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;void(0)) The increased pace induced by our high tech computer culture has increased our impatience resulting in unprecedented levels of stress. Although we are living in 2 paycheck households we are each working more than 40 hours a week on average for wages that can purchase less and less each year. Supermarket cashiers take less time to talk with us because their computerized cash registers are keeping track of how quickly items are scanned. Companies are continuously experimenting with new ways of speeding up production. A Washington Post article in 1993 indicated that: ”stress has become one of the most serious health issues of the 20th century.” More than 14,000 workers die from accidents on the job each year and another 2.2 million suffer disabling injuries related to stress. This is not to mention auto accidents brought on by sleep-deprived drivers or drivers rushing to get to or from somewhere. Domestic violence is at an all-time high. One is more likely to be assaulted on the job than by walking down a dark alley. You would be surprised to know the number of employees referred to anger management therapy due to on-the-job hostility. I have not even touched on the stressors involved in raising a family; paying bills in this consumption driven society; and “keeping up with the Joneses”. If you want to get a sense of the stressors involved in friendship in the New Millennium, just take a few minutes to watch one of those TV Judge shows. Many of the litigants are or were friends. A few minutes of anger can cost more energy than a day of physical labor. No amount of medicines, vitamins, or food fads will provide a solution to this problem. After the stressful circumstance has disappeared tension and mental fatigue will set in. This takes its toll on various parts of the body, including the heart and digestive organs. Even during sleep our muscles are tensed and continue to expend energy. More of our energy is spent keeping our muscles in continued readiness for work than in actual useful work performed in our lifetime. So what are we to do? Should we work harder to obtain more? Do we join a health spa to exercise our stress away? Will the numerous new drugs on the market cure our stress disorders? Should we retain an attorney to litigate our problems with our difficult neighbors? (to be continued) Newsletter Directory The Aton Project - Home Page Tony VanSluytman info Tony VanSluytman - the Author | Return Home | The BOOK DOCTOR | The BANYON NETWORK | The Banyon Buzz Newsletters | The Aton Project Newsletters | Contact Us | |
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