The Perils of Modern Life?

Every now and then I read an article in the paper or on the internet talking about the ills of society, or the world, or dissecting globalisation and consumerism, and there will practically always be a reference to the rising rates of self-harm and how they have been impacted by these factors. I think it is interesting to look at a broader picture and how society itself impacts on our mental health. It is a well-held belief that chronic invalidation is a common factor in self-harm and in a society where people have moved from being citizens to customers and can easily feel that they just don’t matter, I can hardly feel surprised at the rising rates of self-harm, substance abuse and depression that these articles speak of.

The article in question on this occasion appeared in the Daily Telegraph on Tuesday 12 September, titled Modern Life Leads to More Depression Among Children – a letter signed by 110 people with various involvement in the world of children. They argued that the pressures of modern life, such as rapid technological and cultural change, a fast-moving and hyper-competitive society coupled with a lack of exercise and good food were leading to the mental health of children being compromised. They state that society has lost sight of the emotional and social needs of children.

A follow-up article was then printed in yesterday’s Guardian – Generation Stressed – which argued that the points in the letter could well be applied to all of us, young and old alike. The problems are too complicated to be easily solved with a policy here and a policy there, involving wide ranging areas such as the media, food and education. The market has crept into all corners of our lives, even being able to influence our imaginations and what we aspire to, our dreams being shaped by brands even if we don’t know it. The author pointed out that the rates of self-harm, substance abuse and depression are rising in older generations too.

A couple of pages on there was an article about the increase in the use of anabolic steroids among young men wanted to look more like David Beckham or some other bronzed pumped fit specimen of masculinity. This reminded me of a department I used to work in, a pretty good mix of people of different sexes, ages, and races. In the tea room at break times, the women would all be talking about different diets they were on, how long they’d spent in the gym but weren’t losing any weight, or how hard the battle against the bulge really is. Even I, who swore she would never become one of those women, spent long periods of my lunch break talking with my friend about the calorific value of a Muller Corner Digestive Biscuit yoghurt, both of us in the end giving up eating them on the basis of their fat content. But then I started to notice what the men were all talking about – how frustrating it was that they couldn’t put on enough weight! All of them with their protein shakes instead of tea at breaks, eating as much as they could at lunch, then spending hours in the gym doing sets on the weights with strangers who have the same goals. All trying to bulk up and look more manly.

All of us seem to be under pressure from somewhere, and most of us seem to feel undervalued, whether that is by our colleagues at work, friends or peers, or even society in general. Frankly I feel a bit depressed when I think about the lives of my parents and other adults in their age group, and the things that I will be unable to avoid once I start thinking about buying a property or having children, enslaving myself to a job, probably in a company I never wanted to work for. But perhaps a fundamental change in society is a bit too optimistic to hope for. Back to the small things in life (apparently that’s where God, or at least unbridled happiness, is hiding!).