Why We Are All Stressed.

I am an optimist. A glass half full kind of guy. I think in general, that it’s a British characteristic, borne of the Blitz and Dunkirk spirit and the over-riding sense of ‘we will prevail’ that carried us through 2 World Wars. But I wonder whether that attitude is fading with the brave men and women who fought so proudly for us in those wars and still managed to ‘keep their chin up’

Whilst evolving as a nation and society, we need to remain mindful of why we are the proud nation that we are, that our Grandparents fought for our Liberty and our Freedom. Keep that in mind as our smarmy faceless Government continues to place ever more cameras on our street corners and byways and highways, desperate for Fines revenue and solely intent on developing their controlling influence over us all, this proud nation that fought bloody hard for our independence and freedom of speech and movement.

As well as the increasing surveillance, which, incidentally, was this week rubbished as a deterrent by criminals, we have been taxed by stealth very slowly yet very surely by this Labour Govt who are, shock horror, exactly the same in this respect as every other Labour Government that preceded them! Labour Governments do not change, whether they are fronted by a bloke in a donkey jacket, a ginger welsh bloke, a smarmy jug eared closet Tory or a charmless bruiser who no-one voted for..

They ALL tax you to the ‘enth degree , and in this latest guise, laugh at you while they are doing it and systematically ruining our country while they do. I don’t pretend that the Conservatives are whiter than white, we know from the expenses debacle that they are not, however we also learnt from that scandal that David Cameron dealt with his lot with some degree of decisiveness and conviction.

Anyway, I am veering off subject. My point was, is, that thanks to this Government and the way its policies have shaped our country and society today in 2009, we are all under incredible stress, whether its acute financial problems like Bankruptcy or losing your home, lack of employment or ongoing job insecurity or relationship breakdowns that inevitably occur as a result of these stresses that we are forced to endure. It isn’t all down to the Govt I grant you, greed played a large part in the inevitable house price collapse and recession that we are just beginning to slowly pull our way out of. But the framework for easy mortgages and even easier un-secured credit was made possible by this Government and its lack of jurisdiction over the FSA when it mattered. And all presided over by a PM who used to be Chancellor and who built his political career on the ‘Prudence’ ticket.

We need a release sometimes, we are all up against it and I think this is why we have road rage, trolley rage and God knows what other rage. It’s because we are under so much pressure that one little thing makes us go off at the deep end. We lose our rag over trivial stuff and are often shocked at ourselves afterwards, in the cold light of day. Shocked and embarrassed and perhaps worried about ourselves. I am not talking about cold hearted mindless thuggery and violence here, I am talking about civilised people who are being driven to distraction almost by the seemingly never-ending barrage of rules, cameras, officiousness and sheer politically correct bullshit that seems to be a hallmark of modern Britain.

I don’t think for a minute I am exaggerating. And I also think that as we become stressed, almost continually, that our mental health really does begin to suffer, and that, like high blood pressure, is a silent killer. Because at what point does your mental health become ‘scarred’ if you like? How do if you know? This is probably another post for another day and one that deserves much more attention than a passing paragraph so I’ll leave it there.

I personally believe we should all take some time for ourselves and do whatever we need to relax, and I mean make sure we do this, because it is so easy to get lost in work and stuff. We need to have this time for our own sake and for the sake of our nearest and dearest, I remember once reading a quote from Sophia Loren, when asked what her secret to keeping beautiful was, she replied that you should surround yourself with those you love and who love you as mush as you possibly can. Try it.

More next time x