How does the psychological pressure of the fast-paced lifestyle affect us?

The fast and changing lifestyle in which we live today can have a very negative influence on the mental health and emotional balance of millions of people around the world.

In addition, some of these alterations are so frequent that they are even normalized as something before that you have to resign yourself, so that they are not considered a real problem before which you have to take measures. It is understood that it is the price to pay for living in the western societies of the 21st century, although this is really a fallacious reasoning.

In this article we will see what they are the habits and social dynamics typical of today's lifestyle that expose us to excess stress and anxiety.

• Related article: "10 daily habits that improve your emotional balance"

What are the main elements of psychological pressure of a fast-paced lifestyle?

In western societies a very fast pace of life has become normal; This set of habits, routines and cultural phenomena for transmitting information includes various psychological elements that contribute to generating states of anxiety and stress. Next we will talk about the most important ones.

1. Reconciliation problems

One of the phenomena that generate greater psychological discomfort in contemporary societies is the difficulty in reconciling work activity with personal and family life.

The ever-increasing demands and accelerating rates of a constantly evolving job market prevent many people from maintaining a full and satisfying family life with their partners and children.

This fact generates frustration in many workers unable to find time away from work to spend with their loved ones, which in turn it translates into states of anxiety, stress and even predisposition to suffer from depression or burnout syndrome.

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2. Need to compete and train constantly

Another source of anxiety and psychological pressure very present in the world of work is the increasing competition between employees of the same company or work sector as well as with companies and workers from other parts of the world who work through the Internet and may be potential competitors.

Similarly, this increasing competition forces the employees of any company to be permanently updating their knowledge and learning new tools and techniques useful for their job. This competitive dynamic means that the constant training of workers is no longer seen as a way of learning about what we like, but as a way to add added value in the market labor.

• Related article: "6 tricks to deal with very competitive people"

3. Difficulty making new friends

As indicated, in today's job market every time we have less free time to dedicate to group leisure, recreation or any personal activity that allows us to disconnect from work obligations.

Many activities are stopped due to a long or strenuous workday, and this also includes social life and the possibility of meeting new people anywhere public.

In the final stage of youth, the increasing difficulty to meet people of the same age and to establish new romantic or friendship relationships is another element that can affect any person psychologically, given that social fabrics based on informal ties (through the family extended, neighborhood communities and friends) that were once common in neighborhoods and towns are increasingly weak and distributed in small and disconnected nuclei each.

• You may be interested in: "How to make friends and deepen your relationships, in 7 steps"

4. Unstable labor market

Another of the characteristics of this time of little certainty both on a personal and professional level that we have lived through is an essentially unstable labor market, among other things due to the rapid evolution of the world of technologies and work methodologies.

Unlike past decades, in which it was assumed that a job could last a lifetime, today the Most employees in the West are clear that continuity in the workplace is far from insured.

• Related article: "Work stress: causes, and how to combat it"

5. Difficulty disconnecting from work

Fast-paced lifestyles are also characterized by an increasingly blurred differentiation between work and personal life., which prevents many employees from disconnecting 100% in their leisure time or during the weekends.

Some elements that have contributed to sharpen this overlap between work and life are: teleworking, permanent access to the internet, email and also any other means of communication with the job.

In addition to that, the importance of developing the brand or personal branding also contributes, sometimes to generating a notable psychological pressure on many employees.

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6. Constant distractions in moments of leisure

The existence of social networks or applications that keep us busy for a long time and even make us lose track of time it also generates, in the long run, great psychological discomfort.

The habitual use of this type of hobbies can generate a great emptiness in the person and a feeling of having wasted a lot of time playing games or social media, time that could have been set aside for another activity better.

• Related article: "How can I make the most of my free time? 7 steps to follow "

7. Overcrowding in cities

The overcrowded conditions in which some cities live is also a real psychological problem for many people: in almost all countries there is a tendency to leave the rural environment and concentrate on the big cities.

In addition to that, the lack of green and quiet spaces to be able to relax, noise and increasing pollution, too they constitute stressful elements that in serious cases can generate anxiety, stress or other alterations of mental health.

8. Psychological impact of fear of contagion

The social and health crisis caused by the COVID pandemic that began at the end of 2019 has meant a real change for the life of millions of people, and has ostensibly accelerated all those stressful elements that we have seen on the lines previous.

The appearance of this virus has brought with it a greater number of stressful situations and elements of extra psychological pressure, which, if necessary, must be treated by a mental health specialist.

But beyond the coronavirus crisis, we must not lose sight of the fact that in an increasingly globalized society the risk of large-scale pandemics has increased. a lot, and these arise with relative frequency, reinforcing the appearance of psychological alterations associated with anxiety and obsession with avoiding risks.

• You may be interested in: "Fear and anxiety, two symptoms of the coronavirus"

Do you want to have professional psychological assistance?

If you are interested in having psychological support, please contact me.

I am a certified Mindfuless psychologist and instructor with many years of experience in dealing with stress and anxiety problems. I offer face-to-face and online sessions.