Has Anxiety Risen All Throughout Our Lives?
…NO NO…Not that, THIS!...You forgot to do that!...Did you return that timely email yesterday? What’s for dinner? Did you pick up the kids? You have to take them to piano class, then soccer practice…and on and on and on the responsibilities are never-ending. Everywhere we turn, it seems like there is an anxiety induced event, or people feeling depressed, etc. This stress can be influenced by environmental factors, job experiences, personal relationships, medical/health conditions, loneliness, traumatic experiences from the past and even genetics. We can almost see our lives as an epidemic of anxiety.
Environmental Factors
Our world has turned topsy-turvy these past few years. The pandemic hit us all hard, causing a lot of isolation and loneliness. During the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, The World Health Organization(WHO) released statistics where there was a 25% increase in anxiety and depression, globally. Unbelievable! Isolation is a huge reason for this increase, where people were not able to socialize the way they were used to spending their time. As people were more alone and by themselves, their minds would wander, thinking about the unknown such as the fear of infection and suffering and death. This type of loneliness led to suicidal thinking. Work politics and even feeling like you are losing your job is a huge burden and anxiety for many. Politics can be if you feel you are not appreciated, versus worrying your company is not doing well and will not survive, thus leaving you without that financial stability.
Personal Relationships
Of course personal relationships were also affected by the pandemic. Especially if you are the type who is extremely social and need in-person interaction, this decrease in socializing can have an extremely negative effect upon you. Also unstable personal relationships can cause a lot of anxiety where you feel alone and helpless, especially when these bonds have been extremely important in your life. Personal romantic relationships can cause anxiety due to the attachment you feel or have established towards that special someone. Letting go, especially when you feel everything else around you feels like it’s not in your control. And of course parental relationships affect us due to their functioning and rearing. Friends can influence you tremendously due to your interactions with them, causing you to push forward in what is considered ‘socially acceptable’ even though you may not agree with it. This difference between your perspective and the ‘norm’. This can cause tremendous anxiety, as you are not feeling true to yourself by following what your friends believe to be the correct direction.
Social Media
Social media is a very strong influence on people’s way of viewing themselves and how their lives should look and thus can cause anxiety and depression. These multiple platforms have comparisons and feedback and attaching popularity to sharing content. These types of behavior viewed on these platforms have definitely caused anxiety and depression, among other health issues. It is human nature to compare yourself to others and to see how you can better yourself. Some of the subjects on social media can cause people to take it a step further and get stressed and anxious if they are not part of the popular majority. In order to boost self-esteem and have a sense of belonging in social circles, people post content, hoping to receive positive feedback. ‘Fear of missing out’ also plays a role. Missing experiences can also create a negative feeling of anxiety.
Self-Care Is Very Important
I cannot emphasize enough the value of self-care. Firstly, distract yourself from what causes you the potential for anxiety and depression. Self-monitoring of social media sites, first of all, can help you realize whether or not these various platforms are causing distractions and more negative thoughts, especially about yourself. And if that is the case, then perhaps you may want to think about slowly decreasing your time on those sites. Our mental well-being affects everything in our lives, including our physical health. Establishing good sleep habits and sharing with the family, by limiting time on the devices can be extremely beneficial.
To attack the negativity of the day, Lizush bath and body luxury products not only addresses physical health, but helps with mental health. This ‘complete’ system is a great start to the self-care process. I have products not only for women, but also for men, making it a complete package. The bath bombs, shower steamers and essential oils incorporate muscle relaxation along with the aromatherapy to soothe the mind and body. The facial mask, shea butter and body salts give a head to toe feeling of luxurious abundance in your own home. That’s right, a natural spa-treatment in your own home!...whenever and however YOU want. And that type of control during self-care helps to eliminate the unnecessary hindrances and negatives of the day, leaving behind just you and your clear, clean, positive thoughts and replenished body! Just try it today!