Why modern life offers more than ever yet leaves people feeling worse, a doctor explains
Translated from Lithuanian and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.
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- Vilija Okė says modern people have more choices and resources but increasingly feel tired, tense, lonely or dissatisfied.
- She argues that the pursuit of security, abundance and long-term wellbeing can itself create chronic stress.
- Okė says the body handles short-term pressure better than anxiety about work, finances and life far into the future.
Modern life offers more ways to live well, yet many people feel increasingly exhausted, tense, lonely and dissatisfied. Vilija Okė, a rheumatologist and associate professor at Sweden’s Karolinska Institute, describes that gap as one of the central paradoxes of contemporary life.
We seek abundance, but in the end we no longer have time to use it.
People can choose where and how to live, earn more, care for their health, travel and stay constantly connected. But the pursuit of a longer and better life can leave little time to enjoy it. “We seek abundance, but in the end we no longer have time to use it,” Okė says.
She links the pressure to a natural desire for security and preparation. That instinct once focused on immediate needs, but it now often extends across an entire lifetime. People worry about how they will live years from now, while also feeling that life should begin only after they earn more, achieve more or finally manage everything on their list.
We have subdued the predators outside the window, but the struggle has moved inside us.
Okė says the human body is better adapted to short-term stress, such as meeting daily needs or completing a defined task. Constant pressure tied to work, finances or the distant future is different. The brain finds prolonged uncertainty harder to manage, and long-term stress can become more than simple tiredness or poor mood. The discussion comes as a personnel conference in Vilnius prepares to examine work in modern organizations and changing employee needs.
Our brains are accustomed to short-term stress, but if we constantly think about how we will live ten years from now, it becomes increasingly difficult for the brain to manage that stress.
About this summary
Originally published by Delfi in Lithuanian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.
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