One of the big problems faced by people who are busy is knowing how to say no. Being busy is not a problem for those of us who choose what we do but being expected to spend our time on things we do not want to do can be horrible. Do you remember, as a child, being asked to tidy your room? I still have young children and they really know how to say no when there is an unpleasant job to be done.
Clinical depression with its symptoms of despair, guilt, exhaustion, pain and anxiety is a debilitating condition. Severe sufferers struggle with a reason for living and some attempt suicide. Rising rates of teen suicide raises the alarm that depression is out of control and growing rapidly. It has been predicted by the World Health Organisation that by 2020 depression will be a greater threat to human health than heart disease or cancer.
Socially, this can be seen as a reaction to the current state of the world, uncertainty or pressure to perform. At a biochemical level it can be seen as an environmental and chemical crisis, causing an imbalance in brain chemistry. The effectiveness of antidepressant drugs indicates that neurochemistry is a major causal factor.
Of all the negative character traits, envy is the only one with a redeeming factor. A healthy dose of envy is even good – think of it as fuel to drive your way to success or contentment. Take heart, it’s perfectly normal for people to look at others and wish to have what they have. Partly because it is in our nature to make changes; and partly because we really are not easily contented. The trick is to use that envy to better your life instead of using it to fuel your hate.