy was in itself a vocation. Antidepressants, instead of being a vital treatment for a crippling condition, became a fashion statement. What you were doing was only as important as how freaked out you were by the pressure of getting it done. This is no longer true, but not because it is and always was a stupid attitude.

No, nowadays stress is logical. How much more work are you doing for the same pay after the layoffs? Fingers crossed you’re still working. I’m knocking on wood, in fact. Natural catastrophes and the constant in-your-face information flow make it impossible to stay calm. There’s too much going on, and so much of it is sad.

So, now that anxiety is normal, what can we do about it? The clichés are true. Break it down into manageable quantities and manage it. Try to focus on what you can do, but stay aware of the Big Picture. Sure, all that is good, but it doesn’t help much. It doesn’t even get me through the morning newspapers.

What does help me, and I hope it will help you, is perspective. There’s no more going on now than there ever was, we just find out more about it. Information = communication. Communication is good. For every asshole spewing hate there are groups of people coming together all over the world to fight it. More than ever before in history, we’re in a position to understand each other. It’s pie in the sky, but I have to hope that compassion isn’t far behind.

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