Has anxiety become an epidemic?

Question

I am drowning in a sea of information; I feel like society has become entrenched with negativity

- I feel like the internet is consuming me

- I dont understand who I am as a person and what my purpose is

- today, ethics seem to be virtually non-existent (particularly on a corporate realm)

- I have reached the point in which I actually wish I had less choice; I am having difficulty affirming whether my decisions are the right ones

---------------------------------------
I wonder:
---------------------------------------

- Is there such thing as too much choice?

- Is overexposure to knowledge harmful?

- are we all just trying to one-up eachother?

Does anyone else feel plagued with discontent?*


* I want to live a positive life, I'm just not sure I know how

Answer 1

you are absolutely not alone.millions of people sufering from anxiety and depressions.what you need is to use the power of self esteem and HUMOUR. OVERCOME ANXIETY THE COOL WAY.goodluck!

Answer 2

I believe anxiety has increased in society. We have many complex decisions to make and most of life never really get "over with". It used to be that you went to college if you could afford it and were smart enough and after 4 years you were done. If you didn't go right after high school there was little chance you ever would. Now if you go, you will still need to decide if you want to go back throughout your career and if you don't go, you also need to decide constantly if you want to start. The same thing happens in careers. It used to be that you picked one and stuck with it. Now people change constantly.
Having all these choices and being constantly connected to internet and cell phone keeps us in a perpetual state of stimulation and decision making. I think this is mostly good but we need to take some breaks from it once in a while.
Exposure to knowledge is not bad in itself but it's hard to know how to use the knowledge. You will need to find your own purpose. All I can say is that I am convinced that you have a very important purpose because you are obviously a thoughtful, intelligent person and you are actively seeking purpose.
I suggest that you take a small amount of time to do relatively mindless tasks for someone less fortunate. It will relieve some of your anxiety and worries about ethics, etc. while potentially showing you your pupose.

Answer 3

I hear, feel and understand your dilemma.

I recently deleted my links to my newspaper pages online (just today!). I could not take, for another day, war. I do care, but felt it was a problem I could not solve.

I plan to shrink into myself, temporarily (or I'd be concerned), and find a positive outlet. There are many areas; such as local community centres, schools, charities, homeless shelters, etc. that could benefit from immediate help.

I have experienced that it takes the discovery of someone who is worse off than you, to feel how truly privileged you are.

Take a societal time out; write, draw, create, explore, talk; you will find the way to purpose in a positive way.

Do not give up; your heart is meant to help, or you would not feel so.

Answer 4

OH dear person, slow down a bit and try to get things in order. It sounds like you could use anti-anxiety medication. This does not mean you are crazy. It means you are overwhelmed and need a little help taking the edge off. good luck.

Answer 5

i have often thought about each of your points, but got to the place in my life where i decided to value the quality of my life more than the need to find answers. in other words, i chose simplicity. the world today is very rushed, and there is more information than our little human brains can digest. do yourself a favor and stop overthinking everything. the best thing you can do is focus on the simple things in life. when you feel overly-exposed to information, etc., shut it out. you do have a choice.

Answer 6

Overexposure to knowlege is great. knowledge is great in general. Just depends what your useing it for. You I suffer from extream anxiety, and I agree with you and am in the same situation feeling the same way you do.

Answer 7

I don't think Anxiety itself is on the rise, but living more stressful lifes, not geting enough sleep I trying to balance work + house+ kids. all lead to stress, which I think we often misinterpret as anxiety. The bad thing's it's even getting to our kids. I think we need to learn to slow down and smell the roses.

Answer 8

I agree with everything you have said and yes, I do believe that anxiety and depression are epidemic in our society. Our brains weren't designed to be 'on' all the time.