Stress in the Modern World

02.1.2017

In our ever-changing global landscape, it’s no surprise that we can sometimes be afraid. Political and financial stressors, natural disasters, cyber-crime and the threat of terrorism – all of these can give rise to fearful responses that undermine our wellbeing.

 

Mindfulness training gives us tools that can help to put these concerns into perspective. And it can give us the resilience to deal with real threats, should they ever arise.

 

Here’s how the modern world can affect our psychological wellbeing and what we can do about it.

 

How does the modern world differ to other times?

Unrest is a feature of the human condition. Throughout time, humans have endured catastrophes: wars, earthquakes, famines, new governments and social institutions: these and other predicaments have at times led groups of people to question their future and ability to survive.

 

Today, we have a greater awareness of what’s happening around the globe than ever before. And even if global issues have no obvious direct effect on our own lives, they can still affect our wellbeing.

 

With information from the media and the internet permeating our awareness, we can come to develop a subtle underlying sense of fear and unrest.

Is the fear we experience irrational?

Fear is a normal response to situations that we perceive as dangerous. Even when someone on the other side of the world is experiencing a disaster, we may still consider the possibility of it happening to us. After 9/11, many people living in London feared that something similar would happen in their own city.

 

The way we attend to news and other media can give us unrealistic perceptions of threat. For example, in the USA during the run up to the recent election, there was a widespread public perception that crime had increased since 2008. In fact, instances of violent crime had actually decreased.

 

By developing greater resilience, we can learn to understand our fears and evaluate how rational they are.

Why is resilience important?

The NHS describe resilience as:

“the ability to succeed, to live, and to develop in a positive way . . . despite the stress or adversity that would normally involve the real possibility of a negative outcome”.

Being resilient is about being aware of what the risk factors in life are, putting them into perspective, and being able to deal with problems when they occur. Resilience is not about being hard or cold; it’s about being able to make choices around our thoughts and feelings, so that if the worst happens we are prepared and can be at our strongest.

How can greater resilience be achieved?

It’s a myth to believe that resilient people are different. Charney and Southwick carried out a study of people who had suffered post-traumatic stress, including soldiers and survivors of disasters. At first they thought the more resilient people must be special in some way. During the study, they not only identified 10 different characteristics of resilient people but found that these areas could be changed and strengthened in anyone. Charney advocates mindfulness as a means to develop resilience:

“Many of the factors…mentioned are internal strengths that can be cultivated through mindfulness – such as cognitive and emotional flexibility or facing fear.”

Mindfulness training offers a great way to become resilient. By sorting through feelings and worries about global issues we can decipher which fears are irrational and let them go. By being more centred in the present moment, and by learning how to make choices in respect of what we think and feel we can prevent the mind from wondering to the ‘what ifs’.

 

To find out more about mindfulness and the modern world, contact michael@mindfulnessworks.com or call (+44) 01223 750660