In the business world, smokers are still evident. They may have to hide their habit from co-workers or customers, but they exist in force. There are many reasons why we smoke. However, as a whole, they contribute to the growing cost of healthcare all over the world. In the U.S., we have aging populations, higher rates of chronic diseases, and higher rates of co-morbidity. The 2017 Deloitte Global Health Care Outlook found that health care systems will have to take different approaches to control costs such as adopting a different system model. “Sector stakeholders, particularly in advanced health systems, are advocating the shift from a ‘break-fix’ model of health care to one focused on prevention and the overall holistic health of populations rather than episodic and transaction-based treatments.”
The Connection With Smoking
In the U.S., many smokers use tobacco like alcohol, junk food, and recreational drugs to get relief from anxiety, which causes intense, excessive, or ongoing worries about normal situations. Some people have temporary or chronic anxiety that’s untreated. They cannot handle too much anxiety in their body. If they can get a “fix” from a cigarette, they feel better. The kicker is that smoking does not address the sources of worry about everyday things. What’s more troubling are the new sources of anxiety in our digital age that make it harder for smokers to quit for An Example of Social Anxiety
At this point, you might be bugging out. People need to eat right, to sleep right, to exercise, and to find ways to relieve stress. They need social relationships and recreation so they can have fun and feel wanted and needed. We read about a scary phenomenon in an article by psychologist Larry D. Rosen, who described how many Americans now have more anxiety, but particularly teens. Among college students, the rate of anxiety disorders is also higher than depression, according to Alex William’s New York Times article, “An Anxious Nation.” The rate of anxiety disorders among teens is especially high. These facts make you wonder where anxiety originates. A newer source of anxiety is shocking: how we communicate with others via mobile devices.
Why is Anxiety Caused By Mobile Communications?
Do you remember the last time you were waiting for someone to respond to your text? You saw those bubbles moving across the screen and felt a range of emotions during the delay. This experience doesn’t just affect iPhone users. The bubbles are common to many mobile and digital apps, everything from OKCupid to Facebook Messenger. If you’ve felt that level of anxiety when someone doesn’t respond for minutes on end, it’s tough. You’re left hanging. You lose minutes of your life feeling anxious about something people didn’t even worry about in 2007. It’s not the time to endure unnecessary stress, especially when you’re expecting someone to confirm plans for today. Don’t set yourself up to feel anxious. Release yourself from the texting limbo.
What to Do
Stopping anxiety wherever it starts, but especially from texts that aren’t returned, starts RIGHT NOW! You deserve to feel happy every day, but it starts with making a personal choice to be free of anxiety. Here are three ways to break free from anxiety demons, those nagging voices inside your head that won’t shut off:
1. Put your cell phone down. Your smartphone can do just about anything, easily tracking your Snapchat alerts and notifying you when that cute person you met the other day texts you back. Tuning in constantly to alerts isn’t making you happy. It’s making you sick. Establish times of the day when you’ll be checking your phone and answering people. Use the Do Not Disturb feature during the workday, when you watch TV, exercise, or watch movies at home. Pick other times before and after work and in the evening when you will respond to messages. People can wait.
2. Download a meditation app today. Choose an app like Calm, which has a variety of free and paid versions of meditation activities. An app takes care of the audio and visual components, and it’s easy to listen to while driving using Bluetooth or headphones. With a meditation app, choose the purpose, length, and frequency of the meditation according to your present needs. Turning off your smartphone’s notifications while meditating is a must.
3. Schedule blocks of time when you do nothing. Our society has lost touch with what it means to sit, stand, walk, run, or lie down and accomplish zilch. You don’t have to always have an activity planned or achieve a goal. Don’t take your smartphone with you everywhere. Pick days when you aren’t available to people and just relax. The world will go on.
Setting yourself free from anxiety isn’t something others can do for you. Don’t let worries about obligations to others rule your life. In your business life and your personal life, we suggest that you do what makes you happy. Make a difference in other people’s lives when you can. Your reasons for smoking may or may not be related to anxiety, but you need to resolve the causes of this health condition so you can be your best at business!
