Are American's stuck in a perpetual state of stress?

Many people don't know how depressed or stressed out they are they are so used to it. I meet so many people everyday who are on edge. I bet members from other countries can relate to this better than Americans.



Are people just walking around all day filling themselves up with negative signals? Are people in this country stressed out all the time? Why do we want to work so hard?

How many of you have actually stopped and asked yourself why you believe what you believe and what's actually important to you?

I think we need to return back to the right of passage rituals that bring you closer to death so you can experience the depth of emotion involved with a near death experience. You can become more aware of the monkey mind and seek a better state of balance in your life after approaching death because I think it connects you to the other world on some level.

a reply to: toysforadults

I haven't watched the clip in your op, but based on how some Americans on this site view the world i get the impression the answer to your question is yes.

a reply to: hopenotfeariswhatweneed

Majority of people in this country exist on purely momentum. They never slow down and consider their thoughts and actions. Constantly stressed, sex, money, cars, TV, social media... it's endless. Day in day out day in day out

a reply to: toysforadults

I work hard because I am close to the point where I will never have to work again and already have everything I want.

Not stressed at ALL about that... gleeful would be the word.

Are people depressed and stressed?

I would suggest turning off the news.

As for your "right of passage" rituals, I'm assuming turning off your internet is pretty much the same thing for most people now.

So please everyone do that for a week out of the month.

Also don't forget... turn off everything else too once in awhile, tend your garden, sleep under the stars and share a campfire with friends and family.

a reply to: toysforadults

Part of the reason I stayed here where I am in hippieville is the pace is slow and relaxed, it took me a couple of years to slow down to the pace here, and now I can easily pick the tourists from the city, they are always pissed off and in a hurry.

a reply to: toysforadults

When I come Home from Work , I put the Stress and Manic Depression I have been Exposed to and Accumulated during the Day in a Jar . I Empty it Every Week in the Forrest . It Decomposes Nicely there....................)

I don't think it's only Americans. I think humanity in general is just messed up and Americans merely have our own particular flavor of messed up. Human nature has created problems for our species that most other species aren't even aware of (and thus they are not problems for them).

We keep thinking we can fix everything if we just do this or that but all we really ever do is open up a whole new can of worms.

As far as Americans vs everyone else, I certainly do not think that Americans behave any worse online than people from anywhere else. In general, I personally find Australians to be rude, narcissistic and hard to get along with in general. I mean, as far as national peculiarities go. Frankly, I don't find any particular nationality to be all that pleasant. Even people who seem pleasant are usually just putting up a pretty facade because it's what is expected of them. So people generally do what they need to do to get along in their own particular social circles and peer pressure tends to dictate.

a reply to: hopenotfeariswhatweneed

yeah you know interesting you say that I lived on a hippy commune in my younger 20's and it really opened my mind. the culture of the community was so juxtaposed to American culture I had a culture shock when I came back to civilization and that's when i realllllllly started questioning our way of life and realizing how insane it is

Funny.

Today, a coworker asked how I was able to deal with the owner of our company getting on my ass.

I told her 2 things:

I am the kind of guy who looks at the world and sees that there is nothing to stress...pain is inevitable, suffering is a choice.

I am the kind of guy who lets other's stress roll down my back. I try to be the best at what I do, the chips fall where they may.

(Forgot to tell her that a nice hit of God's finest at the end of the day helps)

In reality, I think most sweat the details, and never look at the big picture.

a reply to: BrianFlanders

That's very true. I haven't experienced the cultures of foreign countries on the same level as the US so I refrain from commenting on them.

a reply to: Lumenari

yes spending time in nature is a great idea without a doubt

a reply to: toysforadults

Its the white anglo-saxon work ethic bequeathed upon us by our ancestors. Work, or DIEEEEEE!

As an ordained minister of The Mighty Church of the Subgenius, a self-ordained Pope of Discordianism, and a respected member of the Church of Latter Day Dudism...I can say with some authority...not all Americans, man.

I am retired so I don't have stress, but I do see some stress in others. These levels of stress seem pretty typical of having a job and managing social relationships. I don't see why it should be considered abnormal or specific to America.

I'm a legal resident in Mexico. I speak now and again with Mexicans who formerly lived in the US and have returned to Mexico. Almost always they talk about how they earned more money in the US, but life was so much more stressful, always running, always in a hurry.

It's not because of the ugly, stereotypical caricature of the shiftless Mexican on a permanent siesta. That's not real. It's because they get back here and realize than there's more to life than what US consumerism culture offers us.

a reply to: toysforadults

It seems like life is engineered such that most people can just make a living.

This can easily be done by setting prices in regards to - salary, real estate prices, real estate taxes, or monthly rent, food prices, utility, communication, cable TV costs.

Even people who make $100k a year or more have to watch their money. After Federal tax, State tax, City tax, Medicare, Social Security, etc. you make about 60-65% of that. Most people make much less than that.

originally posted by: toysforadults
a reply to: hopenotfeariswhatweneed

Majority of people in this country exist on purely momentum. They never slow down and consider their thoughts and actions. Constantly stressed, sex, money, cars, TV, social media... it's endless. Day in day out day in day out

That's the truth.

People act like they're machines and are disconnected from the rest of the natural world. Stop, appreciate nature, life, and de-stress. Basics... Take a walk, star gaze, plant something,

a reply to: incoserv

Also, they prob don't pay out the nose to keep a roof over their heads. That's prob one of the most significant factors or differences.