The Stress of Modern Life

It is a common thought that life today is more stressful than it used to be, that the rushing around to get everything done to meet the requirements put on us by our culture have made the modern world particularly stressful. 

I agree that pressure to perform efficiently and effectively is stressful.  I agree that living up to the often unreasonable standards of modern society (such as the standard for female beauty in the eyes of females being a photo-shopped anorexic) causes stress.  I agree that the constant input of stimuli keeps us at a heightened level of awareness, which is more stressful, and also removes the opportunity to calm down and rest, which is great for reducing stress.

On the other hand, what are really stressful things?  I would suggest that the threat of violence, or actual violence is intensely stressful.  I would suggest that hunger or disease are extremely stressful things.  I would suggest that living without shelter is extremely stressful.

It used to be that people were poorer, more exposed to disease and hunger, and that the services for the mentally ill or destitute were far worse.  The amount of work people did was at a minimum the same.  People got more sleep and less stimulation, but it seems unlikely that people in previous generations were less judgmental than they are today.

Poor people all over the world really wish to become part of this modern, "stressful" culture in order to get away from their simpler, less frantic lives. 

There could certainly be improvements in our modern culture to reduce our stress, sleeping longer, working less, emphasizing happiness and compassion over material possessions, walking instead of driving, etc..  I think it would be more than great if these changes happened, and I think in the future we will slowly drift in that direction.  The modern world particularly stressful?  No way.